{"source":{"name":"Evidence Hub on Social Media Ban for Kids - A project by the Lisbon Council","url":"https:\/\/socialmediaban.lisboncouncil.net","license":"Creative Common CC-BY 4.0 International"},"data":[{"data":[45,41,40,38,33,31,31],"name":"Adolescents"},{"data":[43,41,36,31,38,"NA","NA"],"name":"Parents"}],"_data":[["\ufeffCategory","Adolescents","Parents"],["Tend to compare [myself\/themselves] to others",45,43],["Worry about missing out (FOMO) if not online",41,41],["Difficulty concentrating because of social media",40,36],["Hard to fall asleep because of social media",38,31],["Often feel stressed or anxious",33,38],["Often feel sad because of social media",31,"NA"],["Feel left out of online discussions",31,"NA"]],"labels":{"name":"\ufeffCategory","values":["Tend to compare [myself\/themselves] to others","Worry about missing out (FOMO) if not online","Difficulty concentrating because of social media","Hard to fall asleep because of social media","Often feel stressed or anxious","Often feel sad because of social media","Feel left out of online discussions"]},"metadata":{"link":"https:\/\/europa.eu\/eurobarometer\/surveys\/detail\/3686","type":"","unit":"Percent (%)","year":"2026","title":"Negative Perceptions of Social Media (Youth' and Parents' perceptions)","topic":"Harms and Wellbeing","method":"survey (26297 adolescents and 12750 parents)","source":"Eurostat, Flash Eurobarometer, Impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people\u2019s mental health, April 2026","sub_topic":"","chart_number":"104.0","geographical":"European Union"},"description":"This chart from the 2026 Flash Eurobarometer  'Impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people\u2019s mental health' survey shows that there is a high degree of generational alignment regarding the psychological pressures of social media. Unlike the 'utility gap' observed in positive perceptions, there is a high degree of agreement between parents and adolescents regarding the prevalence of social comparison and 'fear of missing out' (FOMO). Both groups report that approximately 45% of young people compare themselves to others and 41% suffer from FOMO. This suggests that these are widely recognised harms of the current digital environment.\r\nWhile parents slightly overestimate their child's stress and anxiety levels (38% vs. 33%), they significantly underestimate the extent of physical sleep disruption. Adolescents are 7 percentage points more likely to report difficulty falling asleep than their parents realise (38% vs 31%). Furthermore, almost one-third of adolescents (31%) report feeling 'sad' or 'left out' as a direct result of using social media."}