The plague of teen angst
has manifested itself everywhere,
from coming of age novels to
marketing and television. Time
and again, society at large is being
told that adolescents of today are
fragile, unadaptable, and more
afflicted than their predecessors.
They have become labeled as lazy, coddled, or
unstable. However, a magnified look at this
epidemic of angst reveals a more touching issue –
one exacerbated by world events, economic insecurity, and
technology. Anxiety has increased exponentially
since 2012 and has expanded into
a phenomenon that impacts a whole spectrum
of demographics. In the year 2015, according
to the Department of Health and
and Human Services, more than 3
million adolescents experienced
depression. Depression impacts
the daily function of teens both
at school and in their households,
leading to poor cognitive function
and tensions in the family dynamic.
The National Institute of Mental
Health reports over 6 million teens
are subject to an anxiety disorder.
It is challenging to quantify behaviours
linked to depression and
anxiety among adolescents, for
many attempt to keep their issues
secret instead of actively seeking
assistance from family, friends,
or administrators. As a result, the
statistics mentioned are a conservative
estimate of the anxiety and
depression epidemic. The number
of aggrieved teens is rising rapidly
and so is self-harm and prescribed
medications. For many, prescription
medications are the only viable
solution, but it’s time we

begin seeking out the catalysts for
depression and anxiety. A solution
begins by finding the roots of this
growing epidemic. Preventative
measures should become our focus,
not temporary solutions.
The biggest variable in
solving the anxiety epidemic is
determining how teens should
navigate the current social climate
they live in, and the answer has
yet to be found. The directors of
our bodies are our brains, and it is
proven that the brain is the last vital
organ to fully develop. The very
front of our brains, the prefrontal
and frontal cortex is still starting
to develop during the teenage
years, and, not surprisingly, this
portion of the brain is responsible
for making rational decisions.
When certain signals are omitted
from an active teenage brain,
adolescents become susceptible
to poor judgement, drug use, and
impulsive behaviour. Furthermore,
society itself has become a catalyst
for anxiety and other disorders
amongst teens. Janis Whitlock,
director of the Cornell Research
Program on Self-Injury and Recovery,
stated, “If you wanted to create
an environment to churn out really
angsty people, we’ve done it.”
The sources of angst are no longer
limited to helicopter parents and
academic stress. “It’s that they’re
in a cauldron of stimulus they can’t
get away from, or don’t want to get
away from, or don’t know how to
get away from,” Whitlock says. So
what exactly constitutes this “cauldron
of stimulus”? To begin with, a
vast number of teenagers would be
eager to second the notion that being
an adolescent in today’s world
is a full-time occupation – ranging
from academics, extracurriculars,
and maintaining a social identity
– both in the real world and on
various media platforms. The line
between the physical world and the
technological world has become so
ambiguous that it has become an
epic feat for teens to fully extract
themselves from the stimulus and,
by doing so, gain a larger perspective.