Living in 2020 means that most people are being exposed to more info in 1 week than people 50 years ago would be in their entire life. Technology has made us lazy yet smarter as we can look up any question you have in a little box in your pocket. We are in an age where we are oversaturated with content, which is causing anxiety and depression to grow among the younger generation 

We as humans crave attention and social media is a place where people of different walks of life can connect and talk to each other on sites like Twitter, so when you add the 2 they mix just as well as oil and water. Social media trolls have taken over all major social media sites and have caused a stir or controversy under almost every comment section. This has caused arguments and has been quite annoying lately as we are going through one of the most polarizing elections in recent history and everyone is on edge due to COVID-19. Trolls as of recent have been more aggressive and in high volumes because of this and even just saying “TRUMP 2020” will incite arguments and give the troll “clout” (a term used when someone on the internet gains attention and followers). With all of this, you can see why this is extremely frustrating for kids growing up in this day and age with social media right at their fingertips. 

Another factor in this is a fake news in which there has been an abundance of in 2020. I did gloss over this topic in one of my blogs a couple of weeks back but this topic has been the circle of debate for all of 2020 and the topic has affected all our lives in every way possible since news about specifical coronavirus and the elections have been different in almost every single news channel or page. Fake news has caused the American people to doubt what’s real and has made a strong division between Democrats and Republicans as they both pitting themselves in what seems to be a social media civil war as they coming for each other throats on which information is correct and incorrect. This has confused the youth on who they should believe and adds an unbelievable amount of stress to what they already have on their plates. According to NPR “The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a government survey that tracks mental health and substance use in individuals age 12 and over in the U.S. They looked at survey responses from more than 200,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 and almost 400,000 young adults ages 18 and over between 2005 and 2017. They found the rate of individuals reporting symptoms consistent with major depression over the past year increased 52 percent in teens and 63 percent in young adults over a decade. Girls were more vulnerable than boys. By 2017 one out of every five teenage girls had experienced major depression in the last year.” This stat is extremely concerning and has most likely increased in 2020 due to the hectic year we have had. 

One question I would like to pass off to the reader is that have you experienced an increase in anxiety or depression since Corona has started and how has the recent news cycle affected your day to day life?