Generation Z (born between 1995 and mid 2010s) is more depressed, more anxious and more suicidal than past generations, according to a lecture Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and other libraries collaborated on. Other main points were if technology is to blame for those stats, and what does the data show. The lecture was part one of a three-part series on psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation” (2024), led by writer and clinical psychologist Joe Moldover.  

Haidt’s research looks at mental health trends from the mid-2010s through COVID-19 in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Nordics. The data is staggering and plentiful. According to the data, from 2010 to 2020, major depression among teens increased 145% for girls, 161% for boys (girls have an average higher rate of depression to start with). Anxiety disorders also increased 139% between 2008 and 2020 for ages 18-25, versus an 8% decrease for people 50-plus; these upticks in depression and anxiety have contributed to rising psychiatric ER visits, hospital admissions and suicide rates.  

What does technology have to do with it? Part of the problem is how rapidly it has advanced. For instance, the first iPhone was introduced in 2007 and, less than 20 years later, it has become an essential part of everyday life.  

“It kind of puts us into uncharted territory, where our kids are living in a world that we didn't grow up in ... What we don’t understand is the effect it’s having on them,” said Moldover.  

In the book, Haidt identifies 2012 as a tipping point for downward mental health. This is the same year Facebook acquired the photo-based social media platform Instagram, and about three years after the advent of like/share functions and the front-facing phone camera (the origin of the modern “selfie”).  

Meanwhile, content that one may have accessed in the internet’s early days is now available anytime: first-person shooter games, pornography, gambling, toxic influencers, body shaming, and “real-time social comparison” in the form of social media likes.  

Moldover also discussed the emerging trend of some online influencers who push violent and misogynist content to young boys, often when they are searching for gaming, fitness, or sports. A 2024 UK study found that two-thirds of boys aged 11-14 were exposed to content promoting misogyny within 30 minutes of being online, 10% in the first minute.

“Kids and teenagers have an open portal in their pockets.” 

Discussion was open for participants to share their worries, which included the role the 24-hour news cycle plays in stress around social inequalities, decreased attention spans, lack of interest in reading, and difficulty monitoring online content.  

Parents restricting access isn't as easy as it seems either, said Moldover: Young people’s social lives are intertwined with technology. There’s an expectation of availability amongst their peers. So, even when young people aren’t online, they’re thinking about what they’re missing.  

“This stuff takes up a lot of mental real estate.”  

The series will delve deeper with part II (“What’s Gone Wrong?”) on April 10, 6:30 – 8, and part III (“Where Do We Go From Here?”) on April 17, 6:30 – 8. Both talks are on Zoom. For more information, visit the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library website.  

This lecture was part of MECollab, a collaborative partnership between Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, Falmouth Memorial Library, Patten Free Library (Bath), Prince Memorial Library (Cumberland), Scarborough Public Library, and York Public Library.