Social Media: Moderate Use Linked To Better Wellbeing, Global Study Finds

Social Media: Moderate Use Linked To Better Wellbeing, Global Study Finds

Princess-Ekwi Ajide

For millions of people who turn to social media for connection, entertainment and a break from daily stress, spending more time online may not necessarily mean poorer mental wellbeing.

But spending too little may not guarantee greater happiness either.

A new global study by Gallup, released in partnership with the World Health Summit, suggests that moderate social media use is associated with better wellbeing outcomes than either very low or high use, although the differences vary across countries, age groups and emotional experiences.

The State of the World’s Emotional Health 2026 report analysed data from 97 countries, where a median of 81 per cent of adults use social media.

Gallup classified users as low-use (less than 30 minutes daily), moderate-use (30 minutes to under two hours) and high-use (two hours or more).

The findings show that high users are more likely than moderate users to report stress, worry, sadness, loneliness and anger.

However, low users are less likely to report enjoyment, laughter and feeling well-rested.

The impact also differs by country. In high-income countries, high social media use is generally associated with lower life evaluations.

In the United States, high users rated their lives about 0.3 points lower than moderate users on a scale of zero to 10.

Germany and the United Kingdom, however, showed no significant difference between the two groups.

Young people recorded the highest levels of use.

Nearly half of those aged 15 to 29 spend at least two hours daily on social media, compared with 28 per cent of adults aged 30 to 49 and 12 per cent of those aged 50 and above.

Among young people, higher use was associated with lower life evaluations in 16 countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, but with higher ratings in 10 others, including Mexico, Poland and Ireland.

Gallup’s managing director, Ilana Ron Levey, said the findings challenge the assumption that spending more time online always leads to poorer wellbeing, noting that moderate use is associated with better outcomes across several measures.

The researchers cautioned that the findings show associations, not cause and effect.

The study measured time spent on social media but did not assess the platforms used, the content people encountered or whether their use was problematic.

As governments consider age-based restrictions on social media, the report calls for a more evidence-based debate about its effects on mental and emotional health.

Its central message is that social media’s relationship with wellbeing is more complex than screen time alone, and its effects vary with people’s circumstances and where they live.