American Teens Have a Reason to be Miserable
Why not let them air their grievances without judgment?
By Lennon Gray
Douthat’s Idea of Teen Misery
Ask anybody why American teens are miserable, and you will get a myriad of answers varying from generation to generation. Older folks may chalk it up to increased screen time, bad behavior, or the lack of “real” music. Younger folks will often say it’s because of the state of the world and the structure of our society. Ross Douthat, an opinion columnist for the New York Times, has his own thoughts— technology, the internet, secularism, and what he calls “social liberalism” are to blame. Let’s explore what he means by that.
Why is Douthat Out of Touch?
Although I am no longer a teen myself, my teen years are not that far behind me. I can easily say I still share much of the grievances with the world that my teenage self had. But I have many questions for Douthat. Religion can be a route for some, but when religion is prescribed as the only way to live a moral and fulfilled life to an entire nation, certain groups are persecuted. Specifically, I’m pointing to the rise of Christian Nationalism within the United States. This specific sect of Christian ideology has permeated our society, and not for the better. As of June 2022, those assigned female at birth (AFAB) have lost their right to bodily autonomy in many states across the country, with policymakers championing their Christian ideals as their reasoning for such laws violating the right to choose. Christian Nationalism has also been used in more attacks on the LGBT community than I can cover. From banning LGBT history to blocking transgender people from getting lifesaving gender-affirming care, many LGBT youth in this country are in extreme danger. Both of the aforementioned examples are inevitably detrimental to many American teens’ mental and physical wellbeing. Organized religion, in this sense, has acted as a detriment– as Americans, we have freedom of religion. When one single religion dominates our institutions, groups of people get hurt. I believe our generation has a healthier approach—it is increasingly common for us to explore spirituality on our own, taking a personal journey that still allows us to develop strong moral compasses without the intervention of organized religion. Essentially, organized religion is not the only road to achieving morality.
Technology and the internet being blamed for teen misery is also an interesting topic Douthat brings up, but I do not agree with the reasons he purports. He argues that what he calls the “smartphone revolution” has resulted in reduced family stability, weak attachments to religion (which I have touched on), a strong emphasis on self-creation and a strong hostility to “normativity” (the last of which I am unsure what he means). He claims the current online world is full of “toxic narcissism, ideological crazes, mimetic misery, and despairing catastrophism.” I believe technology has had an impact, and it would be absurd to assert anything contrary; however, I do not believe teens are to blame for the current landscape of the online world. In fact, I think it is a grossly broad and inaccurate statement.
Virtually nothing is untouched by marketing in today’s world, especially technology. It is designed to pull you in and never let you go, and it is extremely difficult to avoid. It is everywhere we go. It becomes difficult to blame anybody for staying glued to their phone. In addition, with the state of the world, I’m unsure why anybody would want to look up from their phone. The world around us is built for profit and is constantly in conflict; oftentimes it's easier to look down, even if it is unproductive or unhelpful in pushing positive change forward. People become tired and need an escape. And that is exactly what technology and social media provides.
Furthermore, the environment of social media is not teens’ doing. Sure, they may contribute to what is popular on the algorithm, but corporations and their marketing teams reinforce it. They also prey on insecurities and tactics that get people to buy, buy, buy. You don’t look as good as this celebrity? Try this new product. Your fashion sense is two weeks old? Get an upgrade with the latest microtrend! While it draws us in, it has its negative effects—it can explain teen misery better than demonizing teens themselves.
Note that I do not want to bash social media as a whole—it has its downsides, no doubt, but I don’t think we can ignore how helpful it can be. Social media can be a fantastic tool for organizing protests, spreading awareness about important social issues, and taking action in other avenues. From collecting signatures on critical petitions to encouraging others to register to vote (resulting in a record voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election), social media has positively impacted the socialization and culture of our generation in ways that older generations often ignore. We have reduced the stigma around mental health and sexuality, we speak up about important issues, and we have developed a strong sense of community and togetherness.
Now to touch on Douthat’s idea of social liberalism. In his article, social liberalism entails “individualistic liberalism” that is characterized by “increasing social and sexual permissiveness” and changing beliefs surrounding “premarital sex, divorce, out-of-wedlock childbearing, marijuana use, and more.” He states that these changing norms were viewed as “positive and healthy,” and that on the surface, moral liberty and personal responsibility were balanced. But, he claims that it has become unsustainable and “self-undermining,” having collapsed familial, romantic, and sexual connections. This listing of changing social norms proves just how out of touch he is with younger generations; his idea of an ideal social structure is one we have worked extremely hard to change since much of it did not serve our physical or mental health. Changing these “norms” he wants to return to sounds like a good thing to me.
As someone who is a member of the generation Douthat is criticizing, I find his criticisms almost laughable. I can definitely tell you that what he states is certainly not the reason we are unhappy, nor why there is so much disorder in our world. No generation is without criticism; however, to continually blame each following generation for the entirety of the world’s problems is asinine. Generation Z is left to inherit a looming climate disaster (which we are already seeing the implications of), a failing economic system and infrastructure, and absolutely no social security or any other safety nets. It feels like we have lost our future and there is nobody to listen to us. I maintain a bit of hope considering we are getting more and more involved in the political sphere, but it’s hard not to feel down. All of the social issues that plague us existed before COVID, but virtually every problem in sight has been exacerbated by it. Bigotry runs rampant through the country, public officials seem to be working tirelessly to set history back one hundred years, three once-in-a-lifetime recessions have occurred in our short lives, wages are stagnant, housing costs are through the roof, everything is expensive, and work is back-breaking and draining. I think I have an idea of why we are so miserable.
So yes, we are miserable, but not for the reasons you might think. Regardless of how we feel, or how we are perceived, we won’t stop pushing to make the world better.