How you ask young people about their happiness changes what you hear

Surveys about youth wellbeing get different results depending on how they are conducted. Web-based surveys show young people are less happy than older people, but phone surveys do not.

Governments and aid groups use these surveys to decide where to spend money and what problems to solve. If the survey method changes the answer, then policy decisions might be based on misleading information. It means we don't really know how young people are doing compared to older generations, or if their wellbeing is actually declining.