More than 6 million people in the Netherlands see social media as a danger to the mental well-being of themselves and others. About 2.2 million people say they feel less happy when they use social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Among other things, they experience choice stress and are afraid of not being informed about something. That concludes research agency Newcom based on a representative survey among 7,100 people. This trend research takes place annually.
According to the researchers, millennials (29 to 44 year olds) and ‘Generation Z’ (15 to 28 year olds) in particular feel unhappy. These are also the two generations that spend the most time on social media.
Approximately 14.3 million Dutch people use social media for an average of two hours per day. Teenagers spend an average of an hour longer on the various platforms every day.