Why is Teen Anxiety Rising? A Catholic Homeschool Perspective
Understanding Adolescent Anxiety in the Age of Screens and Uncertainty
One of the features of 21st-century life is the rise of anxiety-related conditions in adolescents. While there have always been persons who wrestle with anxiety, a growing body of evidence suggests the prevalence of mental health challenges related to anxiety is steadily rising, especially among members of Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012).
The 2024 Gallup–Walton Family Foundation Voices of Gen Z Report highlights the alarming state of mental health among young people. The report was based on a survey that found that only 47% of Gen Z members (aged 12–26) consider themselves to be thriving, compared with 59% of millennials, 57% of Gen X, and 52% of baby boomers. Rates of anxiety among Gen Alpha (those born 2012 to present) are trending up as well. While it’s also true that younger people are more likely to report mental health issues than previous generations, increased reporting alone cannot account for these trends. To understand the rise in youth anxiety, we need to look at factors relating to society, media, family, and biology. Therefore, we will review contemporary theories of this anxiety spike (Anderson et al., 2025) in this article.
1. Genetics and Environment
Studies suggest that 30–40% of anxiety disorders are heritable. In other words, they can be passed on genetically and occur more often in families with a history of anxiety disorders. While the genetic origins remain mysterious, researchers believe that environmental factors may exacerbate or amplify these predispositions.
For example, a 2022 study uncovered a 73% positive correlation between anxiety and depressive disorders and certain environmental toxins. Notably, these include endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenol A and phthalates. Both are common in plastic containers and personal care items and can even be present in household dust (Zundel et al., 2022). This suggests that a child’s anxiety may be heightened by exposure to such toxins, especially in those with a latent genetic predisposition.
2. Digital Technology
The impact of digital technology on young people is complex and the subject of ongoing study. It suffices to say, however, that prolonged exposure to digital tech—especially social media—has been shown to raise the risk of mental health problems (Orben, 2020). The biggest mental health dangers posed by digital technology come from prolonged screen time and consumption of negative content. This can be anything that makes the viewer feel worse about themselves or the world.
Young people, whose identities are still developing, are prone to comparing themselves unfavorably to people and lifestyles they see depicted on social media, often not realizing what they see online is carefully curated and not reflective of reality. In addition, the prolonged exposure to a screen itself, regardless of content, can have adverse effects on cognition, reading comprehension, and natural curiosity, which can all contribute to heightened anxiety. See our articles “Lost in the Scroll,” “From Screen Zombies to Fort Builders,” and “How Does Screen Time Affect Toddlers?” for more on this.
This is a complex problem that can’t be solved by merely limiting smartphone access. One interesting observation about Gen Alpha in particular is that their anxiety is rising even with limited access to smartphones and digital tech. Ryan Jenkins CSP, writing in Psychology Today, believes this is because they are being provided with too much certainty:
Children aren’t learning to think critically or adapt. They’re learning to expect that someone else will always have the right answer.A generation that struggles to tolerate ambiguity, problem-solve independently, or take emotional risks. And that’s where anxiety is born. Even if Gen Alpha doesn’t wield smartphones, they’re absorbing a lifestyle designed by those who do. Parents, teachers, and caregivers—armed with devices—feed them a constant stream of clarity and direction.
This is not to say that social media and digital technologies do not also have positive dimensions with respect to mental health support. The anonymity and accessibility of online support communities offer a lifeline to adolescents who may not have much of a support network in their offline lives (Naslund et al, 2020).
3. Nuclear Family Dynamics
Pope John Paul II famously observed that civilization passes by way of the family. Family is the first school where children learn what it means to be a human person in community. We should therefore not be surprised that widespread changes in familial dynamics affect mental health.
As it relates to anxiety, the most significant correlative factor in the family is the decline of “alloparenting,” which refers to the care and support of children by individuals other than their biological parents. This can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and community members. Alloparenting has been a common practice throughout human history across many cultures. This shared responsibility for child rearing can buffer the stresses and demands of parenting, enabling a more distributed workload and increased emotional and practical support.
