Social media making young people less happy, report finds

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by John PowerMarch 19, 2026 at 07:15 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

A recent UN-backed World Happiness Report found a significant decline in wellbeing among young people in Western countries over the past two decades. The report, which analyzed data from sources like PISA and research by Jonathan Haidt, suggests heavy social media use is a contributing factor to this decline in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Researchers noted that outside of the English-speaking world and Western Europe, the links between social media use and wellbeing are more positive. The report was published by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Gallup 40% New Zealand 50% Canada 50% Australia 50% University of Oxford 50% Richard Layard 60% John F Helliwell 60% United States 60% Jeffrey D Sachs 60% UN ×270% Western countries ×280% World Happiness Report ×290%

Keywords

social media 100% wellbeing 90% young people 80% happiness 70% world happiness report 70% decline in wellbeing 60% western countries 60% life satisfaction 50% mental health 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Western countries

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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