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Sunday, April 14, 2019

Why Are Young Americans So Miserable?

Survey after survey shows young Americans are increasingly unhappy, depressed, and even suicidal. They are America's future, and their outlook makes that future look grim. What's the matter with kids today?

Recent years have seen a rise in Americans 12 to 25 saying they are unhappy. Since 2012, the proportion of 8th and 10th graders who tell the Monitoring the Future survey that they felt unhappy has crept up from 13 percent to 18 percent. In roughly the same time, the proportion of 18- to 25-year-olds who say they are unhappy has risen from 11 to 17 percent, according to the General Social Survey.

These small increases under-represent the growing group of young people for whom life has grown unbearable. Among both high schoolers and young adults, incidences of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness—culminating in major depressive episodes—have risen substantially. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of teenagers think anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers, easily outpacing bullying or drug addiction.

More here

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lack of social interaction? They are addicted to phones, computers and such.

Anonymous said...

Actually this does not come as much of a surprise. Look at what young people are exposed to and accept for the norm. There is no mystery for them as they approach adult hood. Many get pregnant, have abortions, do drugs, shirk responsibility, "chill" out, and check out. They are not at all prepared to work in a fast paced high stress and competitive environment. As mentioned in the article they lack social skills and are coddled by parents. WOW! This is the future of the country? It is no wonder they are more ready to accept a socialistic form of society, no responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Easy. Blame Social Media.
Young people today feel they MUST live up to the images they see every hour every day on social media.
When I was a kid (MANY years ago!), you only had to try to be better than your small circle of friends; your classmates, etc.
Today, you are trying to compete with the world.

Anonymous said...

No mystery. Facebook.

Anonymous said...

because we know there is no fixing this mess. Voting Republican is a waste of time- they (both parties) are importing so many immigrants, who will vote Democrat forever, that no Republican will ever be elected to national office in 20 years- forever.

There is no fixing social security.

There is no fixing the universities- they will be left wing indoctrination camps up until the point that no one can afford them.

Anonymous said...

They are being brainwashed by the government schools on how bad thing are because of how are republic is set to govern.

SBJ

Anonymous said...

Total electronics addiction. My generation had TV and a phone with a twenty foot cord. Today the world travels with you in your pocket. Huge distraction from a normal amount of human interaction.

Anonymous said...

FACEBOOK is the BEAST!

Anonymous said...

MSM and Democrat the sky is falling attitude, brain washing.
Makes them scared to death not to know where the next freebee is coming from. Plus they have them believing everybody should be a brain surgeon or chemical engineer. We are creating a generation of no hope .

Anonymous said...

Social media has definitely had an impact on my generation. When exiting school you immediately want to live like all the rich yuppies you see on social media. No one wants to scrape pennies together and earn nice things.

Granted, the economy is vastly different to what my parents grew up in. You can no longer buy a nice car with one summers work or put yourself through 2 semesters of college with a part time job.

It's easier to bully kids when you don't do it to their faces. Look what happens on the internet when we disagree with someone; we quickly move from rational discussion to name calling.

I'm guilty of staring at my phone but I'm also aware of the problem. Thank goodness for fresh air. It's the poor bastards who think their digital life is their real life that truly need help.

Anonymous said...

@9:44 amen! Social media cesspool

Anonymous said...

Easy answer , no religion , no values to lean on .

Anonymous said...

It's a surplus of Apathy. They don't relate to us we don't relate to them. They believe anything they see online and doubt any wisdom their elders may have gleaned in the school of hard knocks. Only measure their worth from social media " likes ". Two years of Military Service and a total media black out would do them good. Before the real abyss of adulthood.

Anonymous said...

In the 70s and 80s I can recall talking to girl friends on the telephone. I simply enjoyed hear their voice when she would laugh at my lame jokes. The telephone was a great dating tool.

Anonymous said...

Very true response 9:56!