The well-being of youth and young adults has become a growing concern, to the point that the American Academy of Pediatrics has called it a “national emergency.” Suicide rates among those from 10 to 24 have risen 62 percent since 2007, and in 2021, the CDC reported that nearly 60 percent of teen girls said they felt “persistently sad and hopeless.” Harvard’s decades-long Human Flourishing Project recently found that young adult well-being has declined precipitously, with greater depression, relationship challenges, financial stress, loneliness, and lack of meaning. This is a serious trend. What’s going on?

As with most social problems, this one is complicated, with roots in everything from social media use to economic pressure. However, there are key cultural shifts fueling this decline in mental health. Here are six of the most relevant trends.

1. Pressure and Overload

Young people today face heavy burdens. With academic and social responsibilities, global crises including climate change, pandemics, and political instability, many feel discouraged and overwhelmed. As one example, during the pandemic, 40 percent of U.S. students reported poor mental health, and over half worried that the “world is doomed.”

Work-life balance is nothing new for young people who juggle school, jobs, family, financial stress, mental health, and relationships. However, today’s world amplifies these stressors in unique ways, and nowhere is this truer than with screens.

2. The Power and Pitfalls of Screens

Smartphones have become, for good and ill, an extension of our very souls. Young people have grown up living in an online world. Jonathan Haidt has argued that this has created a “great rewiring” of young brains. He suggests screens have interfered with normal growth, and that time online increases social stress, comparisons, bullying, and unrealistic expectations. Nearly half of teens report that social media makes them feel worse about themselves, and almost 60 percent of teen girls say they’ve received unwanted or creepy messages from strangers online.

Evidence has found that teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media are at double the risk for mental health issues, and this is concerning given that the average teen spends 4.8 hours on social media every day. This same study found that 41 percent of teens with the highest social media use experience their mental health as poor or very poor, compared with 23 percent of those with the lowest use. Many teens are spending a full workday scrolling, gaming, comparing, and absorbing content that is designed to provoke, scare, shock, misinform, arouse, or enrage. Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and author of Dopamine Nation, likens the smartphone to “a modern-day hypodermic needle,” delivering “digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation.” Our brains are having a hard time coping with this bombardment of stimuli. We are wired to gawk at these escapes and thrills, and it is easier to sit and scroll than meditate or tackle hard work. The path of least resistance is seductive, and many are pulled in.

3. The Cost of Access and Ease

Screens make it easy to veg out and lose focus, and in the same way, other aspects of urbanization and modern convenience have undermined growth and resilience. Sedentary lifestyles, processed foods, and constant comfort have taken away physical and mental challenges that support wellness. We are built to move, hunt, gather, problem solve, and connect with our tribes and families. Instead of this robust life, we now have a lot of sitting, scrolling, and snacking. We are constantly tempted to put poor nutrients into our bodies and minds. In a post on X, entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant summarized how this wears us down: “The modern struggle: Lone individuals summoning inhuman willpower, fasting, meditating, and exercising… Up against armies of scientists and statisticians weaponizing abundant food, screens, and medicine into junk food, clickbait news, infinite porn, endless games, and addictive drugs.”

3. Family Strains and Overprotection

Family life has also changed significantly over the last several decades. Cultural stressors affect all ages, parents are also busy and distracted, and many marriages are strained. Family interaction has declined, and children now are more likely than in years past to be inside on screens rather than outside in independent play. Parents are also more protective, and according to researcher Peter Gray, this decline in freedom has contributed significantly to rising anxiety and depression. He has argued that “a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam, and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults.”

Children who don’t have chances to explore the world on their own may miss crucial developmental milestones that build confidence and hardiness. Time spent outdoors is also associated with lower stress and better attention spans.

5. Loneliness and Disconnection

One ironic development in our hyper-connected world is an increase in loneliness and a shortage of meaningful connection. Loneliness is often correctly seen as a plague among the elderly, and increases risk for depression, heart attack, stroke, and dementia in these groups. One study found a 29 percent increased risk of premature death among those living alone, and a 26 percent increase among those who simply felt lonely.

However, loneliness is also on the rise in young people, with many experiencing anxiety and disconnection among their peers. Many feel this in their families as well. A 2021 survey found that 61 percent of young adults reported feeling lonely “frequently” or “almost all the time.” This is concerning as young people without close friendships or family relationships are 10 times more likely to experience mental health challenges.

6. Increased Awareness and Overidentification

Part of the increase in reported mental illness is due to increased understanding. The growing dialogue on social media has raised awareness of tough issues. Young people today are more comfortable talking about their own struggles, which can help them find support and answers to complex questions.

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However, this tendency toward bonding online can lead to misdiagnosis and overidentification. In a culture where diagnosis is common and mental health language is everywhere, some may label ordinary struggles as disorders or see themselves through a lens of pathology. The pull of a supportive group may influence some to interpret typical trials in diagnostic ways. We shouldn’t stop talking about mental health, but it should be done with nuance and care, seeking knowledge that is based on reliable sources.

So what can be done? In a related post, I discuss six ways we can help improve mental health outcomes among young people.