The public expresses significant concern regarding the youth mental health crisis, attributing it to social media pressures, academic demands, economic instability, and lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many call for systemic changes to improve mental health support and resources for young people, highlighting feelings of hopelessness and frustration over their challenges.

Government

Educational Institutions

Mental Health Services

Social Media Companies

I have 3 kids. 20 and 17 yo boys, and a 14 yo daughter. 


My oldest struggles with MH issues at times, and it's usually a lack of purpose and direction, and an overall disillusionment with the world. He sees what things have become, and he's aware that there really is no point anymore. He has since joined the military and I guess found purpose and community and is doing great now. 


My 17 yo is on the high functioning side of the spectrum, and he has trouble with basically everything. His sense of logic and fairness is strong, and he hates the world we live in. Also, society isn't built for kids like him, especially school. We were able to get him into a smaller, specialized school for Jr and Sr year, and he's finally made friends and is excelling. But, he's going to struggle in the world for probably the rest of his life. 


My daughter has the normal 14 year old girl things. Body issues, making friends, bullies. The bullies now are insane. She had a group of kids on her bus tell her daily that they knew where she lived and they were gonna come to the house. These were 12-13 year olds. Thats just one incident. Then she's bombarded with so much information on a daily basis about the state of the world, she's an anxious mess and doesn't leave her room much. She's not the same kid she was a few years ago. 


Add in they don't ever get breaks anymore. Snow days are a thing of the past in most places, because when schools close, they still need to log into class from home. She's in an advanced placement high school, and puts a lot of pressure on herself. I do what I can to assure her she's doing great and can chill, but she just does what she does.


All these things mixed in with the genetic factors of parents with mental health issues. Everything is coming to a head. These kids aren't stupid, they see the writing on the wall. Most know they'll never own a house, or be financially stable, or whatever. It's a shitty time to be alive. 

eggo_pirate

Children need attention and activities and experiences that raise their self esteem and sense of worth. I had “suicidal teens/young adults I had to sit with and the sad reality is these kids just wanted someone to listen to them and pay attention. I’m so glad I grew up before social media and smart phones. Back when people had to actually get together and interact. As kids we played together, did sports and activities. We had real bonds. And we didn’t know or care that some rich billionaire’s kid had a backyard lagoon and a personal chef. I think so many kids are left to their own devices with nothing but their phones and instagram accounts. Plus the rampant bullying that thanks to the internet kids can’t even go home and escape. I’m glad my friends put so much time and effort into their kids, even though it means I rarely see them.

nursepenguin36

Because being a teenager sucks ass and is literally probably the most depressing time in life especially with the use of social media presence (cyber bullying unrealistic body expectations etc. your trying to figure your life out and are in the most awkward stage of your life and very immature and don’t know how to handle anything. Not to mention your body is going through all these changes and hormones are surging like crazy.

Careful-Mess3806

I can only speak anecdotally, but I would venture to say social media certainly doesn’t help. I know someone who had a suicide attempt, and part was linked to cyber bullying.

slothysloths13

The fact that (at least in the US) the world is incredibly bleak between late stage capitalism and climate change doesn't help.  Worst of all we are all expected to pretend what is going on is normal and everything is fine.

acesarge

I have worked in mental health( psych nurse) for 24 years, and there has been a definite change. Media, social media and general pressure to perform has a definite impact on mental health.
My own daughter is struggling, helping her made me realize how the world of media has made stuff worse. 
My kids have both experienced friends ending their life( at 13 &amp; 14 when it happened), and things have definitely taken a nose dive.  
As an example, bullying victims today never get breaks, bullied at school and online, a bully can pretty much keep doing it 24/7, and that is a addition to not being allowed to fight back.

Geistwind

I don’t really see how you can wake up every day, look at the world around you, and not be terribly depressed. If your assessment is “everything is fine” you are unwell.

calamityartist

I'm a lot of ways, Gen Z is like an echo of Gen X, and as teenagers, Gen X were not a happy go lucky bunch. 


Add in the pandemic. Many of the kids and young adults took the brunt of it, socially and academically. Many lost family members. Many are aware of the continuing waves of Covid, and it can limit social closeness. 


The economy is in the toilet, the environment is a mess, college costs are insane, houses and cars seem like pipe dreams, the political landscape is terrible, there was recently an armed insurrection, their country is incredibly divided and a whole lot of lawmakers seem to have a personal vendetta against women, BiPOC and the LGBTQTIA community.


Oh, and Gen Z has replaced Millennials as the media's "...they're ruining the (whatever)" punching bag.


I'm depressed just writing all that out.

