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In recent years, clear mental health has become one of society’s most urgent concerns, especially among young people. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 1 in 6 adolescents experience a mental disorder, and this troubling figure has become even more serious since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of tackling this issue cannot be emphasized enough. Mental health is not just a personal matter; it is a profound societal concern that touches families, communities, and economies. And with the shadowy, collective long-term effects of the pandemic on our young people’s mental health yet fully understood, the act of plucking the not-so-simple “Youth Mental Health” string becomes all the more necessary.

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This article argues that the youth mental health crisis is more than just a “you have a problem; we can fix it” situation. For one, we need to fix the problem. But to do that, we first need to understand what’s going on and why. The issue is not just about mental illness in young people and access to treatment. It goes beyond that. It is also about our culture, how it has changed, and how it continues to change. And if we really want to get into the nitty-gritty details, it is about how some of these cultural shifts are affecting not just the mental well-being of the youth but also their moods, their thinking, and their behavior.

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Youth mental health is in crisis. The National Institute of Mental Health reported in 2021 that suicide is the second leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 24. According to Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, “a generation is at risk” because of this escalating mental health emergency. Not only does this situation have immediate life-and-death implications, but untreated mental health issues also can lead to long-term, severe, and often deadly consequences for the academic, emotional, and physical well-being of our country’s youth. It’s estimated that over 193 billion dollars a year are lost in this society because of mental health disorders.

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A tangle of complex societal factors underlies the youth mental health crisis. Young people today live in a society that has never offered more in terms of social media, online entertainment, and an overall digitally interactive world. Yet they also live in a world of never-before-seen digital pressures. These pressures, along with the usual adolescent quest for identity, and the not inconsequential impact of the pandemic, have seemingly pushed today’s adolescents into a mental health cul-de-sac. Spending long hours on social media has proven to be dangerously unhealthy, despite the juggernaut growth of platforms like TikTok.

Youth are in a mental health crisis, and it is for several good reasons. First, and perhaps foremost, is the youth’s pervasive use of social media. While the effect of this on the mental health of the young isn’t fully known, it’s becoming increasingly evident that these platforms, where young people spend an inordinate amount of time, are not good for them. Indeed, the more thoughtful researchers have come to view these online spaces as a breeding ground for anxiety, depression, and, in some instances, even suicidality.

Even though people are becoming more aware of mental health problems, being able to access help is still a serious barrier for the young. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, almost 60% of kids and teenagers with mental health conditions do not get the treatment they need. This under-treatment is even more pronounced in poor and minority communities, where the just-accessible resources are and the stigma that they have keeps people from getting the help they need.

There are those who might contend that the uptick in reported mental health conditions among young people is simply due to heightened awareness and reduced stigma, but what the hard evidence points to is an increase in genuine mental health problems. According to the WHO, the number of adolescents aged 10 to 19 who report being seriously impaired or disabled by conditions such as anxiety and depression has risen sharply in the past few years—up more than 25 percent since 2010—and is projected to keep rising.

The average reader is probably impacted quite profoundly by the youth mental health crisis. As part of the parenting, teaching, and community-organization classes, we identify and fight the apparently omnipresent signs of mental distress. The priority of mental health in our schools, the advocacy of our supportive environments, the bolstering of the apparently ever-present sign of “open dialogue,” all of these measures are interventions that may protect the next generation. Half measures may protect the next half of the next generation, and no measures surely won’t.

The urgent youth mental health crisis is the issue of our time and one of the most pivotal moments in American life since the Second World War. The crisis encapsulates so many intractable problems that our culture and society face today: the pernicious effects of social media, the pressure cooker of our academic world, the too-limited access to resources to help the young in need, and the stigma attached to acts of self-care and reaching out for help. The implications are vast and deep, affecting individuals, families, communities, and the economy.

At this moment, we are on the brink of a mental health disaster among our young people. It is necessary to ask: What kind of future do we want to build? One where youth mental health is a priority? A future where young people are empowered, supported, and thriving? Or one where they continue to suffer in silence? The choice is ours, and it seems the time to act is now.