A new report says Canada has dropped down to 25th place in world happiness rankings, as researchers highlight heavy social media use contributing to a sharp decline in well-being among young people.
The annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford found that Finland is the happiest country in the world for the ninth year in a row, with other Nordic countries such as Iceland, Denmark and Sweden ranking among the top 10.
Canada slipped to 25th place after coming 18th last year, finishing behind the 23rd-ranked United States.
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In the 2015 report, Canada ranked fifth but has since steadily declined, with 25th place marking its lowest ranking since the report was launched in 2012.
The report found that life evaluations among under-25-year-olds in Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand have dropped significantly over the past decade, suggesting that long hours spent scrolling through social media is a key factor in that trend.
As in previous years, nations in or near zones of major conflict remain at the bottom of the rankings with Afghanistan ranked as the unhappiest country again, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi in Africa.
“Suggesting long hours scrolling is decreasing happiness” completely ignoring that Canadians in that age demographic can’t afford to do much else. Irresponsible journalism at best
I guess American like to have a lunatic as president
This group of deadbeats could get their butts out of their chairs and do something useful and maybe acquire a few skills towards gainful employment. But life is too easy in their parent’s basement…
It’s because the U.S. is not living under the tyranny of this Liberal Government
Gender fluid Gen z go derp,
Global trying to get that CBC level of government funding huh?
Obviously they still have some actual conservative normal areas left . We are just miserable California north . But hey got my elbows up .
Huh. They must not have social media in other countries.
Our government is 11 years into a raging dumpster fire but the media points at America as the bad place. Self inflicted wounds thanks to extremely bias reporting and ridiculous government policy
I am surprised it’s not Trump’s fault.
Just let’s keep our elbows up and pretend everything’s great. After all, nearly 50% of voters got what they asked for.
BTW, where’s Carney? Oh right, vacationing, after all he worked so hard since he got nominated/appointed.
Thank you Trudeau – the grift that keeps on giving. It will take decades to fix the mess he created
Not a chance. These kind of phoney studies are the reasons people lose faith in experts.
“In the 2015 report, Canada ranked fifth but has since steadily declined, with 25th place marking its lowest ranking since the report was launched in 2012.”
Gee, I wonder why?
Blaming social media….bahahahah!! Let’s do a poll amongst the homeless, broke, jobless and hungry people.
what is this article? You can’t just blame it on social media, we’re the generation that grew up with Social media, it’s second nature to us, it doesn’t make us unhappy like it does for old people, we know how to use it to distract us from sadness.
Why not blame the unhappiness on things like being unable to find work and start a career, the country’s promises to us as kids being broken, entering adulthood with no realistic mindset about starting a family of starting a family in the future, and this, an example of old people not taking us seriously when the world is nothing like when they were kids, but refusing to give us opportunities to modernise it.
Where social media is a problem, it’s propaganda, and people telling eachother what to believe – usually your generations making mine depressed and infight.
Canada’s happiness index has been sinking since 2015 – hmm you mean since Trudeau and the LPC took power? Since they opened the floodgates on immigration and created multiple crises in healthcare, housing, transportation infrastructure and services? This is no coincidence!
Ohhhh its not social media….nice try
Elbows Up fools
So they are blaming social media for the younger generation unhappiness?
Not housing prices, eroded purchasing power and high immigration making landing an entry job harder than winning the lottery?
Interesting take