The 2026 World Happiness Report came out last month, and one stat stuck with me. About a decade ago, Canada was ranked in the top 5. In 2026, we sit in 25th place. And for people under 25 years old, we land in 71st. Seventy-first.
So what happened?
In my opinion, the internet has been a blessing and a curse. Technically speaking, we have more access to news and data than ever before. What we do with that is up to us, and most of us are basically sandblasting our own brains with information. As television slightly fades into obscurity, we are now connected to the endless news cycle with the self-perpetuating algorithm of “if this made you mad, then get a load of this.” Why? Because it keeps people coming back. Bad news is good for the news business, because bad news sells more copies than good news.
And it is not just a hunch. The people who actually publish the happiness report flagged heavy social media use as a major contributing factor to the decline, especially for young people. So the math is not complicated. We feel worse. We are on our phones more. And most of what is on our phones is designed to keep us there, not to make us better.
It was nice the other day when the news was focused on rockets heading back around the moon. For about five minutes, it felt like a win for team humans. Then, like clockwork, it got pulled into politics and identity debates. The reason it was likely added is because those are polarizing topics, and polarizing topics are clickbait. Clickbait keeps you on your device. Time on device pays the bills. “Humans did a cool thing in space together” is a nice story, but not a sticky one.
Currently, a lot of society just consumes bad news, talks about it, and then goes back for more the next day. We end up emotionally exhausted, and somehow still reaching for the feed again.
I am not going to tell you to unplug and move to a cabin. I run a web company. Half my job is on the internet. I like my phone. But a few months into 2026, I think there is a better way to use the thing than letting it use us.
Here is what I would suggest.
Consume a little. Not none. A little. Get informed, not buried. Try not to start your day with the news. If the first twenty minutes of your morning is already a scroll-powered mood killer, your day is starting with a handicap you did not need.
If something you read motivates you, go apply it. I watch skateboarding for pure entertainment as these days I know my limits, but it still gets me motivated. If I watch woodworking, drone repair or AI videos, at least I am consuming content that serves me as I am gaining some knowledge to apply to a skill. Good content should leave you with something to do, not just something to be angry about.
If a piece of news or a post or an account does not serve you, ignore it. Scroll past it. Mute it. Unfollow it. You are allowed. Nobody is handing out medals for staying mad about things you cannot change.
Pay attention to how you feel after an hour on a given app. If you feel fired up and ready to build, great, keep going. If you feel hollow and annoyed, that is useful information. The feed is telling you who it is serving, and it is not always you.
And the big one, which the happiness report hammers on year after year: talk to actual humans. In person if possible. Social connection is one of the strongest predictors of how people feel about their lives. A ten minute coffee with a friend will do more for your mood than ten hours of doomscrolling. We know this. We still need the reminder.
None of this is new advice. It is basically “eat your vegetables” for the information diet. But the fact that we have slid this far in a decade, and even further for our kids, tells me a small reset is worth a try.
Here is to consuming less garbage in 2026, and doing something with the good stuff we find.
