Why are young people so depressed?
studies show rates of mental health deterioration are much higher among left-leaning young people compared to peers who hold conservative views. by Freya Leach.
First published in the MRC’s Watercooler newsletter. Click here to sign up to the newsletter.
Young people are having a rough time. According to the ABS, 46% of young women, and 31% of young men aged 16-24 have experienced a mental disorder in the last 12 months. In total, 39% of young people suffered a mental disorder, compared to 26.4% in 2007 and 27% in 1997. Rates of mental illness in young people have always been elevated, but they remained steady until around 2010 and have since increased rapidly. Mental illness across other age groups has remained steady. It affects millions of Australians for a range of reasons, but the jump in depression and anxiety among young people suggests something is going seriously wrong.
There are a number of hypotheses for why young people have experienced such a profound deterioration in their mental health. Recent research has focused on social media use as a potential cause. Current empirical evidence supporting this idea is largely based on secondary analyses of large-scale datasets. While these are powerful, specification curve analysis has allowed researchers to rigorously examine the correlational evidence for the effects of digital technology and social media on young people. Using a sample of 355,000, researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute found the association between technology use and adolescent well-being is negative but small, explaining just 0.4% of variations. Technology use also fails to fully explain the differences in mental wellbeing between boys and girls; social media use is not a consistent risk factor for depression across either group.
While social media has contributed to some of the deterioration in youth mental health, it is not the only factor.
An annual cross-sectional sample of 86,000 American teens between 2005-2018 found that left-leaning progressive students experienced the most pronounced increases in depressive feelings. The average depressive affect score for female progressives increased from 1.92 in 2010 to 2.65 in 2018, a change of 0.73 points, or more than three-quarters of a standard deviation. Conversely, depressive affect scores for male conservatives increased by just 0.43 points. Mental health has worsened across the board, but the rate of deterioration is much higher among left-leaning young people.
Why are left-leaning young adults more likely to be depressed? The difference in values and worldview between left and right-leaning young people may explain the disparity. Conservatives place a higher value on personal responsibility. In contrast, the narrative sold to left-wing young people has been dominated by mass social movements where they are victims of intractable and systemic injustices. The climate crisis is an existential threat, Baby Boomers have hoarded wealth creating terrible inequality, Australia is built on the ongoing oppression of Indigenous people, and there is no such thing as merit, only levels of privilege.
Instilling Liberal values of freedom and aspiration will combat the narrative of victimhood and hopelessness so many young people have bought into. Liberalism shatters the idea that we are helpless victims, it restores our desire to work hard, strive for better and be rewarded. This will not only be good for the future of our party, but it will make a material impact on the staggering levels of mental ill health among my peers.
We need to champion policies that are grounded in Liberal values because these will restore hope. In school, kids need to be taught that if they take personal responsibility, they can achieve. Once young people reach university, many realise they are just a cog in the machine of a multi-billion dollar industry that is more interested in recruiting international students than equipping young Australians with the skills needed to find meaningful employment. This leads to intense hopelessness as young people graduate with thousands in debt and few employable skills. Then young people enter the property market and realise that if they don’t have the luxury of being able to live at home while they save, it will be extremely difficult for them to afford a home; 70% of young people believe they will never own a property.
We need to fight for policies that restore a sense of aspiration in young people; teach personal confidence and responsibility in school, make universities more accountable for the outcomes they produce, and boost home ownership by opening up the supply of housing.
Addressing these three pain points will be a good first step in restoring a sense of aspiration and freedom in young people. Ultimately, we have to fight for Liberal values. Not just because we believe in Menzies’ party, but because we want what is best for young Australians.
Freya Leach is the Director of the Centre for Youth Policy