Increase in social media use linked to decrease in adolescents' happiness

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(Image credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

Hold on to your hats for this one: social media may be making teenagers unhappier than ever.

Increased social media usage correlates with a decrease in adolescents' overall happiness, according to the recently released World Happiness Report. The report does not determine that social media is a direct cause of unhappiness, but does draw a correlation between the rising rate of unhappiness in teens and the overall increase in technology usage.

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Marianne Dodson

Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.