<p>Social media platforms that emphasise communication are better at supporting happiness than those with algorithmic content, the World Happiness Index Report stated.</p><p>This happened in the backdrop of India ranking 116th on the index published on Thursday (March 19), with Finland being the ‘happiest’ country on the chart and Afghanistan ranking the lowest.</p><p>Among the explanatory factors for the rank were social support, GDP per capita, life expectancy, freedom, corruption, generosity and other factors. Published by the University of Oxford, rankings are powered by the Gallup World Poll data and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Networks.</p><p>The report laid emphasis on the impact of social media usage on the happiness of young people, especially teenagers. Heavy social media usage was found to decrease their overall well-being among adolescents and young adults.</p><p>The report also showed that people who use social media less than an hour every day report the highest levels of well being.</p>.India ranks 116th in World Happiness Report 2026 behind Pakistan, Bangladesh.<p><strong>What did the survey find?</strong></p><p>The survey, which draws data from over 140 countries across the globe and academic experts, found that major social media platforms, including <em>Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and X </em>have been designed as harmful consumer products that harm adolescents at a global scale.</p><p>The platforms driven by algorithms were found to be more harmful than those which encouraged social interactions, the study found, allowing the adolescents to connect more with others.</p><p>The largest drops in well-being were particularly observed in the English speaking countries in comparison to Asian countries, the study noted.</p><p><strong>Impact of algorithms on mental health</strong></p><p>Algorithms are a set of rules designed to process the data in a certain way. They are not devoid of bias and the systems that run on it pose significant risk to the mental well-being if not operated with care. The following are some dangers associated with it:</p><ul><li><p>Promoting addictive behaviours that keep people in a loop of scrolling.</p></li><li><p>Increases polarisation of thoughts and promotes harmful biases.</p></li><li><p>Create envy or the feeling of missing out.</p></li><li><p>Limit exposure to diverse viewpoints.</p></li><li><p>Amplify negative thoughts and negative emotions.</p></li><li><p>Feeds distorted reality</p></li><li><p>Can negatively impact body image if a person consumes one kind of content.</p></li></ul>
<p>Social media platforms that emphasise communication are better at supporting happiness than those with algorithmic content, the World Happiness Index Report stated.</p><p>This happened in the backdrop of India ranking 116th on the index published on Thursday (March 19), with Finland being the ‘happiest’ country on the chart and Afghanistan ranking the lowest.</p><p>Among the explanatory factors for the rank were social support, GDP per capita, life expectancy, freedom, corruption, generosity and other factors. Published by the University of Oxford, rankings are powered by the Gallup World Poll data and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Networks.</p><p>The report laid emphasis on the impact of social media usage on the happiness of young people, especially teenagers. Heavy social media usage was found to decrease their overall well-being among adolescents and young adults.</p><p>The report also showed that people who use social media less than an hour every day report the highest levels of well being.</p>.India ranks 116th in World Happiness Report 2026 behind Pakistan, Bangladesh.<p><strong>What did the survey find?</strong></p><p>The survey, which draws data from over 140 countries across the globe and academic experts, found that major social media platforms, including <em>Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and X </em>have been designed as harmful consumer products that harm adolescents at a global scale.</p><p>The platforms driven by algorithms were found to be more harmful than those which encouraged social interactions, the study found, allowing the adolescents to connect more with others.</p><p>The largest drops in well-being were particularly observed in the English speaking countries in comparison to Asian countries, the study noted.</p><p><strong>Impact of algorithms on mental health</strong></p><p>Algorithms are a set of rules designed to process the data in a certain way. They are not devoid of bias and the systems that run on it pose significant risk to the mental well-being if not operated with care. The following are some dangers associated with it:</p><ul><li><p>Promoting addictive behaviours that keep people in a loop of scrolling.</p></li><li><p>Increases polarisation of thoughts and promotes harmful biases.</p></li><li><p>Create envy or the feeling of missing out.</p></li><li><p>Limit exposure to diverse viewpoints.</p></li><li><p>Amplify negative thoughts and negative emotions.</p></li><li><p>Feeds distorted reality</p></li><li><p>Can negatively impact body image if a person consumes one kind of content.</p></li></ul>
