Are mental health indicators declining?

Yes, mental health indicators appear to be declining, particularly among young people. Jonathan Haidt and Emily Oster discuss this trend in detail, noting a sharp inflection point around 2012. They highlight that this decline, especially noticeable among girls, is seen globally across the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Scandinavia. Various explanations, such as societal events or economic conditions, fail to fully account for this widespread decline. The experts point to a significant, yet unexplained, shift in mental health trends starting from 2012, raising the possibility of unidentified factors, including the increasing ubiquity of technology, as potential influences 1.