It seems like the U.S. has an issue that is slowly growing and getting worse by generation, this issue is often overlooked because it affects a small percentage of people but will soon affect a larger percentage of Americans to the point where it will be too hard to turn a blind eye to it. the issue of the matter is mental health, it seems like this topic is being brought up more often now because of how much more common it is amongst younger people and they have started to realize that they don’t have to keep all their problems to themselves anymore.
But why are mental issues increasing more often now than they were before? There are many reasons someone could have mental health issues because there are many things that could make someone upset or emotionally unstable, such as things that induce stress like school, work, and family/relationships. There are of course many other factors that could impact someone’s mental health to increase someone’s likelihood of developing a mental illness but most seem to be caused by stress/anxiousness, trauma, feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. A rise in issues such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder has come to light brighter than it once did. A large portion of American adults and children of the generation referred to as Gen Z ranging from ages 11-26 born from the years 1997-2012 are one of the current age groups that make up a large percentage of the people with mental health issues.
The first student from Pasco High, Nataly Castañeda, says, “Social media and the constant change of beauty standards that negatively influence young people’s minds get worse and worse because we’re expected to match certain body standards to conform to today’s society, our perception changes based off of the way others look and we compare all of our differences to others online, and if we don’t we don’t make a change we’re seen as outcasts and are heavily judged and influenced by the responses on social media, that is why I think these are some of the biggest contributors to mental health issues.”
The second student from Pasco High, Ray Hernandez, says, “In my personal opinion, I think the depression and anxiety rates are increasing due to these unreachable and harmful stereotypes and expectations that society has decided upon. It’s like everyone is being shoved into a box, and those who can’t handle tight spaces are the ones who suffer immensely.”
The third student, Dalia Castillo, from Pasco High says, “lack of security for students. bullying that happens online, in schools, and is easily dismissed, putting students in more danger is what gives students and other young teens depression and increases their anxiety.”
Has our generation of teens and adults become softer/weaker than the previous generations? Not much has changed over the years other than our technology advancing slightly, our Generation still faces most of the same problems that previous generations experienced when they were young adults. of course, things are a lot more convenient than back then but problems such as school, work, and arguments with people we care about haven’t changed and most likely will never change and if they do change they won’t become easier but harder instead. If people still have the same struggles and stress contributors then why are we all of a sudden experiencing more people developing mental illnesses? With the advancement and evolution of technology such as smartphones, we are more exposed to all sorts of media that portray different issues and problems around the world. We can speculate that the more media a person digests the more it will affect them to a degree, especially when media spreads through all platforms so sporadically nowadays.
