Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 230 posts

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#211

Post by akhilcacharya »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #147

Having directed this to my teenaged younger sibling (he is intelligent and expressive) he explained in his view, teenagers have a poor prognosis for their career prospects and are aware of this. Technology allows them to be aware that life doesn’t look good for them, that they cannot look forward to retirement, to a stable long term career, that the amount of education and debt they will need to accrue is ever-increa…

> that life doesn’t look good for them, that they cannot look forward to retirement, to a stable long term career, that the amount of education and debt they will need to accrue is ever-increasing

> attends one of the best schools in the nation

um, what?

I get this feeling if you don't go to one of the best schools in the nation - like me - but I'd be very surprised to see the same attitude at Harvard or Stanford.

Those guys are so happy!

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#212

Post by enord »

qball wrote: post #124
enord wrote: post #10

Did this trend start with social media? We are doing lots of stuff to teenagers these days that we didnt do before. They are beholden to expectations far narrower than we were. We treat them as adults in school (by making them responsible for their own performance through grading and measuring) from a very young age, yet we don't really cut the umbelical cord (grant them autonomy) until they're in their twenties. Soc…

>We treat them as adults in school (by making them responsible for their own performance through grading and measuring) from a very young age, yet we don't really cut the umbelical cord (grant them autonomy) until they're in their twenties. It's inflation, pure and simple. (Alternately, any forced work without reward is called "slavery", and since it's [biologically speaking] totally fine to make slaves of the disenf…

More trade work, war, education crash, hiring reform... All good means, but what is the end? Lower unemployment? I'll take it, but I'm talking about something slightly different: Happy children (and people in general).

If people are thriving they will be more productive, more receptive and more motivated. This is not controversial and by now well established in business practice, but it's pretty far down the list of what we endow our children and students. Of course the dean will say all these things, but they're platitudes and the money says otherwise. It's just not a priority.

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#213

Post by Angostura »

hellos123 wrote: post #122
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You realize back in the older days people did the exact same thing with books and newspapers? At least with phones we can talk with people we’re meeting up with.

I really hope you are kidding. Books and newspapers have the power to enrich the mind with knowledge. Writing a book requires dedication and thought out arguments. Apps are designed to get you hooked on rewards. Twitter allows people to communicate with each others, but if its just garbage coming out, then it does more harm than good. Look at the president. Books are like fruits and vegetables. Apps are sugary drinks…

> I see you are unfamiliar with the Daily Mail

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#214

Post by [deleted] »

dgudkov wrote: post #197
throwaway413 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We moved to a new city. I work full time (from home) as a SWE. She is a stay at home mom. She met new people on IG in our new city, made friends. I thought it was great. My wife has a hole deep inside her from years of childhood abuse. She has no career, is early 20s like myself, and has yet to figure herself out. As the months went by, she filled that hole more and more with her connections on IG and less with our f…

I highly recommend reading "The Rational Male" (book). Besides other valuable insights it will give you a good understanding of what you describe here as "groupthink" and "secret pact".

[deleted]

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#215

Post by Snackchez »

saagarjha wrote: post #136
Snackchez wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As this is n = 1, take this with a grain of salt, but as a high school teacher I can tell you that's definitely not what teenagers are doing with their phones the majority of the time. Your view is very optimistic; for the most part, kids are sending each other snaps and checking IG for high school drama, fashion, make up, gossip, memes, and those fitness inspo pics. That last observation comes from the fact that apa…

That may be what most of your students are doing, but does not preclude the fact that there are ways to use social media (including Instagram) effectively, and that there are certainly people who are doing this.

Yes, agreed. But what I'm saying is that, I don't believe the average teenager uses social media in a "healthy" nor "educational" type of way.

