Can technology help to meet the mental health needs of the young (next) generation?
Recent news of $1.7 billion of student loans will be forgiven of US Public Service Workers and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen providing testimony to US Senate Commerce Committee show an opportunity for better engagement to help the next generation through financial and technological efforts.
From the documents provided to The Wall Street Journal, the internal Facebook 2019 research study highlight troubling findings among the participants (link in comment). Overnight, Facebook team released further statements to clarify the 2019 study, as now it becomes concerning to know the entire scope of the results without having full report of the study. For example, it is unclear from which the provided statistics used as a sample in the study (the study consisted of 40 adolescents qualitative in-person interviews, 8 follow-up video call, & 2503 online survey). Still here are two statistics from WSJ document to highlight that still troubling:
- – 82% of participants have felt one emotional issue in past month
- – 1 in 5 has thought about suicide or self-injury
The report is pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Still, we know that the impact of COVID-19 pandemic – both primary, secondary and tertiary stressors to disruption of routines, education, healthcare, employment and recreation left many young people feeling beyond concerned for their future and their loved ones.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic – both primary, secondary and tertiary stressors to disruption of routines, education, healthcare, employment and recreation left many young people feeling beyond concerned for their future and their loved ones.
More highlights from UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2021:
- 1/3 of young people surveyed in Cameroon said they often felt depressed or had little interest in doing things
- 1 in 5 in the UK reported the same
- 1 in 10 in Ethiopia and Japan as well