CaptainBasketQueso

Parents have turned the parenting job over to smartphones and tablets and apps like TikTok. 

Kids need to be social, be outside, interact in real life. Kids these days notoriously do not. The social media ban they’re doing in Florida is a good idea actually. Especially with TikTok, that ish is toxic AF for everyone.

Naevx

I think some of it is that younger kids are getting help. 

I was a suicidal kid, although I kind of hesitate to say suicidal. I wanted to be dead and I distinctly remember thinking that at 10, but I never took action until I was mid teens.

scarfknitter

There are some really good studies that show smart phones are directly correlated to youth mental health.
One of my friends who is a pediatric intensivist absolutely refuses to get her kids a smart phone before they're in high school. 

Sometimes I wish it was still the 90's

averyyoungperson

It's so sad. I'm a crisis supporter on the digital team and we mostly get young people on the text and chat. Youngest I had was 8 years old, and it shocked me - my own son is 8 years old.

succulent_serenity

Idk, I was in crisis from like 12 onward, and a serious attempt at 17. Half my lifetime ago. I have no idea if that was uncommon then and it’s common now, or if people are just more aware of it. things are definitely scary right now though. Covid, active shooters, everything is really hard. I feel bad for todays kids. 

DwightShruteRoxks

Rampant loneliness across the board - all ages...

MSELACatHerder

I think increased access to social media has given them more words to understand their own mental health but unfortunately maybe more ideas. I’m only in my 20s, but even when I was a kid we weren’t talked to about it much, much less offered help. We had an 11-year-old with a self inflicted gsw last week, and there were a lot of people who were incredulous and couldn’t believe that an 11-year-old would be suicidal, and the whole time I was just thinking “have you really forgotten what it was like to be 11? It sucked!” If I’d had more knowledge as to what suicide even was or how to do it when I was 11, I probably would have killed myself too. I think there’s two facets to it, one is that more awareness gives kids words to their feelings, which is good, but the other is that with those words comes the ability to actually do something about those feelings. If somebody had said “I’m depressed, this is what that feels like, I’m suicidal, this is what that means,” I would have said holy shit that’s me. As it were, I just felt Bad and Wrong and Broken, and as much as that damaged me, at the end of the day I didn’t know enough to physically hurt myself. I think it’s an incredibly complicated situation that doesn’t have a succinct answer, because almost nothing in life does

deferredmomentum

The education system is failing including boring the youth to death and or hyper fixating on the now trending topics / world events which can cause anxiety, bullying by classmates, lack of family and or support, social media reality vs expectations, cost or living and general expenses, exaggerated success stories that only 1 in a million people realistically get lucky enough to obtain, etc etc. Many more examples can be given, but all lead to a loss of hope, excitement and or confidence for their futures.

Another big thing I've personally witnessed, is that the youth is not being allowed to grow mentally and emotionally appropriate to their age. You have 10 year olds with minds of 15 year olds, 15 year olds with minds of 20 year olds. Let kids be kids again, teens be teens, and adults be adults. Unfortunately this is easier said than done.

There are many factors that I have not mentioned, as everything and anything can have a strong effect on the minds of people. So much is broken in our society that I am afraid things will only get worse.

Oddly enough, as sad as it is hearing, seeing and dealing with depressed and suicidal clients, I am always happy and grateful to see those people take initiative and seek help, rather than do the unthinkable.

dadbodbart

Our culture is becoming more toxic. Facebook was rolled out in different colleges on different dates. After each rollout, the rates of depression rose significantly.

Brother_Stein

Social media and the internet. We are exposed to so many awful things all over the world, and the human brain cannot handle it. We are also exposed to rich people and they’re bragging about how good and easy they have it while 99% of us don’t. Life is hard enough locally without us knowing about everything globally.

GrumpyEarthPrincess

Gen z here we have no future. Thank you for listening.

WalterClements1

[deleted]

It’s been the hottest month on record for the past how many months now? 

There is literal genocide occurring streaming realtime on TikTok.

Hurricane season is going to be the worst on record till next year.

We are likely to experience a BOE within years. The ocean is going to collapse and we will be close behind. 

Our kids, if they live, will be climate refugees. 

They aren’t dumb and they haven’t bought entirely into the system the way we were programmed to.

A lot of it has to do with social media along with increased societal pressures. We confiscate all our patients phones. They communicate what they've done or how they feel, and.it spreads. They also look up unhealthy stuff as well.

Nah bro the world is fucked and we’re kinda on the shit end of it right now, not to say it won’t get worse but the way the economy is, the death of the American dream and white picket fence lifestyle gone. It’s only gonna get worse bro I don’t think it has to do with bonds as much as the over all bleakness of the future.

