The Relationship Deficit Epidemic

A new Harvard research study, On Edge, has found that young adults now report roughly twice the rates of anxiety and depression as teens. Roughly a third of 18-25 year olds report feeling depressed or anxious. Unlike other recent mental health research that squarely points to the impact of the pandemic, this research suggests that mental health is being negatively influenced by “not knowing what to do with my life” or experiencing little or no “purpose or meaning”.

What has been referred to as the loneliness epidemic, and which you may have already read about, has been more often correlated with the pandemic's isolating nature. This new Harvard study however, points to a different series of drivers affecting mental health: a relationship deficit epidemic. If the pandemic’s isolation made people lonely, it’s worth considering if that heightened state of loneliness is now being compounded by what are skyrocketing levels of social media use among young people.

Gen Z now spends 4.8 hours a day on social media and over half (57%) said they would become an influencer if given the opportunity. While critique of social media use among young people is often met with a classic "you sound old" response, especially in conference rooms across young skewing Media & Entertainment companies, it was interesting to see that recently Nicki Minaj made waves with her related comments in a Vogue interview: “it’s gotten so easy to be alone physically, where young people spend 12, 16 hours a day in their rooms on their phones, looking at these false realities, comparing themselves”. This Harvard study found that 34% of young people reported loneliness and 44% reported a sense of “not mattering to others”. And their analysis found that those feeling a sense of not mattering to others were significantly more likely to report a greater lack of meaning or purpose in their lives.