New Report: Mental-Health Trends and the Great Awokening

NEW YORK, NY — Despite many material advantages, today’s youth—especially young women—may very well be the most mentally distressed generation in American history. Rates of reported depression, anxiety, and other forms of psychological distress among young Americans have soared over the past decade, while rates of intentional self-harm and suicide are at, or have surpassed, previous highs. The cause of this sudden deterioration in young people’s mental health remains contested. Is it the rapid spread and adoption of smartphones and social media, which subject young people to constant, widespread social pressures? Or is it other underexamined factors?    

A new Manhattan Institute report by Zach Goldberg contributes to this debate by showing that the psychological harm of social media depends on both the particular psychological traits of the user and on the broader sociocultural environment. Goldberg offers a theory of social-media psychological harm in which the net impact is not uniform but varies significantly depending on underlying personality profiles. 

The report surveys ample data to show that recent declines in mental well-being have been most acute for girls and self-identified liberals. Females and liberals tend to rank higher than their male and conservative counterparts in certain personality traits that are associated with greater susceptibility to internalizing symptoms, which are linked to conditions like depression and anxiety. Goldberg suggests the massive increases in news content about social-justice issues—such as racial and gender inequality and discrimination—in the last decade may have exacerbated mental-health issues for those with psychological traits that make them particularly vulnerable.  

 Click here to read the full report.