i think the article is correct, but i also think that new perceptions about society are contributing to the problem. kids used to think that they could make ends meet, somehow. as time goes forward, that notion is increasingly replaced by the notion that there is no way to make ends meet or to have a good life besides succeeding in high school and then college and then in a fancy career. anything besides that is not really accepted or respected, from what ive seen. so imagine that you are a kid and you are in fact not up to the gauntlet of challenges associated with making all of that happen -- or imagine that taking on that huge challenge frightens you which causes you to do badly in school which then makes you even more frightened and hopeless. and you need to do all this while attending a public high school in the US, which are some of the most toxic, inhospitable and shortsighted places in the world.

the whole thing a stupid cultural artifact that not only makes no sense (the economy will not function if everyone has white-collar jobs), but also completely overlooks the mental health of the people who are subjected to it.

and its all made worse by social media, because kids know that if their life and career dont wind up being ideal, their entire social circle is going to be looking at it online.

i was in high school when facebook first took off. i suppose im lucky because i got to experience high school before facebook (before modern social media) and i got to experience high school after. such a transition happens once in a lifetime. i immediately had a very bad feeling about facebook and felt really bad whenever i used it. when i was faced with the transition to a facebook world, informed by the memory of how i felt before facebook, i chose not to make an account and effectively opt out of online social interaction. its a decision that i have never regretted and one that seems better and better as the years tick by.

i still cant understand why people use facebook. and im not surprised in any way that a world where everyone is on facebook has these kinds of consequences.