However, alloparenting has declined sharply over the last few decades. Society is far more individualistic and geographically dispersed. This has placed greater strain on parents, leading to increasingly stressful family dynamics. From my own personal experience as a teacher with a long experience working with kids, I can say that young people today are far more likely to consider their family dynamics as a source of anxiety.
The lack of alloparental support can also directly influence children’s emotional growth. According to a 2020 study, children who consistently received care and support from extended family showed reduced anxiety and depression compared to those without such support (Van IJzendoorn et al. 2020). This indicates that having multiple supportive caregivers fosters a sense of security and emotional resilience in children, potentially shielding them from the development of anxiety disorders. Incidentally, this also relates to the general mental health benefits children derive from extracurricular activities: besides the social and emotional benefits of playing a sport or learning an extracurricular skill, kids get the opportunity to be mentored by someone outside the immediate household (Fauth, Roth, and Brooks‐Gunn 2007)
4. Socio-Political Uncertainty
Finally, we cannot neglect to mention the rise in socio-political uncertainty. Adolescents are not immune to the troubling socio-political trends they see all around. Housing shortages and rising cost of living. Skyrocketing costs of higher education and health insurance. The pandemic. Political polarization and instability. Misinformation and propaganda. Wars and rumors of wars—essentially, all the anxieties attendant upon living through the apparent collapse of civilization. These factors are stressful in themselves and even more so for young people, who realize that this will be the world they inherit. But the pervasive nature of social media and 24‐hour news cycles can make this anxiety worse by amplifying the impact of these stressors, as young people are constantly exposed to distressing images and narratives (Neria and Sullivan 2011).
An Anxious World
The long and short of it is that we are living in a world that seems constructed to magnify anxiety. While many of these factors are outside our individual control, we can take little steps to reclaim agency at the personal and familial levels. For example, we can reduce the impact of these stressors: curbing excessive screen time, nurturing critical thinking and problem-solving skills in our young people, fostering alloparenting networks through extended family and community involvement, and doing our best to shield children from the relentless barrage of socio-political apocalypticism. By prioritizing real-world connections, activities that build resilience, and balanced information diets, we can make strides towards mitigating the anxiety epidemic afflicting our young people.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Join other homeschooling parents and me in the Homeschool Connections Facebook Group or in the HSC Community to continue the conversation.
Works Cited
- Anderson TL, Valiauga R, Tallo C, Hong CB, Manoranjithan S, Domingo C, Paudel M, Untaroiu A, Barr S, Goldhaber K. “Contributing Factors to the Rise in Adolescent Anxiety and Associated Mental Health Disorders: A Narrative Review of Current Literature.” J. of Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs. Feb, 2025.
- Jenkins, Ryan. “Why Gen Alpha is the New Anxious Generation” Psychology Today, June 23, 2025.
- Fauth, R. C. , Roth J. L., and Brooks‐Gunn J.. 2007. “Does the Neighborhood Context Alter the Link Between Youth’s After‐School Time Activities and Developmental Outcomes? A Multilevel Analysis.” Developmental Psychology 43, no. 3: 760–777
- Naslund, J. A. , Bondre A., Torous J., and Aschbrenner K. A.. 2020. “Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice.” Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science 5, no. 3: 245–257.
- Neria, Y. , and Sullivan G. M.. 2011. “Understanding the Mental Health Effects of Indirect Exposure to Mass Trauma Through the Media.” Journal of the American Medical Association 306, no. 12: 1374.
- Orben, A. 2020. “The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 15, no. 5: 1143–1157.
- Van IJzendoorn, M. H. , Bakermans‐Kranenburg M. J., Coughlan B., and Reijman S.. 2020. “Annual Research Review: Umbrella Synthesis of Meta‐Analyses on Child Maltreatment Antecedents and Interventions: Differential Susceptibility Perspective on Risk and Resilience.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 61, no. 3: 272–290.
