Suicide: Why Are These Rates Increasing?

In this article, the author points out that mental health problems for children and young adults are on the rise. “Between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression among kids ages 14 to 17 increased by more than 60%, the study found.” The main mental health problem would be associated with depression, in which many Americans suffer from this disease, yet so many of them hide it from their loved ones. Another fact the author claims is that there has been a heavy amount of research done that associates technology use and mental health outcomes among the youth. This is due to the fact that the younger generation today communicates and uses their free time completely different than past generations without this type of technology. Social media such as Instagram and snapchat did not exist 10-15 years ago. This article relates to my Parenting and Technology class because we have talked about suicide and a major causation with teen suicide stems from cyberbullying. Some alarming facts learned in my Parenting class regarding suicide is the statistic that claims 30% of suicides relate to sexuality crisis and that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people. This should really open some eyes because this is a major societal problem Americans face today due to the fact technology has many cons along with its pros. https://time.com/5550803/depression-suicide-rates-youth/