Ok-Insurance5837

Our EDP once had a 8 year old (could have been a little older like 10) whose parents brought her. She was overweight and being bullied in school and was expressing suicidal ideation. I just wanted to hug her so tight and promise that she would be okay.

SavannahInChicago

If r/teaching and r/eceprofessionals have any insight I would say mostly it’s device addictions and lack of social skills combined with absolutely no hope for the future in a world where wages have stagnated for decades and housing prices are through the roof.  They can see how bad things are right now and they don’t have actual people to hang out with to distract them.  I suspect the combo of that and that they aren’t getting much in the way of stress until their teens with the gentle parenting and kids just don’t have the skills to deal with the stress that comes with being a teen. They’ve been helicopter parented to death.

sherilaugh

Social media and the poor sleep hygine that follows often. Kids stay awake swiping on pointless reels (tiktok, Instagram, youtube). Their sleep is lacking.

The reels they are watching are personally suited to them. Polarizing their political perspectives, encouraging poor habits, amplifying unrealistic and idealistic ideas, etc. The most abnormal people can find media that will give the viewer the illusion they don't need to seek change, "everyone else is doing it" etc. 

The find themselves in echo chambers that allow for unhealthy habits and beliefs to metastasize.

I agree with everything being said here esp  about electronics and social media. With the obvious addition of the pandemic lockdown adding even more to the dysfunction.

I will say, my Dad is nearly 70 and he volunteered regularly for a suicide/crisis hotline when he was in college. Even when I was growing up I recall him always mentioning how surprised he was about the age of people he spoke with.

I think some of it is that it has become less taboo to talk about and we are just more aware.

angelfishfan87

I work in peds mental health.  There are many factors that play into the mental health of children/teens.  Social media and access to internet are huge issues I’ve seen with the older (13-17) population. Many of the kids I see have significant trauma histories. Add in the pandemic, many kids were isolated for months with no interaction other than TV screens and parents who were also lacking social interactions and working from home. Many parents today have difficulty with discipline in any form(especially taking away electronics) and their own mental health issues just to name the most common things I’ve seen. Many of the parents I interact with shouldn’t have been parents and it’s very obvious they are trying to be a friend versus an authority figure who is shaping young minds.

More access to help and resources means people with genetic predisposition towards psychiatric conditions are more likely to pass those genes on than the historical average

As a teen, for me a lot of my mental health issues have to do with school. Since I was young school has always been put as this huge thing the only thing that matters. I was bullied in front of teachers, they didn’t do anything school doesn’t care about mental health they only care about grades. I was never taught self care. I’m also low support needs but neurodivergent(“high” functioning, we don’t like that word cause it implies I don’t struggle) so now I’m a teenager I’m burning out but I’ve always been taught schools the only thing that matters- I was never taught self care. And I also don’t have an enormous amount of social media and what I do have(Reddit, YouTube, discord) are monitored by my parents. Also to generally respond to people not caring and the social media problem, Ik that I’m on my phone a lot playing games and the reason is even before I had phones or any electronics(I didn’t get any till I was 8-9) I would read as a way to do the same thing, I didn’t have community or know how to talk to people so I would read so I wouldn’t have to interact with anyone. No one taught me how to socialize. Even now as a teenager I’m always on my phone because I don’t know how to socialize with people and it always feels awkward. I’m not saying this is everyone, this is just me personally from my experience.

Annabethowl

On top of the crisis of the world we all snack on everyday.

Rarely is there a place that you can just hang at without no loitering or police presence. Let alone for free

Parks are dangerous because for years they told us homeless sell drugs there. Well there goes the park.

Schools been out for years. That's out of the question.

Everything is a highway or a street with no name for miles. Cities connected by 3 interchanges. Bustling. 

Yet you gotta pay to play. 

Food. 10-20$
Socializing 10-100+$ depending on clubs. Bars. Or just shoppin with friends. 

When you realize nothing works out to "enough money" every dollar is spent in misery. 

We shouldn't have to worry rent to socialize for 10$

But we do. To belong.

MetadonDrelle

I think it's the same as miscarriages: We are more aware, so they seem higher. 


There are kids who have lived through genocide, plagues, war, and collapse of civilization since time immemorial. They just suffered in silence and on the other side of the coin didn't have their pain pathologised as "What's wrong with the kids these days."

So let’s talk solutions, and I don’t mean on a grand scale. I mean at home. What can we do as parents, limit social media, make our kids go outside, sit and listen to them? 

