Apparently, young people are increasingly exposed to mental health problems. Is it a real fact or is it a problem of perception?
By: Iván Tobar Bocaz, Journalist, Vice-Rectorate for Research and Development – ivtobar@udec.cl
Images: Pixabay and Félix Cova.
“Today there is frequent talk of a youth mental health crisis, but it is not clear from where or how different social actors understand this phenomenon,” explains Dr. Félix Cova Solar, an academic from the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The Doctor in Psychology from the University of the Basque Country is the leader of an interdisciplinary group of researchers from the University of Concepción, who, within the framework of a Fondecyt project, are seeking to determine whether the mental health of young people is being over-pathologized, and what is the social representation of youth mental health.
Is there a mental health crisis among our young people?
Mental health indicators are not objective biomarkers, but intersubjective processes based on personal experience and visible behaviors, interpreted by the individual, their relatives, and a professional. Although biological factors play a role, they are not physical ‘dysfunctions’.
The widespread and simplified use of these indicators, as checklists, has facilitated erroneous and overgeneralized readings. This complexity is exacerbated in children and adolescents, where perceptions of third parties are crucial.
Today’s youth live immersed in a digital environment with an omnipresent psychopathological discourse. This increases their tendency to interpret everyday experiences as symptoms, to identify with diagnostic labels, and to model their expression of discomfort on what they observe. Digital exposure profoundly influences both what they feel and how they understand and express that feeling.
What are the main questions that this study is expected to answer?
This project seeks to understand what society means when it talks about adolescent mental health and how those meanings are constructed and reproduced: What draws attention when thinking about young people and their well-being? What phenomena are considered the main problems? Is there an increase in them? If so, to what is it attributed? How should this topic be approached?
Understanding these meanings — sometimes implicit — is key, because they influence everyday life, individual attitudes and behaviors, as well as professional practices and the design of public policies.
What are the leading indicators of mental health in young people? Are they different from other age groups?
In young people, the challenge is greater; they are exposed to an omnipresent psychopathological discourse in digital media. This leads to interpreting everyday experiences as symptoms, self-identifying with labels, and expressing discomfort in line with observed models. Digital exposure shapes what they feel, how they understand it, and how they express it.
How does social media influence the mental health of young people?
Although it is a controversial topic, I think there is ample evidence to support that social media is having a profoundly detrimental impact, intensifying problematic trends such as isolation, disengagement, and disorientation. Instead of addressing the sources of teenage discomfort, they deepen them, encouraging constant comparison and a filtered life where others always seem happier.
In addition, they hinder frustration tolerance and sustained effort due to quick rewards and promote a more fragile emotionality. The networks aggravate an already strained social ecosystem.
To protect the mental health of children and adolescents, it is crucial to modify our relationship with this digital ecosystem, and this requires that we adults first recognize and change our own use.
What are the particular aspects of this phenomenon in Chile compared to other countries?
The trends in young people’s mental health in Chile (increased professional demand, emotional problems, and clinical discourse) are combined with persistent structural issues (poverty, inequality, exclusion). This creates an accelerated modernity on a fragile basis.
There is a risk of focusing on integrated young people (e.g., university students) and neglecting serious problems such as violence, addictions, and school dropout. The latter affects male adolescents more and is less visible. To understand the mental health of young people in Chile, it is vital to consider both recent cultural changes and historical inequalities.
Last modified: 4 de junio de 2026
