Mental minefield

Young people today are facing a crisis of depression. They are labeled as the most depressed in generations. In fact, many studies show surprising levels of depression specifically among Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) and younger.

Findings and conclusions from secular social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the award-winning book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, have gained notoriety among both Christians and nonbelievers. (See related story on p. 30.)

As revealed in his book, a sudden spike in major depressive episodes (i.e. feeling sad, empty, or depressed, or losing interest in things usually enjoyed) occurred among U.S. teens between 2010 and 2015. Since 2010, depression in both sexes has increased approximately 150%. But the climb occurred more steeply and suddenly among teen girls, as rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm doubled. Emergency room visits for self-harm rose 188% among girls after 2010, and suicide rates increased by 167% for girls and 91% for boys.

Haidt also proposes – among a host of other claims – a link between the current mental health crisis and the use of smartphones and social media apps among adolescents and teens. He found that the most significant spike in mental illness began in 2010 – the year smartphones with front-facing “selfie” cameras were released, and the year the social media app Instagram was launched.

Axis – a Christian organization that equips parents to disciple their children through gospel-centered conversations – published data that concurred with Haidt in ranking Instagram as the worst app for young people’s mental health, saying it has a particularly negative effect on females.

While the outlook is bleak based on the statistics alone, Christian experts agree that with a biblical perspective, parents can guide their kids through the minefield of mental health issues that plague the modern world.

The trap of social media

Evan Barber, senior editor of Axis (axis.org), also sees firsthand evidence of the mental health crisis happening among young people.

“It’s definitely confirmed by what people are reaching out and asking us,” he told The Stand. “I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories of moms and kids making ER visits. … This is not just feelings [they’re dealing with]. Decisions are being made.”

Barber confirms what is widely known – that social media can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of young people, particularly due to the sheer volume of time spent on it. In May 2023, Vivek Murthy, then U.S. surgeon general, issued an advisory cautioning the “profound risk of harm” that social media poses to the well-being of children. The advisory stated that 95% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the U.S. use social media, and one-third of them report being on social media almost constantly.

The abyss of psychology

However, while social media can have a degrading influence on mental health, Dr. Karl Benzio suggested, “The biggest issue is that we’re in a postmodern world, and we don’t believe in absolutes anymore.”

Benzio is a board-certified psychiatrist, co-founder/chief psychiatrist of a Christian residential treatment center in Greenville, Florida, and medical director of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).

He told The Stand, “Absolutes, truths, and principles are left to be determined by every individual. What is sex? What is gender? What is marriage? The mentality is, Whatever you think is right, go ahead and do it. We don’t have an agreed-upon set of absolutes or an instruction manual (the Bible) or an arbitrator (God) to determine what’s right and wrong.

“People escape into their screens perhaps due to other psychological struggles that they have, and they’re going to the screens to self-medicate, but the original issue is what we need to address,” he added. “Young adults and teenagers [are especially vulnerable to the effects of social media] because the prefrontal cortex of the brain – which gives us our executive function, decision-making, and impulse control – is not fully developed until the mid-20s.”

Barber also emphasized that parents need to help their kids understand that social media and technology take advantage of the way the brain works. This way kids can guard themselves with discernment and self-control in how they interact with both.

Benzio also explained the need for children to understand that feelings of anxiety or depression, in response to negative news or hostile interactions on social media, are a natural reaction and a warning system of the brain to alert them to things that are harmful.

The anchor of discipleship

With this understanding, parents can lead the way through Christian discipleship and prepare their children to meet a world of digital interactions with a clear mind and spiritual maturity.

Walt Mueller is founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (cpyu.org), a ministry aiding families and churches in nurturing children in Christian discipleship. At a digital discipleship conference in Tupelo, Mississippi, Mueller reminded parents that smartphones and online media are not going away. However, he also said that Christian parents can provide their children with the faith foundation to address the challenges of modern technology.

“We’re not going to demonize tech-ology,” Mueller said. “Technology is a gift. Humans in the image of God are creating technology. The most important question is, ‘Is it contributing to our human flourishing as being made in the image of God, or is it contributing to our undoing and destruction?’”

Benzio explained that the root issue is not tech use but the need for a belief system that promotes a sound mind.

“How we think is affected by our belief system,” he said. “So, when our belief system is aligned with the Bible, our thinking is clear and accurate, our decision-making is a lot better, and our ability to manage emotions is better.

“The battlefield really is the mind,” Benzio added. “We’re in a spiritual battlefield, and parents are the primary guardians of children’s minds, helping them figure out: What information do I allow to get stored in my mind? What lies? What is the truth about God? Who am I?”

Barber encouraged parents to understand the psychological principle known as anchoring bias: People rely on the first piece of information they receive about a topic to interpret future information. Parents have the opportunity to “get there first” and be bold in conversations with their children that will set the course for the rest of their lives.

Mueller explained this begins primarily by grounding kids spiritually in three pivotal worldview issues: their identity is found in Christ, not in how they appear on social media; truth is formed by Scripture, not by culture; and relationally, they belong as followers of Christ in the family of God, not in a social network online.

“You want to see them be transformed by the Lord and have a heart that has been changed and wants to please the Lord,” Mueller concluded. “It’s that spiritual nurture that’s most important.”