I witnessed my 7 y/o have a melt down/ anxiety attack a few weeks ago about how she was “ruining our night together.” I was getting ready to leave for a travel assignment the next  day and she had gotten in trouble that day for talking back and wasn’t allowed to watch tv. In reality she just wasn’t allowed to pick what we watched. We ended up watch Guardians of The Galaxy because I like it.

careysrn

I think electronic devices and social media are some of the worst things ever invented by humans tbh, spoken as a daily user of these things. I never thought I'd say it but I think smart phones are extremely harmful to society overall.

oralabora

Social media. There is research to back it up too.

Especially in adolescent/teen girls. The rates of depression, anxiety and suicide have been constantly climbing since social media was introduced.

I am fortunate to have graduated high school in 2007 so I think I squeaked by, but I cannot imagine surviving high school had social media been a way bigger thing. We had MSN messenger and MySpace, but they are way different beasts than social media today.

-UnicornFart

The responses are just making me want to cease existing more than usual. Good times. Late millennial here.

joshistaken

This is one of my reasons my 12 year old isn’t getting a phone anytime soon. No way would I give them that portal to the land of compare yourself to everyone else during the onset of puberty.

jenhinb

Future is bleak. Everything is unaffordable.

No_Scientist9241

Not_High_Maintenance

To be fair I think it has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of them feel like they really have nothing to look forward to but sweat and tears jut to eat and have a place to sleep. The wealth inequalities and the fast they have to work till 80 is taking its toll on people.

MayaMiaMe

How do people recognize this stuff and still go to work 5 days a week 8 hours a day?  Or whatever your schedule is I just mean work in general how do you do it without breaking down

Lost2nite389

The world genuinely feels pointless. We are hurtling towards destroying our earth to the point of no return. Our bodies are so full of microplastics, social media means these visions of the wars going on are a daily thing. As a young adult I’m watching more of my friends grapple with malnutrition and homelessness when we should be planning weddings and starting families. 

The world feels like it’s falling down around us and we are forced to just continue going to work and pay bills, usually ruining our bodies physically in one way or another cause usually physically demanding jobs are the easiest way for us to get higher paying jobs. Can’t afford to go to Uni to pursue the dream job I actually want unless I joined the Army to do it. It’s such a surreal feeling idk if I can even put into words but we’re just watching the world burn and dealing with the fact that the people in power value money over human life

Impossible-Aside1047

I work in a Peds practice in an area with a lot of healthcare gaps. The age of kids who has suicidal ideation are getting a lot younger, most recently someone who was 5 who was getting bullied at school, and had a less than ideal home life. The child told the doctor that they didn’t want to live anymore and he saw a video on how to hang themselves. My heart broke for more reasons than 1. 
It also hard too because it’s such a shortage of child mental/ behavioral health providers, especially in a poor community. 
I honestly think that a lot of social media has to do with the upsurge of mental health issues, but in the fact that it’s a double edged sword. On one hand it’s good to present awareness and help others to see that they’re not alone struggling with mental health issues…but on the other hand, I see a lot of people who see things on social media, try to keep up and get severely depressed when they can’t. 
Also, with social media, access to others are constant and instantaneous. In the past, your bully only bullied you at school. Now they not only can bully you at school, but when you’re at home, or doing something that you enjoy. It’s a very demoralizing feeling. But to answer your question, it is being seen and noticed a lot more.

Neuro_Spicylady

I think a lot of it is just more awareness / recognition of mental health issues. I don't think instances are actually going up, they are just talked about more and being destigmatized. I think that's a good thing!

Greowulf

Because the older people have left them a world of shit.

blendergremlin

I do think social media is one of the biggest factors, everything you see on there is fake. People create a fake persona where they only show their best bits, therefore we constantly compare our lives to others. Instagram is the worst for this, hence why I deleted the app years ago.

Ja333mes712

There is no hope for the future and hopelessness is not healthy.

Odd-Bumblebee00

I know a lot of people default to social media, but I want to weigh in as a 21-year-old, a lot of things in the world have gotten worse even in our modern age, social media has only helped make the issues more accessible to learn about.

Like the younger gens are still subject to be victims of abuse like all the previous generations however younger gens have the ability to actually identify that their mental health IS poor.

godessnerd

Many people in this thread have shared a lot of opinions I agree with. However, it has not been stated enough that many of the social and mental issues of today are being created by the conditions in which we live economically and globally. Many young people have to come to terms with the fact that we are driving straight into a climate catastrophe where many people will suffer and even die without the power to do anything about it. We grow learning in school about liberal ideals of equality, fraternity, and liberty, yet due to social and mass media, we are confronted with the dichotomy of reality where children in third world countries are exploited to feed developed economies as our political apparatus continue to be corrupted by greedy and selfish capital interests, most of us are taught that violence and war is wrong yet our countries which are supposed to represent us constantly engage in despicable inhumane actions across the globe. Some do not even explore these underline issues but never the less suffer from these hidden contradictions subconsciously, IMO.

