May 10, 2022
Mental Health
  • Last month, the New York Times began publishing a series examining adolescent mental health and the culprits that have led to its decline. While the COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably played a role, adolescent mental health has been trending downward over the last three decades. Many experts point out that social media, video games, and other online activities have led adolescents to spend less time on in-person activities, sleep, and exercise. Simultaneously, the medical system has failed to keep up. In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a report that concluded pediatricians need to play a larger role in addressing mental health problems, but the majority do not feel prepared to do so. In the series’ latest installment, author Matt Richtel describes the difficulties facing pediatricians, who now routinely deal with complex psychiatric issues and often prescribe powerful psychiatric medications for lack of better alternatives. (Article here)