Lost in the Likes: Why More Youth Are Facing Depression

“They’re not just growing up. They’re growing through a world that doesn’t pause—and calls that resilience.”
— Julius C.

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Who Are Considered Youth—And How Are They Different from Children?

According to the United Nations, the term “youth” refers to individuals aged 15 to 24, though this definition may vary slightly across regions and policies. Unlike children, youth are transitioning toward independence but are not yet fully equipped with the emotional and psychological tools adults are expected to have.

While children typically depend on parental figures and schooling for guidance, youth face unique crossroads—navigating identity, societal expectations, career paths, peer influence, and the digital world, all at once. It’s a stage marked by self-discovery, vulnerability, and performance pressure, often without the emotional maturity to cope with it all.

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Academic Pressures: Grades Before Grace

Exams, college applications, scholarships—today’s youth are under constant academic scrutiny. In many education systems, success is still measured by grades, not growth. This pressure to excel, often fuelled by family expectations and societal norms, can lead to chronic stress and self-doubt.

Studies have shown that academic stress is a significant predictor of depression in adolescents (Pascoe et al., 2020). Worse, school environments sometimes lack mental health support, forcing youth to internalize their struggles.

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Social Expectations: The Need to Be “Enough”

Being a teenager used to mean trying to fit in at school. Today, it also means fitting into a digital world that never switches off. From body image to popularity to activism, youth are expected to have it all together—and post about it too.

There’s little room for vulnerability in a culture obsessed with productivity and “aesthetic” perfection. This performance of self can lead to identity confusion, anxiety, and depressive episodes when reality doesn’t match the curated life seen online.

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The Digital Dilemma: Filters, FOMO, and Dopamine Hits

Social media platforms are engineered to keep users scrolling. But for young minds still learning self-worth, this can be devastating.

• Filters distort reality, promoting unrealistic beauty standards.
• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) breeds inadequacy and envy.
• Likes and follows become a digital currency for self-esteem.

Research confirms the link between excessive screen time and depressive symptoms, especially in adolescents (Twenge et al., 2018). Every dopamine hit from a notification reinforces a dependency that’s hard to break.

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Cyberbullying: The Invisible Threat

Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying follows youth into their homes and beds, robbing them of any safe space. Anonymity empowers cruelty, and platforms often lag behind in protecting users.

Victims of cyberbullying experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation than their peers. And because it’s online, the evidence is eternal—haunting profiles and search engines long after the damage is done.

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How Can We Support Emotional Resilience in Youth?

• Normalize conversations about mental health—at school, at home, and online.
• Encourage digital detoxes to reclaim mental space.
• Model empathy and emotional regulation as adults.
• Promote creative outlets—writing, music, sports—as tools for expression.
• Push for better mental health education in school curricula.

Most importantly, listen more than we advise. Today’s youth don’t need perfection from us—they need presence.

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📌 Sneak Peek: Upcoming Post

“From Screens to Self-Esteem: How Social Media Fuels Youth Depression“

Why are teens smiling on Instagram but crying in their rooms? In our next post, we’ll break down the links between excessive screen time, cyberbullying, and the erosion of self-worth. Backed by research and lived experiences, this article will explore how the very platforms meant to connect us are often disconnecting youth from themselves.