SexyBrownMale

Our brains were not built for this environment. And instead of finding ways to maintain a healthy balance, we find easy labels and excuses and dose them with medication. 

We’re meant to live simplistic lifestyles with the occasional encounter with a predator (sabertooth tiger) that induces temporary anxiety. Instead we’re forcing them to short circuit.

Celticness

I do not think that social media is the big one. I think it comes down to our dreams and hopes being taken away/ cut down to just basic needs. The young generation is not aloud to dream on thier own. They have to fix everything. Wars that started decades ago, a dying planet which the generations who have ruined seemingly take no interest in helping us to fix it but rather seem hell bent on making everything a terrible as possible, all while demanding respect from the younger generation. They call us lazy for just working our asses off just to pay for a house to rent. Amd when we ask for help their advice is just to eat less avocados. 

We get laughed at for wanted same sex marriages to be a thing that can be encouraged and take part in spreading the love. Because it is not manly. Training for the millionth pointless war of the planet is much cooler

We are the generation that gives a crap about the state of the world and the things in it. Just like we treat our pets as lving things and we want the best for them.

I could go on and on for a very long time but you get the gist of it. Is boils down to hopelessness. Either i die in a war that a bunch of 50+ year old billionaires want to happen, or i spend my time limited time on earth working to afford the nost basic of needs. What is the point? I will be unhappy anyways. We have to give everything so that the people who have been taking for their entire lives get to keep taking. No generation gives a flying rats ass about us. According to them its our fault anyway.

Just_another_weeb2

Politics, inflation, poor wages, unable to afford life, no more dreams because they see the reality

Educational-Cod-9641

I have hereditary mental disorders which is all over my family tree, and not by diagnosis. Diagnoses have been for those born in later times. But before that there is alcoholism, institutionalizations, suicides and «neuroticism». People were always sick, they just didn’t have words or talked about it properly.

Upstairs_Cost_3975

it’s not that there are more cases and more people have mental health issues, but that it’s more widely accepted now. many mental health issues are hereditary so it may just be that their parents issues were ignored, and now they aren’t ignoring their own issues. 

however, i will say social media has caused some mental health issues. personally, i was extremely suicidal in elementary school before i had social media, but thats just me.

Substantial-Duck-22

I grew up in the 80s.  Back then there was plenty of media talking about mental health.  The "very special" episodes were a clue.  But media just didn't have nearly the prominence that it does today.  Plus, for privileged white kids living in suburbs, they didn't suffer anywhere near the issues that kids today face.  I mean, the lingering threat that your school might be next in a mass shooting event probably has a pretty big effect on the psyche of kids.  But what might be the biggest issue, is the fact that the future is so horribly uncertain for kids now.  In the 80s and 90s it was just assumed that you would go to college and be able to afford a starter home after getting a job.  That promise is nowhere near a reality now.  Not to mention the fact climate change is also going to screw things up in ways we can't even comprehend.  The point is, there are a lot of stressors and hopeless things kids have to face everyday.  Add to that, kids are thrown into a fucking grind now with all of their expectations for sports and extracurriculars, it's absolutely no wonder mental health of kids is so poor.  The world we created, for the first time in American history, is much worse than that of our parents.  It pisses me off every day.

ClarenceJBoddicker

Lack of structure and resources available to those who are most needy in cases of mental health is the biggest factor. Not enough proper education on what is entailed within the diseases and not enough practical help to those who need it

tianacute46

Mental health was never really openly discussed until pretty recently. Depression and anxiety were stigmatized and seeking help was demonized by older generations. Going to a therapist was something you never told anyone about because admitting you had mental health issues was basically like admitting you were crazy or weak.

The younger generations have changed this perception and I admire them for seeking help and prioritizing their mental health. I don't think there's so much of an uptick in mental health concerns, it's just talked about openly now.

katwoop

Kbaggs3

So the social model of mental health suggests that mental health is highly influenced by society, culture, environmental, and economic factors. Considering that most people have not have their needs met in these areas, the rise of mental health issues is imminent. Add to it the fact that humans are dealing with things that are extremely new to us, our brains are not able to cope. 
Additionally, we are also now trying to understand why mental health issues exist; awareness and sensitisation is high. 

