The intensive use of social networks negatively impacts the well-being of young people worldwide, as emphasized in the annual happiness report published Thursday under the auspices of the UN, with Finland ranking first for the ninth consecutive year.
Romania has moved up one spot in the rankings compared to 2025, now ranking 34th out of nearly 150 countries.
The report ranks over 140 countries based on how people evaluate their own lives.
The data mainly come from the Gallup World Poll survey, with researchers also analyzing factors such as social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
The link between social media use and well-being is highlighted in this report at a time when many countries are considering imposing restrictions on young people's social media use.
"Dramatic declines" in happiness levels have been recorded among young people under 25 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, "especially among girls," the report indicates.
Conversely, in other regions of the world, an increase in the average reported happiness level among young people is observed.
"The majority of young people around the world are happier today than 20 years ago, and this is a trend that deserves our attention," said Jon Clifton, Gallup's managing director, who contributed to the report.
The Impact of Social Media Use
It emphasizes that the impact of social media use on well-being is "complex."
Factors influencing this aspect include time spent on platforms, the type of platform, how it is used, as well as demographic factors such as gender and socioeconomic status.
"Intensive use is associated with significantly lower well-being, but those who deliberately distance themselves from social networks also seem to lose certain positive effects," explains Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, one of the report's authors, an economics professor at the University of Oxford and director of its Wellbeing Research Center.
Among the 147 countries included in the report, the lowest levels of life satisfaction were recorded in Afghanistan, where the Taliban leaders, who returned to power in 2021, are accused of human rights violations and mistreatment of women.
Calculated over a three-year average, the happiness index considers six factors, including GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption perception.
Nordic Countries Dominate the Top of the Ranking
The Nordic countries continue to dominate the top of the ranking, with Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway joining Finland to occupy five of the top six spots this year.
Costa Rica ranks fourth, entering the top 5 for the first time and achieving the best ranking ever for a Latin American country. France is placed 35th (33rd in 2025).
For the first time, no English-speaking country is in the top 10 since the report was first published in 2012.
Finland maintains its top position with a score of 7.764 out of 10.
For Juho Saari, a professor of social policy and health at the University of Tampere, Finland continues to face challenges, especially a record unemployment rate and significant cuts in social benefits.
"Despite all these things, we are happy," he said to AFP.
"This shows us that politics are not so important," he added, explaining that people's private lives are a determining factor.
Renowned for its thousands of lakes, sauna culture, and highly developed social protection system, the country with 5.6 million inhabitants enjoys a high level of trust in authorities and low levels of inequality.
"We have unspoiled nature, and the peace and tranquility here are probably our main asset that explains why life is so good here," says 30-year-old Karolina Iissalo, whom I met while celebrating her birthday in a public sauna in downtown Helsinki.