Is it true that today’s youth are facing high levels of stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges? Has the world actually become a more difficult place for young people to live?
Today’s adolescents and young adults are growing up in a world very different from any generation before them—a world defined by rapid technological advancements, relentless social comparison, shifting family dynamics, and global uncertainties.
Let’s take a look at some specific factors at play, understand how have they changed the mental health space for young people today.
1. Social Media Pressure and Comparison:
Imagine a situation in real life, where your boss compares your performance with a peer who is doing better than you. How do you feel. You feel inadequate and unworthy at times, right. Now 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢. Unlike past generations, today’s youth are 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 their lives with idealized images and lives on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. This continuous comparison is slowly destroying their self-esteem and increase feelings of loneliness.
2. Cyber bullying and Online Harassment:
Bullying, earlier had a very limited space to operate like schools or other physical spaces, but now it follows young people home through their phones and computers. Cyber bullying is surely leading to anxiety, stress, and even trauma. Just try to read some comments on instagram or facebook to get an idea of how toxic they can be.
3. Academic and Career Pressures:
Take a look at the Coaching institute’s programs and you will find 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 8𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮 that they have to take, 4 years later. In today’s highly competitive world, young people feel immense pressure to excel academically and plan their careers from an early age. The competition for college admissions is fierce.
4. Climate Anxiety:
Ignorance is a bliss. But today’s youngsters are well versed with what is happening to their climate. While I write this article, 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘩𝘪 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 5 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘪𝘳 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘹. Many adolescents feel a sense of fear or helplessness about the future of the planet, leading to what’s now called
“Eco-anxiety.”
5. Information Overload:
Earlier generations were exposed to news for a limited time of the day (Newspapers and Television), but today’s youth are 𝘣𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 24/7. News about global events, tragedies, and crises reaches them instantly. While being informed is positive, constant exposure to negative news can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, and even depression.
6. Decreased Face-to-Face Interaction:
Many young people spend more time online than engaging in real-life social interactions. 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 miss on those social gatherings on tea stalls outside their workplace. Physical gatherings with friends and family, which are natural outlets for emotional support, have decreased, especially after the pandemic.
7. Increased Recognition and Diagnosis of Mental Health Issues:
Today, mental health issues are more widely recognized and diagnosed than in the past. There are 1000’𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 and get an idea about what is going wrong, in 5 minutes. This was not present earlier. While recognition is positive, it is creating a sense that these issues are more prevalent, than they were thought to be.
8. Changing Family Structures:
There has been a rise in single-parent households, divorce rates, and nuclear families. Youngsters in these family structures can find the transitions and adjustments difficult. Imagine a girl, who stays 5 days with a mother and spends two days with father, as they are not living together. Remember, family structures that accommodated three generations had a wider emotional cushion as compared to new forms of family structures.
9. Economic Uncertainty and Cost of Living Pressures:
Young people today are highly aware of the rising costs of housing, education, and living in general. Just saw a random post on linked In where the owner in 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 70% 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 10-20 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵. Take a look at the new job patterns emerging from the gig economy, and high student debt levels due to 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘐𝘛𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘐𝘔𝘴. Young generation in general and students in particular are often worried about their financial future in a way previous generations did not experience at the same age.
10. Focus on “Hustle Culture”: Modern culture places a heavy emphasis on constant productivity, quick success, and “hustling.” You can watch 1000’s of 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 $ 1 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 10 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. Young people often feel pressured to achieve something similar from a very young age. This constant pressure can be demoralizing, fueling the mental health issues among the youth.
11. Globalization and Cultural Identity Struggles: Young people today are exposed to a mix of cultures, identities, values and sexuality in ways previous generations weren’t. Trying to balance cultural expectations of families, their immediate social settings with modern values can lead to stress, confusion, and a feeling of being “caught between worlds.”
Conclusion
Despite the unique challenges faced by today’s youth, the 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦. Society is becoming more empathetic, resources are expanding, and young people are 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦 their well-being like never before. With continued support and a focus on preventive mental health care, this generation has the potential not only to overcome these challenges but to break stigma and redefine how we care for mental health as a whole.
