The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
While I don&#x27;t doubt that social media can drive some of these mental health issues, I think most teenagers are simply stressed from the constant work that&#x27;s necessary for the college admissions process.<p>I&#x27;m 24, so I would have been a teenager in 2012, but I didn&#x27;t have a smartphone until I was 16 or so. My high school experience consisted almost entirely of school, studying, and running (my primary extracurricular). Most of the little extra time I had remaining would go to additional extracurricular activities that had the potential to enhance my college application. I only really got to socialize by talking to my teammates on our runs.<p>As a result, even when I had extra time I was so burnt out and stressed from everything else that I felt consumed by anxiety. I would sometimes start crying spontaneously after I got home in the evenings. Things only started getting better when I started seeing a therapist and worked on my issues over the second half of my high school experience. Not everyone is so lucky.<p>If we want a healthier society, we need to take a step back and give teenagers a chance to actually live life. Sure, less social media would help, but it won&#x27;t solve the root of the problem. Today&#x27;s society demands so much from adolescents for so little in return. It&#x27;s very easy to think that you&#x27;re a failure if you don&#x27;t know exactly who you are and what you want to be at age 17, and that&#x27;s not a fair expectation for any 17 year old. We shouldn&#x27;t be surprised that many break under this kind of pressure.