Gen Z? Gen Alpha? Millennial? Try Generation Anxious...
Evolution. The reason our thumbs bend and we carry ourselves around on two feet, which may tremble, yet still precede to get the job done. Every revolution the earth travels around the sun, humanity’s state of being shifts about in their complex and dynamic home. The mother’s dance around her warmth, the twist and twirl, will never stop, and this motion symbolizes the ever changing life she is destined to nourish.
Eventually, this world becomes entirely foreign to the one they sought refuge in as a child. Days that were once spent around a table with plentiful conversation and laughter are now spent in front of a screen’s lonesome glow in the bedroom’s menacing abyss. Reflection poses the question: were humans happier, more diligent creatures 30 years ago? Have they developed too much dependency on the digital world? Have humans crossed the line?
When one’s world is constantly changing, it is natural to question the validity of those changes. By nature, humans strive for success and improvement, therefore it is natural to compare the old ways to the new. Through the data analysis in The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, author Jonathan Haidt found that adolescents are in the midst of a mental health crisis.
“Overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world—are the major reasons why children born after 1995 became the ‘anxious generation’,” he said.
The rise in mental health awareness is both unquestionable and widely represented in the media. Yet while the majority of teens have emotional awareness, they don’t necessarily admit to their struggles and seek the support they need. According to the “National Library of Medicine,” 15% of young people (ages 10-19) experience a mental health disorder. This number, however, only includes those who have sought treatment and the number is most likely much higher.
Principal Rebecca Montour has worked in education for 19 years and has spent nearly two decades interacting with middle and high school students on the daily. Haidt’s The Anxious Generation influenced her deeply as she grapples with the content at both school and home.
“I’ve seen firsthand the changes in adolescents over the years, and I often wonder as a parent if I’m doing the ‘right’ thing with my kids,” she said. “The research and observations in the book are both fascinating and seemingly obvious given the lay out of his arguments.”
Haidt guides readers beyond the surface of adolescent struggles. While The Anxious Generation is a valuable read for anyone trying to navigate the contemporary world, it caters most to the adults responsible for cultivating the young “Gen Z” and “Gen Alpha” minds.
The journey of bringing The Anxious Generation to paper and spine began in 2022. Haidt was working on a project about how social media rewired society in the 2010s, and the introductory chapter was set to focus on the impact of the new platforms on children. He was quick to discover that the intricate issue required more than a single chapter. And thus, his newest publication was born.
Many claim that the rise of mental illness is solely due to wider acceptance and awareness of the emotional side of one’s overall wellbeing. They assume kids simply say they are depressed because they hear about depression and feel sadness from time to time. While there may be some truth in the statement, it simultaneously invalidates the mental health struggles humans endure; the diagnoses are real and the amount of people receiving them is alarming. Likewise, Haidt acknowledged physical evidence of the mental health epidemic, including heightened rates of suicide and self harm.
Destigmatization of mental illness by means of justifying the harrowing statistics would not suffice for Haidt. Using his expertise in psychology, he wrestled with the changes in Gen Z’s early development to explain their decline in mental resilience.
Montour was heavily influenced by his work, triggering reminiscence of her own childhood in comparison to the realities her own children face.
“I loved running around the neighborhood with all of the kids playing whatever games we came up with, and I didn't have a cellphone for my parents to track my whereabouts; it was my responsibility to be home when the street lights came on,” she said. “Those are some of my fondest memories, but I don't give my own children that opportunity for freedom and autonomy and the book pushed me to ask myself why.”
Haidt argues in his book that fear is the reason why many parents deny their children the freedom to explore and interact with the real, outside world.
“We decided that the real world was so full of dangers that children should not be allowed to explore it without adult supervision, even though the risks to children from crime, violence, drunk drivers, and most other sources have dropped steeply since the 1990s,” he said.
Simultaneously, smart phones fell into eager hands, and eyes were immediately drawn to their luminous screens. This new and innovative technology brought giddiness as it was originally meant to ease the human experience by making overall communication with others easier. However, overindulgence led to a decline in motivation, and the media humans indulge in often does greater harm than good.
First year Spanish teacher Erin Quesnell-Jobs sympathizes deeply with her students. She recognizes the many factors that fabricate “screenagers” and diminish their mental health in the process.
“Coming back from the social climate of COVID is a tough adjustment,” she said. “We can’t blame the younger generations for turning to social media as a way to communicate and interact with the world around them. It totally makes sense how we got to this point, but now it’s a matter of reeling it back in.”
Thus, it all boils down to lack of boundaries and balance. Achieving balance requires personal investigation and discovery. Every individual is different, and mental health is a sporadic spectrum which varies from day to day. Evaluating one’s interactions with the world around them is crucial, as those reactions reflect the way of the world within their mind. Explore those worlds in tandem and ask the question: are you truly happy, and if not, what power do you have to change that?
by Jazmine Blustin
Published December 2nd, 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue III