Social Media and Academic Anxieties Are Crushing Our Kids

The number of children struggling with anxiety and depression has been on the rise, coinciding with an increase in self-harm among young people.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows suicides among children 10 to 18 years old increased by more than 50% between 2001 and 2020. A separate CDC report based on poison control center data shows the rate of suspected suicide attempts by self-poisoning among kids ages 10 to 12 rose 73% from 2019 to 2021. For 13- to 15-year-olds, the rate of such attempts increased by nearly 50%.

These problems shouldnt be written off as COVID-induced blips on the statistical radar. We should all pay attention.

Unfettered access to technology, unreasonable academic expectations and increased societal anxieties are crushing many children. But all hope is not lost. Everyone can make commonsense adjustments that will save lives and improve the mental health of the next generation.

We know that children can have a hard time with in-person interactions a problem exacerbated for many because of the pandemic, especially for those who were in a vulnerable stage of development when COVID-19 hit.