• Question: Why do think that our generation is known to be "the most depressed generation ever"?

    Asked by 232reah45 to Sam, Rose, Maggi, Kirsty, Ben on 14 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: Kirsty Miller

      Kirsty Miller answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      Hi 🙂 Another great question! I think a few different reasons. One is that there are so many things going on in the world right now (strange political situations, several global threats, less money) that it’s just really bad luck that your generation are growing up during it. What makes it worse is that you’re aware of it all! Technology constantly tells us about all the bad things going on, and it’s really hard to shut off from it, and I think that can be really overwhelming.
      Talking about technology, I think that is one of the main problems, with social media and the internet leading to a whole range of issues and problems that no other generation has had to deal with, and nobody really knows how to control that. For example, we didn’t have the worries of online bullying, and the constant comparison to others, FOMO, celebrity culture etc. While all these things existed, we weren’t constantly having them forced upon us, whereas it’s 24/7 now and that’s really difficult to cope with.
      It’s also a really competitive time just now so everyone feels under pressure, but I think there’s a big knock on affect for you guys, where you feel you have to do well at school, keep up with your friends, look certain ways etc.
      One other thing – and this is a good thing – is that people are more likely to talk about mental health such as depression, so people are more likely to admit that they are feeling depressed. This is really good because it means that more people are feeling comfortable to seek help, but we still need to try to reduce the stigma a bit.
      So to answer your question in a really long way 😉 , I think it’s mostly that you are experiencing so many difficult things and so many pressures that other generations haven’t, but also that you are more comfortable talking about it…

    • Photo: Rose Turner

      Rose Turner answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      I think there are a lot of pressures facing young people today, such as university fees, and difficulties getting on the housing ladder. At the same time, I think we understand depression a lot better than we used to, and so perhaps young people are more willing to talk about it than previous generations were.
      Positive psychology tells us that positive social relationships are very important to our happiness. Although social media has many positive aspects, sometimes the connections we make on social media aren’t as meaningful as those that we can make in person, and so people spending a lot of time on social media can find it quite isolating. According to positive psychology we can increase our happiness by noting down three things we feel grateful for at the end of each day, by taking time to notice our surroundings (particularly nature), by pursuing hobbies and work that interests us and give us a sense of meaning and contribution to the world, and by continuing to learn throughout our lives. So in terms of that last one, this is a good place to be 😉

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