There is an epidemic going on right now with our society, and it starts with US. We are raising children who have anxiety about everything, who need INSTANT gratification, and do not know how to build healthy relationships. In my opinion, much of this is the result of technology. In many, many ways, advanced technology is wonderful and necessary, but are we paying close attention to what it is doing to our mental health, as a society?

How many people do you know right now, as adults, that have some form of anxiety or depression? It seems to be more people than not. Many are on medication or self-medicate one way or another. (And no, I’m not advocating that medication is bad.) There is so much pressure in society to compare to one another. We share snapshots on social media of our best selves, and curate “perfect” moments, and much of that isn’t even real, and even if it is, it is not an accurate picture of our everyday life. It is like trying to compare yourself to TV characters and think that is real life. No wonder kids feel depressed, or pressure to have this or that newest item.

Technology also gives you the “instant” response to everything. Kids grow up thinking that is how everything in life happens. They have the mentality of “If I don’t get immediate reward, I will go somewhere else and find it.” Steady, hard work and focus seems to be a thing of the past. People get too restless if a situation isn’t immediately ideal. They want all the reward and money to buy all the latest things right now, and if they can’t afford it, let’s put it on credit card.

I believe there has been an effort by society to take feelings and emotions more into account, which is a good thing, but it can also backfire. Now, instead of facts of a situation also being honored, someone’s feelings about a situation may be more highly honored. If I “feel” this way about something, or if someone “made” me feel this way, then it is true, (even if it isn’t true). Considering the context, this can be a positive or negative thing. Kids start to think they can use these feelings as a crutch – “I can’t complete this task because of my anxiety, I need a mental health break,” then they get out of whatever task they didn’t want to do, or became too hard, instead of using coping skills to work through it, and still get the job done. A person can develop grit and perseverance by being forced to try a little harder and push through to accomplish something. It’s a fine line, but usually this develops good qualities in a person.

On the other end on this same spectrum, more attention to mental health is a very good thing for those with true diagnoses, and who need the extra assistance and attention, who may otherwise had to struggle unnecessarily.