The 2026 World Happiness Report found that life satisfaction among those under 25 in some English-speaking countries has fallen sharply over the past decade. Finland was once again the happiest country.
Finland once again showed the world the path to happiness even as heavy social media usage eroded personal well-being among young people across the planet, the World Happiness Report 2026 said on Thursday.
The report, produced by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations, found life satisfaction among under-25s in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand has fallen sharply over the past decade.
The study is based on surveys of around 100,000 people across 140 countries.
I liked social media when it was small enough to have relationships with the people on there. To know and get to know the people. Kind of around the size the fediverse is now, at least the size I’m accessing.
Social media can be a few things. It can be a way to connect with your irl peeps. It can be a way to connect with online peeps. What it needs to be is large enough to support social circles but not so large people get lost in anonymity.