Number of US teens saying ‘don’t enjoy life’ has doubled in social media era: Report

In the modern digital world, there are several social media platforms with thousands of people to make friends with and many entertainment channels but still depression among teenagers is on the rise.

As per a report by New York Post, University of Michigan have conducted a poll to access the mental health among youth. The poll results show that rates of teen anxiety and depression has risen.The number of teens agreeing to phrases like “I can’t do anything right,” “I do not enjoy life” and “My life is not useful” has doubled in last 10 years.

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The poll has been conducted annually since 1991, with 50,000 students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades nationwide.

“These are staggering numbers, just enormous increases. And parents are rightfully very concerned about their children’s mental health,”psychologist and generational expert Dr. Jean Twenge told New York Post.

The most prominent reason for high rates of anxiety and depression among teens can be attributed to high use of social media and longer screen time. Number of teens showing such symptoms has risen since the rapid popularisation of smartphones in 2010s.

“There’s no question that is the primary cause of the increase in teen depression now. It’s by far the largest change in teens’ everyday lives over the past 10 to 12 years. Nothing else even comes close,” said Twenge.

The report says that teens can be glued to screens for up to nine hours a day and half of them remain online constantly. Since the advent of smartphones, teens engaging in activities like working for pay, getting a driver's license has come down.

“It’s a fundamental change in how teens spend their leisure time. If you put this all together — more time with screens, less time with friends face to face, less time sleeping — that’s a very poor recipe for mental health,” said Twenge.

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