The rise in mental health issues coincides with Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and the introduction of the “selfie,” which has created a new mode of existence based on constant social comparisons. Teenagers must “package” themselves for public consumption, and their “likeness” is relentlessly quantified, leading to a dispiriting and challenging new mode of existence.
While there is still a fierce debate regarding the impact of digital technology on mental wellbeing, the majority of researchers believe that it has a negative effect, and the evidence suggests that it is most likely causational rather than correlational.
The spike in mental health illness experienced by young people is unrelated to the big issues mentioned above and is a decade-long trend that has been progressing steadily.
