Heavy social media usage erodes young people's wellbeing, report findsWorld Happiness Report links social media use to youth wellbeing decline(Refiles to replace the word "the" with "some" in paragraph 11)By Anne KauranenHELSINKI, March 19 (Reuters) - Heavy social media usage appears to contribute to a drop in wellbeing among young people, especially girls, in some English-speaking countries, the World Happiness Report published on Thursday found. Already, a number of countries across the world are working on plans to curb children's social media access after Australia in December became the world's first country to ban social media for children under 16. Impact of social media on real-life connectionsSocial connections versus algorithmic contentREAL SOCIAL CONNECTIONS MATTERThe report did not establish a direct link. "The message coming through loud and clear is that we should try to put the social back into social media," Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford Jan-Emmanuel de Neve, one of the editors of the World Happiness Report, told Reuters. Wellbeing differences among young peopleWith the caveat that the impact of social media on wellbeing was complex, he said the combined data showed that 15-year-old girls, who used social media platforms for more than five hours a day, reported lower life satisfaction compared to girls of their age who use social media less.

Source: Washington Post March 19, 2026 00:09 UTC