Alarming Development: Increasing Number of Adolescents Taking Psychotropic Drugs

Social media and streaming threaten the life satisfaction of teenagers in Austria. Although a study for the "Mental Health Days", which evaluated responses from around 14,500 young people, generally showed a high level of life satisfaction, individual aspects such as depression are widespread. The online content consumed could play a role in this, as was stated at a press conference in Vienna on Monday.

Social Media Threatens Teenagers' Life Satisfaction

According to one of the study authors, Tobias Dienlin, the surveyed teenagers, with an average age of 14, spent about four hours a day on their mobile phones. While the use of messenger services, online games or the consumption of news had no impact on life satisfaction, this was different for streaming services or particularly social media like Instagram. "Here, people usually show their good sides," said Dienlin. This distorted image would then often be compared with one's own - real - life. "The effects are small, but relevant," said the author.

Majority of Respondents Feel Downcast or Hopeless

Overall, life satisfaction is very high with 73 percent approval. "But the values are slightly decreasing," Dienlin said. Mental problems also became apparent when specific questions were asked. In the survey, 86 percent said they had felt downcast or hopeless in the past two weeks. 28 percent even said they had thoughts of wanting to be dead or to harm themselves.

The rise in mental health issues among teenagers has now also been proven in several international studies, as Paul Piener, another author of the study, said. It was also found that the prescription of psychotropic drugs to teenagers has greatly increased. The main causes are multiple crises: from war and inflation to climate change. Covid, however, is "no longer an issue".

130,000 Young People Reached by "Mental Health Days" So Far

To make the topic of mental health more tangible for teenagers, the author Golli Marboe introduced "Mental Health Days - Days of Mental Health" in school lessons in 2023. So far, the initiative has reached around 130,000 young people. Topics include bullying, body image, performance pressure, fears, and suicidality. According to Marboe, the demand is enormous. A total of 500 deployment days are planned for 2025, but the costs of 1.5 million are not yet fully financed despite funding. Paul Freysinger from the Federal Youth Representation (BJV) also emphasized the great importance of support measures for mental health problems. He demanded a psychologist or a school social worker per 1,000 students - otherwise, there is a risk of "a wildfire that is very difficult to stop".

(APA/Red)

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