Youth Mental Health Decline Correlated with Smart Phone Use

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New data from the Mental Health Million Project across 34 nations confirms that mental health struggles among younger generations not only persist, they have in many instances accelerated. Even with promising new data suggesting a “near normal” summer could be on the way following two years of COVID-related restrictions, other data reveals that nearly half of young adults experienced mental health symptoms during the pandemic’s second year. Sapien Labs’ new rapid report reveals that the pandemic-era decline has accelerated an existing global trend, and led to the widespread disintegration of “social self.”

Sapien Labs’s latest Rapid Report provides data that confirms the continued challenges young adults have faced with their mental wellbeing, which have worsened throughout the pandemic. The data highlights key findings related to global mental wellbeing with a focus on how social self factors into the current state of youth, including:

Mental decline in young adults was significantly correlated with the local stringency of lockdown measures associated with the pandemic.
Out of 47 elements captured, 16 aspects of mental wellbeing were rated as having a severely negative impact on the ability to function by half or more of those aged 18-24.
The constellation of symptoms now dominating the mental profile of young adults do not map to any single disorder as defined by the DSM.
The ability to relate to and interact with others (“social self”) has been seriously impaired in over half of young adults across the world.
Pandemic-era declines reflect an acceleration of a trend that began in 2010, prior to which younger generations had the best measurable psychological well-being. Prior to the pandemic, this trend was strongly correlated with the growth of smartphone usage.

Dr. Tara Thiagarajan, scientist and Sapien Labs Founder, has compiled information about what the new rapid report reveals about the accelerating global decline of mental well-being in younger generations.