Why is everyone mentally ill these days?
Boomers often say that kids these days have a weak will power or are stupid and selfish. And they start the whole 'When I was your age...' lecture that nobody likes. As a gifted kid born in an asian country, I've had it countless times that it feels like a TV show I've watched million times. lol
However, it seems to me that it's actually true that mental issues and social problems are extremely common for the millennials and the Gen Zs. So, what's happening with young people now days? Were boomers right after all?
During the boomers' era, on most countries, the most important value for a society was 'Harmony' and 'Cooperation'. Tragic wars had been over(WWll, Korean war, Vietnamese war...), and now it was time for the mankind to re-construct the society. Lots of different ideologies and beliefs arisen or started to change(Neo-republicanism, hippie, yuppie, the modern communitarianism...), and even though they all had different ideas on what the ideal form of a society should be, they were all sharing the goal of building a harmonized society where everyone could benefit each other and contribute to the society or even the world. People at that time naturally viewed themselves as a part of a society or a country, and considered it important to find and play a right role for the greater good.
On the other hand, the world where the millennials and the Gen Zs were born in was quite different. Most societies and countries had settled with certain systemic structures that either worked for them the best or satisfied a certain need, and people started to lose interest on building an ideal world or a society. Instead, most people started to focus on personal needs and relationships. All kinds of new technologies appeared or got accessible for most people after 80s such as a smart phone and a personal computer were highly personalized, and each individuals got louder and stronger than ever. People started to think and talk about their own identities, experiences, ideologies and struggles, and many of them even started to believe every single personal aspects they have must be respected and accepted. The time where people try to build an ideal world all together was gone, and the time where people demand the world to change for them came.
A world-wide change often causes a massive change on the education(mainly the public schooling). The education boomers and the Gen Xs got helped them to find their roles for a society and play them well, but the education the next gens got provided them tools and chances to find their own dreams and goals.
Note: Even though I always try to learn more from all kinds of people, the majority of my experiences are still limited within the asian culture and politics. If your experiences have been different from mine, please share them on the comment section!
For example- My elementary school had various programs and classes about the self-concept. I still remember when I got a homework that had questions about myself. The questions were asking me what my favorite foods and colors were, whom my best friend was, and even what my core belief was. Even though teachers already had explained what the core belief means and why it's important to recognize what it is for me, I still had to ask my parents for help because I felt like I had to find the 'right answer' but I really couldn't unlike any other homeworks or tests I'd gotten. I still remember that my parents also needed a time to think about it, and most examples they gave me were about the society rather than themselves. 'Mmm... Maybe you believe the world should be full of joy?' I did believe it. But I didn't feel like it was the right answer because I learned that the core belief is something that determines my behavior and even who I am, and it had never really been my concern when I made any personal decision if the world would be full of joy or not. 'Well, my core belief when I was your age I think was that I should listen to teachers and elders and learn from them.' I instantly thought it was weird that she considered it as her own core belief when it was mostly relying on others' opinion. And both my parents and I realized that the school education for my parents when they were young never asked them to learn about themselves but only asked them what they wanna be for the society or the country. On the contrast, millennials and Gen Xs were taught to explore their internal universe and get a strong self-concept or ego.
Have you noticed that many of the popular political issues have been heavily focused on individuals' own identities, feelings and beliefs? I'm not trying to say they're bad, but pointing out that even the political agendas are mostly self-centered for the newer generations. And I believe this is why the mental illness are more common now days. Because young people have developed a strong ego and learned to focus on it, they tend to make everything personal. For them, the things they've achieved in their lives are exclusively or mostly their own accomplishments, and struggles or failures they've had are also fully owned by them. A such mindset easily gets them either arrogant or depressed, and cause all kinds of problems for them. While they try to own even the things that aren't entirely theirs, they often reveal things that should be processed internally first to the outer world and expect(or even force) others to accept and respect them, because their entire focus is themselves and it affects even the way they interact with the world. It's not weird that their mentality can't handle it when they try to be the center of the world while they aren't! They would naturally look immature or selfish to the older generations, and they would feel like they know better than their parents who were just a mechanical part of a society. And that fundamental difference between the older gens and the new gens often cause them to invalidate opinions from the other gens weather or not they're fair. (The 'Ok, boo/zoomer' meme is probably most common example of the disambiguation in the modern days) And some techniques the older gens used to heal their mind that enhance the ego(like loving myself more or reinforcing the confidence) generally would feel comforting for the newer gens, but might actually make their issues even worse. Instead, what they need to do might be recognizing the size of their ego and its power, and working on weakening it or adjusting it.
Comments
Post a Comment