Those who work with adolescents know it well: youth distress has changed face. Social isolation has found a powerful accelerator in the technology that surrounds us. The data speaks for itself: young people between 15 and 24 years old spend 35% less time with friends than twenty years ago, preferring the company of a screen. Almost six hours a day in front of smartphones and tablets, while real relationships are thinning out. A trend that worries experts and parents, increasingly disoriented in the face of a generation that seems to be slipping into digital solitude.
The Metamorphosis of Adolescent Sociality
It is not only a quantitative transformation, but a qualitative one. Modern technology is used in a more private and personal way than in the past. As Professor Jeffery Hall ofUniversity of Kansas, this particular approach to the use of devices is generating new forms of stress, often invisible to the eyes of parents. One of the most disturbing (and unsuspected) aspects of this youthful discomfort is linked to sharing one's location among peers, a practice that generates new forms of social anxiety. See in real time when friends meet without you can trigger intense feelings of exclusion and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). A particularly delicate phenomenon during the high school years, already characterized by considerable social pressure.
Youth Discomfort, The Illusion of Virtual Sociality
Online socialization, however pervasive, cannot replace face-to-face interactions. Professor Hall explains that direct human contact releases chemicals in the brain that improve our mood, a benefit that can't be replicated through text messages, phone calls, or video calls.
Interactions through group chats or social media posts have even more limited value in terms of emotional well-being. This disparity between virtual and real socialization contributes significantly to the increase in youth distress and loneliness.
A worrying new chapter in this story is the rise of AI-powered chatbots. These “virtual friends” are sometimes presented as a solution to loneliness, but experts warn that they could instead amplify feelings of isolation. The risk is especially high for teens who already struggle with depression or anxiety. The debate over these tools has intensified after the tragic case of a teenager who, having fallen in love with a chatbot, he came to take his own life.
Towards a balanced solution
The answer to this youth malaise cannot be the total demonization of technology. As Professor Hall points out, online communication, while not being able to replace in-person meetings, is still preferable to the total absence of communication.
Many young people use the Internet to learn, create music or art. The real goal, according to experts, is not to isolate children from the digital world, but to provide them with the tools to manage it in a healthy and balanced way.
Youth distress, intergenerational response
It strikes me particularly how this evolution of the youth discomfort is challenging the entire education system. Parents, teachers, and caregivers are navigating largely uncharted territory, where old educational strategies may no longer be effective.
The challenge is not to close the doors to the digital world, but to help young people develop a healthy relationship with technology. This requires a new approach to digital education, one that balances the benefits of innovation with the fundamental need to keep real human relationships alive and meaningful.
