The Problem
This is happening everywhere.
Right now.
Since 2012 — the year smartphones became the default for teenagers — every mental health metric for young people has moved in the wrong direction. The problem is not the phone. It is what the phone rewards.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 35. 1.9 million young people on NHS mental health waiting lists. Youth services cut by 73%.
The US Surgeon General declared youth mental health a national emergency. Teen depression has tripled since 2007. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34.
75% of mental health conditions emerge before age 25. Suicide is the leading cause of death for 15 to 44 year olds. Australia banned social media for under 16s in 2024.
One person dies by suicide every 40 seconds worldwide. Young people are the fastest growing demographic. Governments everywhere are out of ideas.
Social media is not the problem. What it rewards is.
Platforms built an economy of comparison — where a young person's worth is measured by likes, followers and how they look against everyone else's highlight reel. They gave young people a currency they can never win with. And they took away the one thing that actually builds identity, resilience and belonging. Real life.