While it tends to be a hobby among various demographics and generations to constantly compare the state of younger generations, the fact is that each generation has had to face different struggles, and no two will ever be alike. While it’s true that contemporary teens never had to deal with the problems of their elders, they have different issues they have to face, all wrapped up in an environment where they are constantly online, constantly judged, and continually told that they are doing something inherently wrong. It’s no wonder that many teenagers have fallen into a deep malaise about the state of the world and their personal situations, and many now have mental health struggles that can be incredibly challenging to overcome.
The Pressure Cooker Of Adolescence
Adolescence has always been a tricky time throughout the ages. Although most teenagers in developed nations will never have to face the prospect of working down a mine or fighting a war, they face unique problems that have mostly come around since the introduction of the internet. As you can see from the professionals over at AdolescentMentalHealth, these can manifest in a range of ways, from the more conventional issues, such as depression and anxiety, to uniquely modern ones, like gender dysphoria.
As a result of growing up in a world where you are never left alone, even when you’re in the relative sanctuary of your own home, it’s easy to see why more and more teens become depressed. Older generations may have faced similar issues of bullying at school, but they had the luxury of leaving it all behind them when they got home. Social media has denied this privacy to younger people and made it so that they are constantly bombarded with all kinds of vile and toxic content from both major corporations as well as their peer group and are expected to carry on as if nothing is awry with society.
The Isolation That Comes From An Always-Online Society
Although we have already briefly discussed this point, it requires its own section to fully grasp the seriousness of the situation. Social media has left modern teenagers, and in fact, all users, regardless of generation, surrounded by everything and everyone while simultaneously isolating them. This concern has never occurred in the history of mankind because, throughout history, we have been able to fall back on our communities and social networks to help us decompress and manage the world around us.
The modern world offers no such respite, and even worse, it attempts to constantly get in your face, prodding you when you try to ignore it and isolating you further if you actually get around to pausing your millions of notifications. For teenagers, this problem multiplies tenfold due to the fact that this is their primary method of communication with others, and the more they try to take a step back from it, the more they get punished and isolated.
The Role Of Hormonal Changes
While there are undoubtedly external issues that play a significant role in teenage mental health problems, it would be remiss to exclude the usual things that can complicate and confuse the mind. Teenagers are at the age where their bodies begin to develop and turn from children into adults. This is a highly formative period of time. Although we like to think of ourselves as modern, forward-thinking societies, the fact of the matter is that evolution has acted upon humans to turn us into people who are ready (biologically speaking) to bear and raise children.
Obviously, we try to avoid teenage pregnancy these days, but the reality is that hormones pay no heed to how civilization advances and are only concerned with biology. This forms a complicated synergy between how teenagers feel and what society expects of them. As a result, many teens have a burning desire to head out into the world by themselves, possibly before they’re ready to face the real world and all of its dangers.
Seeking Professional Help
There is no shame in seeking professional help. We have discussed how modern teenagers face unique problems compared to their older generational cousins, but one thing that has been beneficial is the removal of the traditional stigma of seeking help. It is far more widely accepted that you can seek help when you believe you have mental health issues, and those who are suffering have far more access than their mothers or fathers ever did.
Mental health problems are only growing in volume as the years march on, and teenagers tend to face extraordinary issues due to the world we now inhabit. However, if you know a teenager who is suffering, you can do them a favor and get them the professional help they need to live life more clearly.
