A United Nations-backed report has identified heavy social media use as a key factor in a "worrying decline" in the wellbeing of young people across Western nations. The latest World Happiness Report, released on Wednesday, noted that 15 Western countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have experienced significant drops in youth wellbeing over the past two decades.

This trend is not observed globally, with young people in regions representing 90% of the world's population reporting higher life satisfaction than before. Researchers highlighted that the links between social media use and wellbeing are more positive outside the English-speaking world and Western Europe, varying significantly between different platforms.

The report, published by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre in collaboration with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, draws on data from sources such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and studies by American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Despite the youth wellbeing decline, Western countries, particularly in Scandinavia, continue to dominate overall happiness rankings across all age groups.

Finland ranked as the world's happiest nation for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway. The Netherlands, Israel, and Switzerland also made the top 10. Middle Eastern and African countries recorded the lowest happiness scores, with Afghanistan reporting the lowest life satisfaction.

Governments are increasingly concerned about social media use among youth, amid reports linking platforms to bullying, sexual exploitation, and deteriorating mental health. Australia introduced the world's first social media ban for under-16s last year, with similar restrictions being planned in Indonesia, France, and Greece.

Source: www.aljazeera.com