If one were to define this current age about what is the majorly occupant indication, they would define it, if they are aware enough, in terms of the ever-active and outgoing youth, the growing influence of social media, and the effect of mental health reality. But, if there is an attempt at defining these three in relativity, one might think of the role of youth in speaking about mental health on social media, the role of social media in establishing the understanding of mental health for youth, or simply social media, youth, and mental health.

But another perspective on this connection gets overlooked under the chaotic perception of it. This focuses on the mental health of the youth affected by social media. There have been various speculations about this very connection. And justifiably so. But, the most inevitable relation is that social media is too intense a place to be for the mentally and emotionally sensitive youth. The mind of the youth has a very flexible shape, which is to say it can be molded into any form that it grasps immediately and influentially. The overcrowded and digitally accessible space of a chaotic social media can give it various forms, manipulating it from one to another.

This is not an advantage of the sensitive flexibility but a drawback. The youth doesn’t know where to fit in or how to fit in. As a result, they become stuck in the multiplicity of accessible availability towards them. And the process is not linear, but rather a constant loop that constantly revolves, changing its position. When there is no fixed position, there will inevitably be a purposeless wandering. One might say that the term “purpose” is too serious a term to be associated with social media. But the vast influence of this immediate digital world compels the fickle mind of the youth to find their purpose there.

And why wouldn’t there be a manipulation of search by the platforms? It is changing the social perception of many. There is the abstract philosophy of life that circulates. Various social movements are digitally rooted but make a great social impact. Political agendas are concretely shaped. Influencers do their job of influencing a major mass of the chronically online crowd. It is not limited to a platform for entertainment anymore, but also for education and crucial information. Historical awareness mingles with modern creativity. Artists showcase their art. It is a great medium of connectivity. One feels heard and seen. From sarcasm to life lessons, it embeds every aspect of the ever-changing life.

When something with this great a force becomes immediately accessible to the youth, they, with their young blood, do not refuse to become participants. But this immediate exposure to a vast space of intense ideals and controversies reveals to them what they might not be ready to accept yet. For they were never prepared for the intensity of seriousness. Something that was supposed to be a gradual disclosure takes

a drastic turn of being an open-ended vastness. Which, in turn, backfires as overconsumption of forced realities, truths, and awareness that extends beyond their mental and emotional capability.

There might be an argument for the revelation of reality that could shape them into an aware generation. On the contrary, it makes them fearful and unaccepting of the very reality they are in. They do not become aware of the realities, but the possibility of themselves existing in the harshness of it. And this possibility compels them to adopt various methods of escapist attitudes, allowing them to go into a prolonged denial. The movement doesn’t then become one of forwardness, but one that takes a turn and goes backward. The argument of an aware youth then turns into one against the youth who is in a constant state of denial.

On a massive level of exploration, they start associating the things they encounter with the formation of their identities. When something links itself to one’s identity, it doesn’t remain limited to social aspects but also to individuality, personality, and character. Which is to say their identity is not their own but a manipulation of who they are supposed to be. The question of “WHO” is a very heavy question itself for those who are experienced. It extends beyond race, gender, sex, religion, politics, and society. When there is a compelling effect of excited immediacy, how might a growing youth be able to answer this question?

The inevitable effect of the social media age on youth thus becomes one of digital manipulation, denial, and a young crisis. Their search for smaller answers ends in the quest for a bigger unfolding of crisis. They tend to know what the world is too soon and forget who they were supposed to be there.    

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