Have you ever heard someone lament about the seeming over-diagnosis of mental illnesses in today’s youth?
Perhaps they believe that kids these days are too sensitive or their parents coddled them so much that every negative emotion they experience is quickly diagnosed with some made-up condition and treatment.
They’ll back up their argument by pointing to past generations — cases of depression and anxiety were far less common decades ago, and now it seems like most children and youth are battling these or other mental illnesses. They’ll sum up their argument by decreeing that millennials and Gen-Z’s need to toughen up, that life is hard but other generations made it through.
Well, I’m here to be the wake-up call for anyone who believes the above argument to be credible. Guess what? There are more cases today of depression and anxiety in children, youth and young adults, you’re not wrong. But no, it is not a result of over-diagnosis or over-sensitivity.
To try and compare youth today to youth two decades ago is simply not a fair comparison. With the advancement of technology, millennials and Gen-Z’s grew up with quite literally the world at their fingertips thanks to the internet. But this is a cruel double-edged sword — we witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly before we were old enough to understand just where we fit into it all.
We experienced the ease of communication with texting, instant messaging and social media before we learned the impact it could have on us. We overshared every detail of our lives — and subsequently every thought that popped into our head, good and bad — before we learned valuable lessons such as when it’s best to say nothing at all. Our bullies had new ways to reach us and new ammo to use and not to mention the repercussions almost never found them because they could hide behind their screens and keyboards.
In addition, youth today have far more choices than youth even a decade ago had. Because of the advancement of technology, today’s job landscape is constantly changing and with that, the education needed in order to qualify for these new careers. And if that doesn’t sound daunting, add in the fact that these future workers are projected to only stay at one job for a few years, rather than a lifetime like generations before. We are destined to face constant change in our adult life as we navigate our careers. What even is stability?
It is actually a common psychological theory that all this choice — where to attend school, what degree to pursue, in what industry, how to use your degree, etc. — has led to increased anxiety in the younger generations. True, we have all the more advantages in life, but we also have the weight of expectations and the pressure to do and achieve more.
And don’t get me started on the economic climate and the impact this has and will continue to have on us. Owning a house is often a pipe dream for these generations. How can we when we have a mountain of student debt before we are even able to land a job after school? And you’d think that once we land a job it should be smooth sailing from there right? Even with our post-secondary education, these jobs are low-paying and barely cover the cost of living, forget about loan payments and other expenses. People wonder why young adults are opting to live at home longer as if we have a choice in the matter.
So yes, there are more cases of anxiety and depression in our younger generations, and this is not without cause. Are these young folks simply too sensitive? Did we raise them poorly? Or are we simply not taking into account that their experiences leading to adulthood are far different from other generations? Have patience for us as we make our way through life, we’ve had to overcome trials and tribulations that simply didn’t exist for previous generations.
Jordyn Thomson is a reporter with the Penticton Western News