In my personal opinion though, society looks at mental health as an individual issue instead of a societal one, because it is easier to work (and blame) a person, instead of blaming the capitalist system.

the_chaivinist

People are simply becoming more aware of this shit. That's what's going on. Beforehand, people were still dealing with this stuff, but it was just kept way more under wraps.

A lot of it has to do with the decreased stigma toward therapy.

Society is also an absurd place.

SpaceMyopia

Wasn't mentioned due to the stigma behind it. You still see older generations suffering in silence

SixSevenTwo

It was almost 20 years ago (I was 13) when I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety symptoms. It was actually very common for people to speak openly about mental health, even at that time. What I was going through wasn’t unique or unheard of and I was able to get onto antidepressants by 15 and was seen under the local Children &amp; Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS). Adolescence and young adulthood is the typical period in which mental health conditions or symptoms surface and develop. Many doctors don’t want to diagnose MH conditions or personality disorders until you reach adulthood and have fully developed/matured, however treatment is still available for symptoms when you are younger. 

In terms of prominence with the younger generation of that time, there was a big “trend” if you will of emo/depressive subculture for teens my age. Even before that when my parents were young, there was the melancholy goth youth stereotype. Before that.. well you get the picture. 

There have always been people in society who are depressed or suffering with mental health issues, young and old. Talking about it or sharing your experiences has just become less stigmatised over time and more socially acceptable. Many people find talking about these shared experiences a source of comfort and feel less isolated, which is so important when social isolation &amp; becoming withdrawn is such a key factor in many depressive episodes or mental health conditions. I think each generation has got a little better at opening up about their mental health experiences and I commend each one for making it a little easier for the next gen to pick up the ball and run with it. 

I know people often blame the “rise” in mental health issues on the rise of social media but I don’t know if that’s my experience. I recognise that others may have suffered due to it and I completely sympathise and don’t want to diminish that. However for me personally, I think the pandemic would have been doubly fucking awful and even more isolating without social media. I also think being able to connect with others (old friends, colleagues and distant family) remotely is quite powerful in helping overcome barriers to social interactions that occur alongside mental health issues. I know that’s not a one size fits all perspective though, just the other side of the coin.

InTheseBoness

I find it so difficult so connect with others in Irl that youtube and twitch is all I feel like is keeping me connected to the world. Sometimes I just drive my car to like a busy shopping center so I can just watch people I don't know because it helps with the depression of my empty home.

AdSuspicious8974

Hyrule_34

The world sucks to live in currently, and we don't have a lot to look forward to. At least in America, the "American dream" is financially not possible for us to achieve unless we wait til our senior years to enjoy it, but who wants to do that? 

To add something I haven't seen a lot of people talk about: This country is so hostile towards children that it would just be cruel to bring them into it, so our dreams of having happy families are permanently soiled. I say permanently because there is very little reason to believe that things will get better.

bloodpumpkin

Mass casualties events haven’t helped our collective psyches. Too many folks picking up guns to solve their problems.

Melodicspacetraveler

People hear about it and when they are going through a  rough time they relate that to depression it actually makes it harder for those with real depression to be believed because of the influx of people. They never took me serious when I was under 25 and had depression, I have a huge family history of suicide. Now I’m 29 and they can see on my record that I have been getting treated for 12 years they are more likely to help… but man my life wouldn’t be so fucked if any of them had of helped me or believed me when I was 18-21…

I have multiple friends who were treated who once they got to 25+ admitted they are sure they never had depression and are shocked to their core when I explain what it’s like being in my head the brain of a clinically depressed person.

Left-Geologist8183

Hi, I'll give you my own experience and also my classmates when we were younger. I used to fall into that trap a decade ago. I was happy with my life back then, but I was also comparing myself to all the other teenagers and young professionals on Tik Tok having amazing lives and seeing 20-somethings and 30-somethings travel all over the world. I used to think, "Wow, they are so much better off" or "they have such luxury fun lives. Can I grow up to be like them?" When I got older, I realized a lot of it was either fake, sponsored/paid by brands, or carefully crafted to make a wonderful persona. I remember my classmates and I used to say "Wow, look at so-and-so influencer having their best life. We're so boring and normal!" It's just that when we are/were young, we didn't know any better and thought a lot of the best lives we saw on Tik Tok was real. We wanted to be like them. We wanted to grow up like them. That's my take on it, from how I personally felt about a decade ago or so. Tik Tok came in around 2016 or 2017 if I remember correctly, instagram and Snapchat a few years before that, and Roblox way before any of these.

Ironically now, I am on social media. But my content is just about a boring introvert's life and nothing fancy or luxurious and no travel around the world in a Ferrari or private jet, lol. Just a peaceful life of stuff I like to do or enjoy. And I'm content with that.

