Social media impacts youth wellbeing: UN happiness report

People sit in the sunshine as others ski by, during a sunny winter day on waterfront ice of Helsinki, Finland on Valentine's Day February 14, 2021. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)

Heavy social media use is undermining youth wellbeing in many countries, according to a UN-sponsored report published Thursday that put Finland at the top of its “happiness” index for the ninth year running.

This year’s World Happiness Report highlighted the impact of social media as many countries impose or mull legislative restrictions on social media use for young people.

“Dramatic declines” in happiness were recorded among under 25s in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and “especially among girls”, the report said.

By contrast, young people in other parts of the world felt better about their lives.

“Most of the world’s young people are happier today than they were 20 years ago, and that’s a trend that deserves attention,” Jon Clifton, chief executive of Gallup which contributed to the report, said in a statement.

Social media has a “complex” affect on wellbeing, the report noted.

Impacting factors included time spent on social media sites, the type of platform, how it was used, as well as demographic factors such as gender and socio-economic status.

“Heavy usage is associated with much lower wellbeing, but those deliberately off social media also appear to be missing out on some positive effects,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, one of the report’s editors and an economics professor at Oxford University and director of its Wellbeing Research Centre.

Among 147 countries listed, the lowest levels of life satisfaction were reported from war-torn Afghanistan, where Taliban rulers, who returned to power in 2021, have been accused of human rights violations and mistreatment of women.

Based on a three-year average, the happiness index considers six factors: GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

Nordic nations continue to dominate the rankings, with Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway joining Finland in taking five of the top six spots this year.

Costa Rica ranked fourth, entering the top five for the first time and the highest ranking ever for a Latin American country.

‘Pristine nature’

Finland kept its top position with a score of 7.764 on a 10-point scale.

Juho Saari, a social and healthcare policy professor at Tampere University, noted that Finland had challenges with record high unemployment and large cuts of social and welfare benefits but said “despite of all this, we are still the happiest country in the world”.

“It tells us that politics do not matter that much,” he added, explaining that people’s private lives were more important in determining happiness.

Known for its thousands of lakes, sauna culture and extensive welfare system, the country’s 5.6 million inhabitants generally report a high level of trust in authorities and low levels of inequality.

“We have pristine nature, and the peace and quiet here is probably our trump card for why it’s nice to be here,” said 30-year-old Karolina Iissalo who spent her birthday at a public sauna in downtown Helsinki.