February Digital Magazine

38
GEN Z DEPRESSION ON THE RISE
Depression among this generation has increased and doctors are trying to figure out why.
kinsey clements | staff writer
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Statistically, teens, more specifically Gen Z, are
becoming more and more depressed despite the
decrease in alcohol and drug consumption. This is
causing teens to have less motivation for activities
such as sports, extracurriculars, and school work. This
has parents and other adults, like doctors and psychologists,
more confused than ever because that has been the
assumed cause. Thus leading to the difficult question, why
are teens more depressed than ever? Here is a possible
explanation.
Doctors don’t have a definite explanation as to why this
is happening but they believe it is because teens are faced
with more pressure from school and home, and worry
about their family’s financial situation. Although teens in
the past might have had this pressure, it has become more
of a stressor for Gen Z as school is becoming more challenging.
Furthermore, social pressures have caused more
stress because of the increasing popularity of social media
platforms affecting teens identities. In addition to depression,
ever since 1990, the rate of suicide with teens has been
increasing every year, most likely due to the causes listed
above. What is even more disturbing about this statistic is
that only about 30% of teens are being treated for depression.
That may also be one of the reasons why teens are
becoming more depressed because they think that their
problems are not big enough for their parent’s acknowledgment,
so they neglect being treated. This also plays
into the belief that teens have stressed about their families
financial situation, so they do not want to concern parents
with their mental struggles.
Furthermore, there are other statistics, besides the stress
that Gen Z encounters, that can lead to some people having
an increased chance of developing depression. Some
of these include having a chronic illness, having a family
history of depression, and if one has experienced trauma.
This epidemic is something that needs to be solved, either
by addressing Gen Z’s depression and trying to prevent
genetic depression, in the near future because by looking
at the current trends, it will keep on increasing. Teens and
young adolescents are the people of the future but depression
looks like it could slow down the success of this
population.
Photo courtesy of Ceril