Feb 01, 2024 06:00:00

It has been pointed out that the mental health of young people in Europe is at risk due to the spread of smartphones.

Since the 2010s, when smartphones became popular, it has been

reported that the rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide among young people have increased worldwide. A similar situation is occurring in Europe, and the foreign media After Babel conducted a survey on trends in psychological distress among young people living in Europe in relation to gender, GDP per capita, individualism, and religiosity. I am.

The Youth Mental Health Crisis is International Part 4: Europe
https://www.afterbabel.com/p/international-crisis-europe

After Babel conducted a survey on the mental health of young people living in Europe using data from the Health Behavior Survey of School-Aged Children (HBSC). The HBSC is an initiative that surveys thousands of young people aged 11, 13, and 15 living in 51 European countries about their physical and mental well-being, and has been conducted since 2002.

The HBSC includes four questions related to psychological distress: ``I sometimes feel depressed,'' ``I sometimes get nervous,'' ``I sometimes feel irritable,'' and ``I sometimes have trouble sleeping.'' Respondents to the HBSC responded to these questions by choosing from one of five categories: 'every day,' 'more than once a week,' 'once a week,' 'once a month,' and 'rarely/never.' Evaluate your condition over the past 6 months. After Babel defines those who have answered ``every day'' or ``at least once a week'' to 3 or more of the 4 questions as having ``high psychological distress'' in the past 6 months.

Using this scale, After Babel calculates the average score of psychological distress for young people living in Europe in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 by gender. As a result of the survey, it has been reported that although the average score of psychological distress among young people in Europe was stable from 2002 to 2010, it has been on the rise since 2010. It was also found that girls were more likely to report psychological distress.

After Babel also conducted a disaggregated study on the mental health of young people in Europe. Analysis by region of residence of the subjects revealed that young people in Eastern European countries were more likely to report psychological distress than young people in Western European countries. It has also been reported that since 2010, young people across Europe have been more likely to report psychological distress, with the greatest increase among girls in Western European countries.

Previous

research has shown that the higher the per capita GDP, the higher the level of happiness, but most of the previous research has focused on adults, and there is very little research on adolescents. Therefore, After Babel investigated the average psychological distress score of young people living in 11 'high-income' countries and 11 'low-income' countries in Europe as of 2014. The results showed that young people in high-income countries consistently reported lower rates of psychological distress than young people in low-income countries. Furthermore, it has been reported that the proportion of young people in high-income countries reporting psychological distress has increased rapidly since 2010, and this trend has become particularly strong among girls.

Furthermore, After Babel also conducted a survey on '

income disparity ', which can be seen as a factor of economic disparity. The survey uses the Gini coefficient , which is an indicator of income inequality, and it is said that the higher the Gini coefficient, the stronger the tendency for economic inequality. The After Babel study reported that young people living in countries with high Gini coefficients are more likely to report psychological distress than those living in countries with low Gini coefficients. On the other hand, it has been revealed that since 2010, girls in the Nordic countries, Slovenia, Belgium, and the Netherlands, which have low Gini coefficients and strong trends in economic equality, have had the highest rates of reporting mental distress. Masu.

These findings reveal that in Europe since 2010, girls living in wealthy and economically equal societies have experienced the fastest decline in mental health. However, there is little evidence to think that increasing wealth or decreasing inequality causes poorer mental health. Therefore, Agter Babel conducted further research on ' individualism ' and religious views , cultural variables known to have many influences on society.

According to After Babel, in less affluent countries, individuals tend to work for group cohesion and downplay their own desires and personal projects, making them less individualistic. On the other hand, in wealthy countries, people's daily needs are more easily met and they have more time to enjoy leisure as their sense of economic security increases. It is also thought that because the government provides so much support to individuals, it becomes easier for them to separate themselves from the larger group or community to which they were born, and as a result, they become more individualistic.

Until now, being individualistic has been recognized as ``enjoying freedom and improving happiness,'' but since 2010, this trend is said to have begun to change among young people. The rapid growth of technology has led to an increase in the amount of time young people spend alone, while significantly reducing the amount of time young people spend face-to-face interacting with others. As a result, it has been pointed out that this may be leading to poor mental health among young people today.

In order to examine the relationship between individualism and young people's mental health, After Babel analyzed trends in psychological distress among young people in countries with high and low individualism scores in ` `Hofstede's six-dimensional model .'' The results showed that before 2010, young people in countries with strong individualistic tendencies had better mental health than young people with low individualistic tendencies, but this trend no longer held true between 2010 and 2018. Reported.

After Babel also investigated ``religious beliefs,'' which are predicted to maintain good mental health among adolescents. Below are the results of a survey on trends in psychological distress associated with high and low religious beliefs. Similar to previous comparisons of GDP and individualism, young people's mental health, which was stable before 2010, has rapidly deteriorated since 2010.

Similarly, After Babel also investigated the differences between Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians, and found that the mental health of young people has deteriorated most rapidly since 2010 among strongly religious Protestants. I am reporting.

In addition, After Babel analyzed data published by

Eurostat on suicide among young people living in Europe since 2011. The analysis found that in Europe since 2011, the suicide rate for boys has decreased, while the suicide rate for girls has slightly increased.

Furthermore, when looking at suicide trends among young people and dividing them into Eastern and Western Europe, it is found that while the suicide rate for boys living in Eastern Europe is decreasing, the suicide rate for boys living in Western Europe remains roughly the same. Turns out. Furthermore, it has been reported that the suicide rate for girls was roughly the same in Eastern and Western Europe throughout the 2010s, and has slightly increased in both countries since 2011-2013.

Furthermore, it has become clear that while the suicide rate for girls in countries with high individualist tendencies is increasing, the suicide rate for girls in countries with low individualist tendencies is decreasing.

Below is a graph showing suicide trends since 2011 in Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox European countries. Suicide rates have been shown to increase in the 2010s among young people in Protestant countries.

Based on these survey results, After Babel concludes, ``With the spread of smartphones since 2010, the society surrounding young people has transformed from real-world communities to online networks, resulting in a collapse of their sense of self and community. 'I've done it,' he pointed out. On the other hand, it is speculated that ``young people who lead lives rooted in real-world communities where various generations are mixed, such as family, neighborhood relationships, and religion, have been protected to some extent from social change.''

After Babel says, ``With the proliferation of smartphones, we are undoubtedly in the midst of the largest and most rapid social transformation in human history. 'It has become clear that there is a strong tendency for children to be protected from a society in which they are exposed.'