Gen-Z (born after 1995) shows much higher rates of adolescent mental illness1 relative to other generations:
- Since 2010 A 145% uptick among teen girls (~12% → ~30% of the population) in depression, a 161% uptick in boys (5% → 13%)1
- 134% increase in anxiety and 106% increase in depression among college students1
- 188% increase in self harm visits to the emergency room for adolescent girls1
Haidt observes that the rise in depression is not correlated with the unemployment rate (economic uncertainity)1. The crisis follows similar patterns across the “anglospehere” (U.K, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia) and Nordic countries1.
1. Haidt, J. The Anxious Generation. (London, 2024).