What is stressing youth – Fr Alfred Micallef
The study conducted on behalf of the Richmond Foundation about the mental health of youth and published a few weeks ago provides a lot of food for thought (Times of Malta, April 22). The high percentage of young people experiencing anxiety and depressive moods is alarming. If youths are going through so much stress now, one wonders what their adult life is going to be like. In her concluding speech, CEO Stephania Dimech Sant underscored the fact that this study helps the foundation offer a better healing service. This is very true because the better one knows the disease the better one can heal it. From the article, it is not clear whether the survey participants were asked what they believed to be the cause of such miserable mental states. In passing, it is mentioned that youth have feelings about being on social media and, more concretely, that 16-year-olds have FOMO [fear of missing out]-related concerns. People commenting online on the story suggested causes: the educational system, demanding jobs, destruction of the environment, local politics, the forceful feeding of religious dogmas, peer pressure. There is no doubt that some of these are indeed stressors and could cause...