When you look around, whether you’re on the train, the bus, or at a library, there is almost always someone using their devices. In today’s world surrounded by screens, many of us become influenced by the content on our devices, such as a new piece of clothing, a new phone, or even someone who we may idolize. Yes, devices can be addictive, especially if they’re used for comfort, since life can be stressful from education, jobs, environmental factors, and more.
But when you take a closer look at those of us that use our devices, who might you see using them the most; the elderly or youth?
To be specific, Generation Z, also known as the anxious generation, is known to be the generation with the highest mental health damage. They use devices for almost everything; tests, essays, projects, entertainment, and so much more (sometimes those devices can be used to cheat). In spite of devices affecting their mental health so much, most of them might be so attached to them that they don’t even realize it.
Since this issue has been occurring for such a long period of time, it’s important to get into how it started and where it came from. In this article, you will discover where the damage to Gen Z’s mental health came from, the impact certain events had on Gen Z’s mental health, and what is being done to resolve this situation.
Where it all started
To start us off, based on the amount of technology that’s been created between 1997- 2012, how much do you think this generation has been affected and what would you do to help Gen Z recover from traumatic experiences?
According to the anxiousgeneration.com, it states the drastic trend for Gen Z’s depressive episodes, which began in the early 2010s, and with a chart portraying the percentage of mental health detriments each gender encountered, with boys being at their peak by January 1st, 2021, at 12%, and girls being at their peak at the same time, but at 30.1%.
This isn’t surprising — especially since social media began to spark during that time period – with releases like the newest iPhone and other devices that people went crazy over.
“After Facebook purchased Instagram, its user base exploded, from 10 million users at the end of 2011 to 90 million by early 2013. The result, Haidt says: “Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable, and … unsuitable for children and adolescents.” This piece of information from hsph.harvard.edu/news describes how the creation of new, addictive, and mind controlling apps affected Gen Z and how they became manipulated by their devices in exchange for their mental health.
To make matters worse, the anxiousgeneration.com also provided information about how Gen Z’s mental health isn’t the only thing to decrease — but as well as other factors that could’ve contributed to depressive episodes in the early 2010s such as: academic performance, sleep, time with friends in-person, and exercise.
Impact
With everything that’s happened throughout the 2010s, based on Gen Z’s mental health, some people have been recovering from trauma, depressive episodes, and other effects they’ve faced during that time period. In spite of this, there are still individuals who are still facing the detrimental effects of mental health.
In 2020, many families were locked up inside of their homes, unable to physically socialize with the outside world — which forced them to mostly utilize their devices. Since the pandemic lasted for a significant amount of time, this caused people, specifically adolescents, to become addicted to their devices and lose contact with their peers in person.
A piece of evidence from www.aecf.org/blog claims, “Nearly two in five (37%) U.S. high schoolers said they experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, and over half (55%) said they endured emotional abuse by someone at home, according to the CDC. Among parents, almost half (47%) said the pandemic had a negative effect on their child’s mental health, based on a national 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey.”
Emme, a freshman at the iSchool, states, “Social media is affecting kids, nowadays people like talking bad about you, saying things about you online or making fun of you, such as posting videos or stories. And there could be group chats gossiping about you.”
“I think there are things about social media that have been nice in terms of connecting with friends. My nieces like Instagram but we spend a lot of time sort of looking at the best part of other people’s drive which is not always the reality of other people’s lives and I think that that can be really detrimental to people’s mental health,” Ms. Leimsider, assistant principal at the iSchool, asserts.
However, these changes in mental health have definitely skyrocketed in comparison to other generations that haven’t experienced the same trend and haven’t been addicted to their devices as much as Gen Z has. Ms. Tait, a principal at the iSchool, states, “When I was a teenager, AOL was new, then when I was in college BlackPlanet came out which was like another version of MySpace, but those were brand new, so it was something that we played with a little bit — but it was not something that we used the majority of the time.”
What is being done to resolve the issue?
In spite of how much Gen Z expresses how impacting their mental health is on themselves and others, there are unfortunately not enough mental health professionals to support every Gen Zer experiencing issues.
On the good side, this generation’s mental health is a popular, international topic that many people are trying to solve. Many services and companies have been established since this important issue has been discussed. For instance, www.aecf.org/blog provides people with resources such as “Youth Mental Health Report, National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and Federal Action Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”, and other sites if someone is in need of support.
Another website, labeled pacificoaks.edu, also provides context about how their MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) programs prepares therapists to help Gen Zers better their mental health. “Gen Z’s increasing awareness of mental health issues, actively breaking negative stigmas, and seeking therapy culminates in a growing demand for mental health professionals. Pacific Oaks College’s Marriage and Family Therapy programs meet this need by training future therapists using a holistic, culturally aware approach.”
Throughout everything Generation Z has experienced, it is essential to understand that everything they’ve encountered can help them build up strength to not just better themselves, but to also help future generations ahead.
