- The Main Criticism – The main criticism I have heard is that I’m just another old man (I’m 59) shaking his fist and complaining about “kids these days,” when in fact “the kids are alright.”
- Self-Reported Depression and Anxiety – Section 1 of the Collaborative Review summarizes self-report surveys that have been conducted at regular time intervals since 2010 or earlier. Do members of Gen Z *say* that their mental health is declining? Yes, in every study we can find.
- Self-Harm – If Phillips and Friedman were correct that “the kids are alright” and the appearance of an epidemic is an illusion based on Gen Z’s “more honest relationship with their mental health,” then we would not see any change in objective measures of mental health, such as hospitalizations for self-harm, or deaths by suicide. But in fact, we do see such changes.
- Suicide – Section 3 of the Collaborative Review doc presents the most tragic data of all: a large increase in the number of completed suicides. For suicide, the rates are always higher for boys and men. Girls and women make more suicide attempts, but they are more likely to use reversible means.
- Conclusion – The evidence that this time is different is very strong. In 2010 there was little sign of any problem, in any of the long-running nationally representative datasets (with the possible exception of suicide for young teen boys). By 2015 the teen mental health was a 5 alarm fire, according to all the datasets that Jean Twenge and I can find. The kids are not alright.
Published February 24, 2023
Visit Chartbook to read Adam Tooze’s original post Chartbook #197: The Ukraine-Aid Reality Gap