Social media also causes a lot of issues with relationships and pressure to be a certain way and look a certain way.. 

People aren’t staying in marriages or relationships anymore cause infidelity is easier to spot and easier to do. 

Then, covid. Fetynal blew up in the last 10 years also. Families being torn apart from that..

Cost of living, quality of life has gone done exponentially. 

There’s a lot.

wolflikme

Because it’s less-stigmatized (thankfully)

liltinyoranges

Social media combined with the social impacts of the pandemic has been a real 1-2 punch.

zzctdi

People on social media are highlighting it more and spreading more awareness about it.

litebrite93

It’s not being downplayed and you’re not in danger of immediately being sent to a mental hospital or an insane asylum for simply saying you’re depressed or have any other mental health issue.

Munro_McLaren

I think it’s largely due to mental health issues becoming less stigmatized. I know factors like social media and the current state of the world aren’t helping but I also think discussing mental health struggles isn’t as taboo as it was before and  I believe it’s a good thing.

heroine_bob980

Well to me, I believe it is because of social media family issues for the most part and everyone just trying to make it and compete with others

It really does have that much of an effect. It depends on the person, some are more sensitive than others. But as an empath, for me, it was always very draining and caused depression and rifts with family and friends. I'm a much happier person with no social media.

Initial_Shirt1419

Awareness has increased but this jaded Gen X’er says technology advances, particularly “social” (not-IRL interactions), messed with our reward system. Kids esp vulnerable. There is far too much INSTANT GRATIFICATION w/ just about anything. Going to the “tape/CD store” for that new album you’ve been waiting for…sounds mundane today but was so rewarding pre and early-Internet. Waiting for favorite song to hit the radio. Imagination - play I hope will not die out but things are def more digital now.

And it was so peaceful to be able to not be tracked down, called, pinged, dinged, or whatever if you simply left the house. And you could genuinely believe just about any sort of video footage. If it was caught on camera, u could trust ur eyes. Fakes were hilariously horrendous. Today? I feel like I can’t trust a damn thing I’m looking at (on a screen). Just reading from the screen makes me wonder if any “facts” are being stretched just to manipulate my opinion.

TubeNoobed

Modern life isn't good for a lot of people mentally, and there's very little hope for the future. And with everything being so public now with the Internet, there's pressure on young people to succeed and do well. To show their lives as happy and exciting.

a_beautiful_kappa

Repulsive_Regular_39

We've had a mental health crisis for hundreds of years,  it's just never been acknowledged or worked on until recently. People are starting to break generational curses and that comes with a lot of baggage. People are starting to realize that just surviving isn't enough and they are starting to work towards healing themselves,  but our entire life is stacked against us from the beginning. It's not just young people either, they're just more vocal about it, because they have the vocabulary to say what they're going through, while the older generations stay in denial about their traumas and issues and just pretend they're not there.

hatsandmagic

Do you see the world they've inherited?  There's no future.

justthenighttonight

bblt24

The top two comments are definitely the biggest contributing factors:

1) awareness and study of mental health issues keeps progressing

2) the world is being cooked into a steaming pile of shit by world power struggles, oligarchs, corporations, and the wealthy at large

CharlottesWebbedFeet

Todays young generations seems to have zero stigma attached to mental health. Therefore, it’s more only discussed and reported

Jkim3508

It’s not all of this, but social media on net has brought more self-consciousness, stimuli, and pressure than one brain can reasonably filter through effectively.

RyHammond

It’s a combination of social media and corporations and the government destroying any semblance of community so they can control you.

RelationTurbulent963

There’s more awareness and resources. A lot of older people are neurodivergent but went undiagnosed because it was shameful back in the day. Also, lobotomy’s were very popular and I think they tried to avoid that by ignoring their mental health.

Because older generation rawdogging their life and didn't know they have it.

They just get blamed for their weird behavior on bad personality.

XinGst

We see a rise in the rates of people being diagnosed and getting help because some of the stigma has gradually eroded over time and the systems to support these youth were built. The incidence of mental health crises in adolescents has probably always been at about the same rate, but the general public is more open to options like therapy now.

Dreaming0fPerfection

Lots of people self diagnosing and thinking it’s trendy. 

NoHovercraft2254

There’s a lot of factors beyond childhood trauma. There’s social media (both comparing your life to others and bullying), pressure to be successful in life (prices of everything make it very difficult to live an average life), stress from having to work long hours to make ends meet for most people (it’s borderline criminal to work 5 days a week imo).

That’s just off the top of my head, but there is lot more.

