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The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
211–220 of 937 posts
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#212I feel like people in general more easily diagnose themselves and others with depression or other mental diseases recently. I find it hard to judge whether it’s due to any external factor or some form of zeitgeist.
That's addressed in the post. There is some of that, but there are similar increases in hospitalisation for self-harm, which wouldn't be affected by an increase in awareness of mental illness.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#213I think all the social media stuff is missing the mark. It's 100% bad but it's just trash filling the hole society is making. Looking top down at the problem, humans need self actualization or propose to be happy. Originally we evolved to live in medium sized social groups that worked together to ensure their survival, we took care of each other and that was what drove our purpose, or rather why that need evolved, it…
We went rather quickly from a situation where it was quite easy to explain to kids what is expected of them - you hunt, survive or maintain a farm to survive - to a situation where the value of an action depends on a million things.
And, just to add yet another layer of complexity, there are few certain things about the future regarding what you need to know or do to thrive in it. Most jobs today might be obsolete by the time kids graduate. .
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that arc largely peaked in the 1980s and 1990s with stranger danger and the satanic panic nonsense. Helicopter parents and people calling social services on unattended kids was already a meme by the 90s.
A lot of that cultural change in attitudes can be traced back to the Etan Patz kidnapping case in 1979. That case received widespread, prolonged media attention at the time which made many parents more fearful. He was one of the first missing children to be featured on milk cartons which made it impossible to ignore. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/etan-patz-case-verdict-pedro-he...
It seemed free roaming was still widely accepted in the 90s though? What changed since the 2000s?
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#215[flagged]
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
This resonates with what I've observed: I've asked several close family members and friends (between 16-22) what's troubling them and the most common answer is that they feel they're behind in life. They feel that they must already be driving an exotic car, surrounded by tons of potential partners, and at the top of their game—I assume these expectations are set by the content they consume and interact with on a dail…
Even without raised expectations, people have got to be disappointed that they can't get the same things as the previous generation. Hell they can't even get basic things at a reasonable price. I'm out of touch with the reality of teenagers, but it feels like they're expected to fight harder and harder for less and less. Someone else also talked about how everything became dominated by metrics and competition. It has…
"but it feels like they're expected to fight harder and harder for less and less."
And they also should feel ashamed for what they get and consume, as it has a CO2 impact and their future is doomed if they use too much. But in my experience, climate change is a minor factor, compared to the always comparing yourself not to your local group anymore, but the whole world.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#217Not just social media, but always online mentality. Spending all your time online gives you a skewed perception of the world and I believe being online always is a major negative. Spending time outside is good for you. Socializing with real people in front of you is good also. Not sure if we can ever go back to that without some major catastrophe.
So quick to blame social media, even the article just waves it's hand and makes the assumption. Why not declining social mobility? Why not climate change anxiety? Why not late stage capitalism? Nah, it's always easy to blame Tik Tok as if the chosen release isn't indicative of something much greater going on.
I think the sort of people who push "climate change anxiety" and espouse theories about "late stage capitalism" are a huge, huge part of the problem. Near every communist I've met was miserable.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#218Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#219I think all the social media stuff is missing the mark. It's 100% bad but it's just trash filling the hole society is making. Looking top down at the problem, humans need self actualization or propose to be happy. Originally we evolved to live in medium sized social groups that worked together to ensure their survival, we took care of each other and that was what drove our purpose, or rather why that need evolved, it…
All this talk about “community” - what “community”? It simply doesn’t exist anymore even if you wanted it - short of arranging to stay near your extended family and in laws, what else is there in the modern western world? Churches, I guess is the only other true community left…
Communities used to naturally form in third spaces, when people were bored.
We have an unhealthy deficit of both third spaces and boredom.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
#220The DSM-5 was published in 2013, redefining the 'mental health' diagnosis landscape substantially. You will see in some pf the graphs arpid onset of the climb in 2023.
Could changes in diagnosis and treatment be a factor in this?