"1. Social media use is widespread, but how much people use it varies substantially. Across 97 countries, a median of 81% report using social media in the past seven days. Younger adults are especially likely to use it and to spend more time on it.
2. The relationship between social media use and wellbeing is modest and not straightforward. After accounting for factors that help explain both wellbeing and social media use, such as age, gender, employment status, health status, education and household income, users report somewhat more favorable results on several positive emotions and life evaluation. Stress is slightly higher among social media users, while most other negative emotions do not differ significantly.
3. Time spent on social media tells a more complicated story. Moderate social media use is associated with relatively higher wellbeing across many measures. Compared with moderate use, high use is associated with more negative emotions, while low use is associated with fewer positive emotions and lower life evaluation. More time on social media does not correspond with steadily worse wellbeing.
4. High social media use is associated with lower life evaluation in high-income countries. Although life evaluation does not differ significantly between high and moderate use overall, high use is associated with lower life evaluation in high-income countries but not in countries that are not high income. High use is associated with more anger, loneliness and sadness in both groups of countries. At the country level, however, the relationship between social media use and wellbeing varies considerably.
5. Global emotional health remains strained, particularly in places experiencing prolonged crisis. Negative emotions remain well above the levels Gallup measured two decades ago. Yet positive emotions can persist alongside considerable distress, underscoring the importance of considering both dimensions of emotional health." (Key findings, page 4)