Sea-Ad1755

I believe this could be due to a few possibilities:

1. Their crazy parents damaged their emotions. The parents of new milenials and gen z grew up exposed to darker TV thanks to a mad woman called Margerate Thatcher who blew away broadcasting standards rules. This resulted in a sudden tsunami of TV production companies all competing to make the darkest most shocking and evil drama possible. This was a turning point in the UK. This made a lot of crazy shit suddenly more acceptable in the mainstream. This resulted in young minds of those days becoming g more desensitised to violence and sexual crimes. A % of humans do react in the real world to this. These same humans had babies who we now see today with their issues. 

2. The Internet added to point one in a huge way. Children of the past were not exposed to the cold, harsh facts of reality like they are now. They see everything possible on the Internet. This results in a very scary world before young people have developed emotionally to deal with it. 

3. Most young people spend a lot of time on the Internet to the point of it becoming the basis for human inclusion and interaction. It becomes their world completely. They live online. Social media is the new way to strutt and advertise for a mate using graphics, selfies and status posts. They end up with arrested development in regards to face to face real world social confidence. This results in issues involving social anxiety and confusion with self-esteem. The real world becomes a place where they are quite unprepared for. A place that impacts their nervous system uncomfortably. 

4. The economies of the Western world are not as strong as in earlier decades. Additionally, we then had a global pandemic, which resulted in huge losses of economic wealth and development. Prices have risen like never before. The cost of living has sky rocketed. As a result, more and more young people are opting to live longer with mum and dad in their home because it is the cheapest option. They can not just go and buy their first house without a huge deposit or stable income from a stable job. And so young people do worry more about their future. Many get ejected from the parental domain and become homeless. The dire reality of that existence often leads to dark street enterprises and drugs. 

5. Global warming is a real thing and is predicted to have real consequences in the young of today's lifetimes. In addition there is the added mayhem of political instability. The constant threat of world war three, Orange man and the Mars cadet installed in the Whitehouse, rocking the very foundations of planet Earths society with their insane decisions and plans. 

These are just a few of the reasons why young people today might suffer more with their mental health.

Poor things. 

#**Basil Simon**

[Official Web site.. ](https://www.basilsimon.com)

goodness-matters

Social media, a horrible economy, super expensive cost of living, current political divide that isn't helping to make anything better for anyone, lack of hope and faith in justice, high student loans that saddle a 21yr old with debt up into the $50k+; more if they want to continue their education; all for no guarantee that they will make enough to pay it back and buy a house. Scared that we are losing our planet and there is literally nothing we can do about it because the ones who have caused the pollution don't care/aren't alive anymore. Probably all of that and then some.

sourdo

seo_help_

I think we underestimate how many people just walked around untreated.  My next suspicion is unfounded but I think that plastics have a big effect on behavior too.

The increased usage of social media according to me. When we see reels or short videos continuously for a long period, we tend to feel different emotions in a short term period which isn't really good for the mind. 

Also inability to open up to a trusted individual in today's time also contributes.

Mindless consumption of social media content and being immersed in the digital world has made people Stop thinking. Hence they don't know what to do when they are in difficult situations. 
The Beleif in self has gone down bcos we all want to be like someone else whom we idolise on social media. 
We have no time to know who we really are. 
We have created distance between us n people around us. We have isolated self and have no time to look up from the screens. 
Life happens outside...not on screens. Hence mental health has been badly affected over the past decade.

mindcoachanukris

I mean... *gestures broadly at everything*

GamingGamer38

Delhi based Psychiatrist here : my 2 cent for the same : so In my clinical experience and having extensive sessions with the family my understanding has evolved on why so many mental health issues in today’s youth . 

1. People born before 2000 were born and brought in resource restricted environment . We all succeeded in life not because we wanted to be successful rather for the fear of failure we succeeded in life . Today’s generation have established parents and they are resource rich from the moment they were born and there for they need higher effort to get the mental satisfaction. When there are too many choices there will be cognitive fatigue . 

2. As compared to people born before 2000 I feel today’s generation has many social media accounts but a poor social circle . Not able to differentiate between reel and real. Youth wants everything fast paced and not have the patience , deligence and resilience to do hard work , rather they hardly work . 

3. Easy availability of addictive substances . How easy it has become for anyone to procure from cannabis to hard stuff which has created much more problems . 


The list is endless … I can do a webinar for the same on how to take care of your mental health , how to die tidy of someone else has mental health problems and so on …

zatokumeino

Research indicates a significant decline in mental health among young people, with rising rates of anxiety and depression attributed to social pressures and the COVID-19 aftermath.

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