In Case You Haven't Heard

Abstract

Mental health problems among the young in the U.K. have risen sixfold since the advent of social media, a study published in Psychological Medicine shows. The research by University College London, Imperial College London, the University of Exeter and the Nuffield Trust tracked trends from 1995 to 2014, The Telegraph reported Sept. 11. They found that the number of children and young people reporting “a long‐standing mental health condition” has soared among a generation brought up with the internet. The study is the first major research in the field for more than a decade. It follows warnings by the head of the U.K. National Health Service, about an epidemic of mental ill health fueled by social media. The new research found that in 1995, just 0.8 percent of 4‐ to 24‐year‐olds in England said they had a long‐standing mental health condition. This rose to 4.8 percent, the equivalent of almost one in 20 young people, by 2014. The nature of the question — only detecting long‐term problems — means it is likely to reflect a small proportion of the total number suffering any kind of mental crisis. Data from more than 140,000 participants aged 4 to 24 years old, from 36 national surveys, was analyzed as part of the study.