Young people are more likely to suffer from mental illness than ever before.  The number is exponentially increasing in underdeveloped countries. The most common mental health problems are anxiety, depression, and stress-related issues. According to a recent study, anxiety and depression constitute more than 40% of mental-health disorders among young people aged 10–19. In eastern Europe and most Asian countries, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in that age group. In the last 12 years, major depression among adolescents has doubled, which has rapidly accelerated since 2011. Roughly in the same period, the suicide rate increased by 48 % among the individual of age between 12 to 24. Statistics show the dire state of the growing mental health crisis in the young generation.

Due to the lack of statistics, inadequate resources, and expertise, it is challenging to monitor the mental health crisis in developing countries. Missing young girls from school and public places, suicides, self-harm, and substance abuse is manifesting the social turmoil in poor and underdeveloped communities. Social and cultural transformation in those areas is still insufficient to recognize that problems such as depression and anxiety are serious medical issues and a part of the disabilities. This article will summarize the reasons behind adolescent mental health crises based on recent studies and analyses.

Digital Media

Figure 1 clearly shows that the young generations are struggling with mental health crises. This linearly increasing number with time is a red flag for young communities and their parents. Growing research finds that the more time spent on social media, smartphones, and video gaming, the more a person is likely to experience mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, isolation, and hopelessness. At an early age, the young generation cannot handle that random information effectively, which eventually creates a lack of sleep, physical inadequacies, low complexity, and delusion in separating the natural and virtual worlds. Social isolation is another greatest threat growing among the young generation. Study shows that individual who spend more time on social media and less time in the real world will like to have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Commercial products such as streaming services,  social media, and gaming are designed to attract more users and users to spend more time on their platform. They feed every time users’ experiences and data to their algorithms such that the algorithm creates personalized recommendations, and one can be continuously engaged with their contents. The gaming programs are created to directly affect the brain’s reinforcement systems. When you play online gaming, you’re experiencing things that make you feel good about yourself, but in reality, you’re in isolation from face-to-face interactions with people. 

Cultural Transformation

In harmonic and healthy societies, cultural norms must be changed along with social transformation. But this is not happening. The gap between these two things is widening. Even though we got a college degree in immunology or are medical professionals, we don’t believe in vaccines and how the immune system works. The same thing applies to the young generation. Kids are born in a new time without having absolutely no beliefs.   We, especially parents, want to teach kids what is wrong and right based on our thoughts, not what their time and interests mean to them.   We believe that our cultural values are privileged and absolute. Children who grow up in a diverse society and learn from media and school start feeling cultural and social pressure. There is always a comprehensive list of things that parents and the community expect from each child, such as good grades on every exam, interest in pursuing a career in medicine and engineering fields,  respecting parents and elders,  and having good moral character.  Kids don’t think that living will be a problem in their life, and they may have diverse interests such as learning music,  writing stories, reading books, and arts.  They usually learn things through many unsuccessful attempts, but we discourage them from being failed or doing something wrong.  Some young kids naturally are jerks, aggressive and unpolite. It does not mean we should label them as unsocial and put them in a bucket of behavior problems. Thus a cultural transformation needs to prioritize the adolescent’s mental and physical health. 

Competition 

Competition is an innate human characteristic and part of the survival mechanism. It constantly pushes us to develop new technology and improve our quality of life. Competition is a double-edged sword. It can drive us to high levels of effort. Still, it can also create unhealthy levels of stress. Pushing youth into a highly competitive environment may produce adverse effects. Many of them cannot achieve the feeling of being a winner, which eventually leads to depression, anxiety, and loss of confidence in their daily work. A recent study shows that about 33 % of college and high school athletes suffer from significant mental depression and anxiety. They feel competition not only from the opponent’s groups but also from their team members.   The question is how we can reconcile situations like this. As a parent,  it is time to think about the importance of a child’s mental health than his/her academic achievement.  

Peer Pressure

The pressure for young people to succeed, be perfect, and fit in with their peers can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and even depression. This pressure stems from their desire for social acceptance by others. The current research shows a direct correlation between peer pressure and depression in young people.  The media also plays a significant role in this problem; many teenage use social media, which increases their exposure to negative messages about appearance, success, and relationships. We as parents must be aware of this issue because it affects our children daily.

Economy 

The poor economy plays another significant role in mental health problems. Technology is bringing people together and creating a massive flood of information. Everything you want to know is just a few clicks away. We know each other better than ever. Basic needs and desires are becoming universal. Kids and youth already know what they need daily, such as smartphones,  video games,   computers, and fashionable gadgets.   But the problem is resources. Poor families cannot afford their kid’s demands which eventually creates inferior complexity, depression, and misery in kids. They start feeling different. Parents with low income are uncomfortable living alongside middle-class and wealthy people. In underdeveloped communities, racial bias based on income is very high. This unprecedented situation creates a lot of pressure on low-income families. Kids feel obligated to work with their parents, drop out of school,  and fall into the trap of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.    The suicide rate in the young generation is becoming a massive problem in those communities. 

Conclusion

Youth and kids are the most crucial part of every community and family.  If we, as a parent, teachers, mentors, and advisors, always push kids on what we believe and what works best in our lives, such as careers, lifestyles, and living,  maybe we are missing the bigger picture of how we are handling our kids’ everyday mental issues. Are they happy? Is feeding them with our beliefs, motives, and ambitions appropriate?  The important thing is how we communicate with these young people every day.   We should believe that kids are born to be happy.