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#216

Post by gonehome »

monort wrote: post #208
gonehome wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the risk of generalizing from anecdotal evidence - Instagram seems to be the worst by far for this kind of thing. All images, little content and no good way to really communicate. The heavy users I’ve known just endlessly scroll through images of attractive ‘influencers’, dogs, makeup ads, or just photos posted by friends (mostly using it to show off as mentioned in the article). While Facebook will have discussio…

Do you actually use Instagram yourself? From my anecdotal evidence - IG is the greatest source of new friends (do you know how hard to get a friend when you are an adult? It's easy with IG). Most communication happens in private messages, so you don't see it.

How is it a source of new friends?

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#217

Post by osrec »

exodust wrote: post #168
osrec wrote: post #95

Comparatives are too easy to draw these days because of social media. Everyone has an image of the most popular/successful person in their face all the time. It's hard not to compare yourself! And when you fall short in comparison, it makes you feel unhappy. Then it makes you feel like you need some moonshot idea to elevate your standards - that puts pressure on you and invariably drives anxiety. I see growing levels…

I still don't see how comparing to success causes unhappiness. This theory is too convenient and is spreading like a disease. When you see someone who is popular and successful, the normal and healthy response is admiration and inspiration. If you fail to have your own wins of some kind, then this could be the source of unhappiness, but that is because you didn't have a win, not because others did.

It causes unhappiness because it highlights that you are relatively worse off. And I wasn't talking about comparisons between yourself and some random celebrity, but moreso a comparison between yourself and a person you might have been at college with. If that person is doing exceptionally well, and you're doing just okay, there is a strong chance it will stir up jealously and negativity rather than admiration. This is also the topic of multiple sitcoms, which generally tend to zoom in on relatable facets of human nature ;)

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#218

Post by crusso »

throwaway413 wrote: post #45
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. This is a really sad story. I'm really sorry for you and hope you can get over this and find a better partner. Are you forced by the courts to pay her that $4K+/month? Because it would probably be better (not only for you, which is obvious, but for her) if you didn't.

No, we haven’t gone to court, no alimony or payments - luckily she wants to avoid it because her parents had a very messy divorce in her childhood. I pay for her because honestly I’m scared of the lifestyle my child will live. She doesn’t work. She makes no money. She would be on the streets honestly. Doesn’t speak to either of her parents. I recently emptied our joint bank account save $100. She flipped. Every time…

I've seen this kind of scenario before. Don't let circumstances bleed you dry. Take decisive action to clear up the financial questions and go to a judge/lawyer if that's what it takes. Keep records of every dollar that goes anywhere, evidence of infidelity, etc.

You can always decide to be more generous later, but let that be your decision, not hers or some disinterested third party that will assume that you went on living this way because you consented.

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#219

Post by exodust »

exodust wrote: post #107
greeneggs wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, perhaps they are being inspired. Planning their own art or adventure. If you're sitting on a train, why not? (Is reading a book equally objectionable, or is going to a museum?) It's rather offensive to judge people about whom you know nothing. (As is quoting President Trump as if he is an authority on anything.)

Agreed. Why not indeed. And people are doing different activities on their phone including games and reading news or whatever they want. It's a no-brainer why more people are depressed. From increasing environmental concerns including global warming, to violence and conflict, and a myriad of domestic issues that we can't not be aware of any more. I remember a time when I lived in a small town and was very incubated f…

OCD replying to myself, but I used the word "incubated" when I meant something more along the lines of shielded, unaware, protected, unaffected.

Re: Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed

#220

Post by monort »

gonehome wrote: post #216
monort wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you actually use Instagram yourself? From my anecdotal evidence - IG is the greatest source of new friends (do you know how hard to get a friend when you are an adult? It's easy with IG). Most communication happens in private messages, so you don't see it.

How is it a source of new friends?

It's acceptable and encouraged to follow unknown people on IG. I follow people with hobbies I like, some of them become friends due to interaction. Unfortunately this works only for hobbies that can be fit in a photo, I'd like to have a more generalized platform (anyone remembers Livejournal? :)

If you read comments here, you will find a few people who lost their significant others, because they got too many friends from Instagram and irreversibly changed!

Post reply on HN