In the past ten years, young people’s mental well-being has deteriorated rapidly. Worldwide, one out of every seven teenagers between 10 and 19 faces some form of mental health issue, with anxiety and depression being particularly widespread. Among individuals aged 15 to 29, suicide ranks as the third primary reason for fatalities. This trend also affects professional environments: according to data from 2023, 68% of Generation Z workers report that their mental health hinders their job performance, whereas only 48% of millennial colleagues express similar concerns.
In his work titled "The Anxious Generation," social psychologist Jonathan Haidt attributes these changes to three significant transformations in contemporary society, resulting in what he refers to as the "Great Rewiring" during childhood development. As per Haidt, the confluence of (1) the surge in smartphone usage and social networking platforms, (2) the reduction in outdoor and free-form playtime, along with (3) an inclination towards overly protective upbringing practices, has robbed kids of vital social engagements crucial for developing their emotional fortitude.
The main idea in Haidt’s book is that kids require facing small hurdles and mild stresses to build their mental toughness. Instead of protecting children from distress, proper growth relies on chances for making errors, handling disputes, and bouncing back from failures. Those of us who grew up during the '80s and early '90s developed such abilities primarily via what Haidt refers to as a "childhood centered around play." We often ventured outdoors to participate in unstructured group activities without much supervision. This environment included experiences with conflicts, tussles, and periods of idleness, allowing them to pick up problem-solving techniques, fair sharing practices, and resilience. These exchanges taught essential lifelong competencies including gauging risks, working together, and managing oneself.
However, at some point during the mid-1990s, this type of upbringing began to wane. News outlets started highlighting unusual yet shocking instances of child kidnapping and harm with greater frequency. Consequently, sociologists refer to this phenomenon as a "climate of fear." Numerous mothers and fathers felt convinced that the environment had grown significantly riskier for kids and consequently imposed stricter limitations on their movements. As a result, communities grew more secluded, and activities involving playtime along with socializing among peers came under closer scrutiny.
Increased attention to safety went hand in hand with another change: parents prioritizing providing their kids an advantage via jam-packed academic and after-school routines. This led to the rise of helicopter parenting, characterized by constant oversight and frequent interference in children’s choices and experiences. Despite being driven by good intentions, such involvement can prevent youngsters from learning how to independently decide things, handle uncertainties, or bounce back from setbacks alone. Research indicates that young adults who had very involved parents tend to experience greater stress and sadness during their college years.
As kids' independence in the real world diminished, they found themselves increasingly exposed to an unrestricted online environment. From 2010 to 2015, nine-year-olds began hitting adolescence equipped with smartphones, which subjected them to non-stop unsolicited opinions and social comparisons. Adolescents navigating the intricate journey of building their identities now had to grapple with social media metrics like 'likes' and 'comments,' which gauge popularity. With escalating screen usage came heightened stress over gaining approval from peers and crafting their public image.
Basically, we shielded youngsters too much from reality but not enough in the digital realm. This has led to a cohort facing extraordinary amounts of societal stress without sufficient chances to build the skills required to handle such challenges well.
Although it isn’t practical to revert to the ways of the analog age, we can purposefully craft children’s experiences to reintroduce ample opportunities for unstructured play, adventure, and even moments of idleness. It’s essential to slow down the influence of technology in kids’ daily routines and bolster their engagement with tangible activities and environments. This involves parents easing off excessive supervision and allowing children room to tackle problems independently. Educational institutions ought to extend time allocated for breaks and physical activity, as well as integrate more playful learning methods into lessons. Meanwhile, local authorities could allocate resources toward developing additional public areas where youngsters can enjoy significant outdoor recreational pursuits and socialize.
The worried generation didn’t opt for the surroundings that molded them. Despite good intentions, the grown-ups crafted circumstances emphasizing security and achievement over building toughness and independence. Moving ahead shouldn’t just tackle the mental wellness emergency; it should also redefine what constitutes a wholesome upbringing.
eleanor@shetalksasia.com