Youth, particularly adolescence, is a stage full of constant physical, emotional, and cognitive changes. This stage of life is also challenging because of the transitions between school, college, and work life. However, not all youth have the same access to quality health and education, and academic and professional opportunities. These inequalities can affect their mental stability, especially when exposed to the realities of other young people with better living conditions. The World Health Organization (2020) states that “half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age, but most cases are undetected and untreated”. Today, two factors that can affect youth’s mental well-being are the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

First, despite the benefits of the 4IR, I consider that the boom in the use of new information and communication technologies (ICT) has two adverse impacts on youth. On the one hand, it can amplify resentment and frustrations due to socioeconomic inequalities between those who have access to ICT and those who do not. Access to ICT opens a world of academic and professional opportunities and exposure to new realities. To mention an example, only 67% of the population has access to the Internet in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which varies in urban areas (about 60%) and rural areas (ranging from 10% to 40%) (Moreno, 2020). On the other hand, even though social media facilitates access to diverse friendships and sources of support for youth, these platforms can also increase the probability of suffering anxiety, depression, or suicide in the young population (Carol, Lhaksampa, Miller, & Platt, 2020).

Second, the ravages of the health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic may have to endure in the long term in various areas for youth. A quick UNICEF survey in the context of the pandemic for young population in LAC found alarming data among participants:

• 27% of participants reported feeling anxiety and 15% depression in the last seven days. For 30%, the main reason influencing their current emotions is the economic situation.
• Young people perceive a pessimistic future for their lives, with divergences by gender. 43% of the women feel pessimistic about the future compared to 31% of the male participants.
• 73% of participants have felt the need to ask for help concerning their physical and mental well-being. Despite this, 40% did not ask for help.
• Health centers and specialized hospitals (50%) followed by worship centers (26%) and online services (23%) are the main mechanisms where they would seek help if needed (UNICEF, 2020).

When investigating response alternatives to guarantee the mental well-being of youth, I discovered that the World Economic Forum (2020) developed the Global Youth Mental Health framework, based on evidence review and consultations with various stakeholders (young people and their families, as well as the service providers and planners, clinicians, non-government organizations (NGOs), government and researchers who are dedicated to system development and reform to better meet the mental health needs of young people). Based on this framework, eight principles for delivering mental health interventions to youth are:

1. Rapid, easy, and affordable access.
2. Youth-specific care.
3. Awareness, engagement, and integration.
4. Early intervention.
5. Youth partnership.
6. Family engagement and support.
7. Continuous improvement.
8. Prevention.

Possible responses to guarantee the mental well-being of the young population should include:

• Strengthen mental well-being issues in educational curricula. While various primary education and high school course include life orientation and sex education, mental health must be a key element. New public and private youth policies and programs should include a mental wellness component to provide mental health information and support.
• Work with the various stakeholders linked to youth. Stakeholders such as family, churches, community leaders, teachers, and other actors who can provide emotional support to youth need to be included in youth interventions. These interventions can include, for example, training stakeholders and providing support protocol for youth with mental health problems.
• Diversify the support channels for youth mental health. The support channels for the mental well-being of young people must be based on their socioeconomic realities and following constant global changes. For example, if social media has a high use by youth, the quality (and not necessarily the quantity) of information on mental well-being for youth available on these platforms should be more effective to address this issue. This information can prioritize offering support channels for youths facing mental difficulties.
• Normalize the culture of youth support. In general, there are countries where asking for psychological support is something for “insane people”. Changing this mindset can help make more young people receptive to support.

Mental well-being should be a priority for youth development. First, the right to health is not only limited to physical well-being but also emotional. Second, youth’s educational and professional development rests on the complementarity of physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being. Therefore, all the design and delivery of youth policies and programs, both public and private, must provide a comprehensive response to youth problems. Being young is a challenge in the face of the changes inherent in this stage of life and society’s different expectations and pressures. However, factors such as the 4IR and the current impacts of the pandemic undoubtedly undermine the mental well-being of youth. Hence, the opportunity to build a more inclusive and sustainable “new normal” rests mainly on the ideas, enthusiasm, and contributions of young people. Therefore, investing in youth is also the opportunity to invest in a fairer, more humane, and better world than we have.

References

Carol, V., Lhaksampa, T., Miller, L., & Platt, R. (2020, February 17). Social media use and depression in adolescents: a scoping review. Int Rev Psychiatry(32(3)), 235–253. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7392374/

Moreno, A. (2020, July 3). El estado de digitalización de América Latina y el Caribe en el contexto COVID-19. América Latina en Movimiento. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.alainet.org/es/articulo/207652

UNICEF. (2020). El impacto del COVID-19 en la salud mental de adolescentes y jóvenes. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/impact-covid-19-mental-health-adolescents-and-youth

World Economic Forum. (2020, May). A Global Framework for Youth Mental Health: Investing in Future Mental Capital for Individuals, Communities and Economies. Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Youth_Mental_Health_2020.pdf

World Health Organization. (2020, September 28). Adolescent mental health. WHO. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health