In a post on New York Times, Matt Richtell makes public a rising health issue that ravages

teenagers all over the country. In the article, Richtell (2022) asserts that most teenagers are
suffering from new problems that were not there before. Correlating data from three decades
(Richtell, 2022), where teenager faced issues like alcohol consumption, early pregnancies, and
drunk driving, modern teens face far more threatening issues like mental disorders. Thirteen
percent of adolescents had reported to contacting major depressive disorder which is a sharp
increase, 60% from 2007. Moreover, among the mental ailments most adolescents are diagnosed
with when they go to hospitals are anxiety, mood disorders, and self-harm (suicide in some
cases). With the shortage in therapists and psychologists to help these teenagers, most nurses in
hospitals are labelling the issue a “national emergency” are more teenagers are falling sick and
there is not enough treatment options to help them (Richtell, 2022).
Much of the blame is thrown at social media but the contradicting and controversial nature of
data collected to support the claim makes it not consensual. The main reason is how social media
affects the teenagers in general. There are some who are vulnerable while others who are
stronger and social media has no effect on their behavior (Richtell, 2022). With teenage a crucial
time in growth and development, where adolescents create their identity which they’ll carry to
adulthood, being affected by mental health issues, especial personality, and mood disorders, can
be a matter of “life and death” as Richtell writes. The mental health pandemic exploding in the
country requires more research on the causes of the rising mental health cases among
adolescents. They are basically the future and if the issue isn’t addressed in time, the next
generation of adults would have anxiety, mood, and suicide related issues that doesn’t comprise
of a good society.
References
Richtell, M. (2022). ‘It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens. Accessed
on April 28, 2022; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/23/health/mental-health-crisis-teens.html