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>It's pretty hard to argue with the plain fact that teen suicide rates are WAY up compared to the last 40 years.

This isn't true:

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8gKudTKiGtcT11FPjKsB27qh86Q=...

Rates went way down in the 90s & early 2000s before rising back to where they were before.

>I don't really see you making a compelling argument that they're wrong. If anything - maybe they're right...?

When someone cries wolf in the same way that adults have for basically all of human history you don't need a compelling argument to dismiss them. If I had to look at what is different for kids today than when I grew up I'd point to:

(1) Their economic future is uncertain and general economic stress level is higher

(2) Related to (1) the pressure around college is dramatically up. Schoolwork is up, resume building activities are up, and parental pressure is up.

(3) Opioid crisis

(4) Much more likely to get shot at school

(5) Kids are more inactive and way fatter.



Yes, that graph is the same graph I looked at, which shows we are (as of the last data point) at the literal highest spot ever.

Spiking back up from a very good drop in the 90s/2000s.

Edit - to add, three of your 5 items in that list can be correlated pretty well with online activity (social pressure, school shootings, inactivity)


>school shootings

See this is exactly what I'm talking about. 20 years ago the prevailing wisdom was that this was caused by violent video games and explicit music. This is what you sound like to me:

https://youtu.be/d3GTJOZLaPY

>social pressure

I said economic pressure.

>inactivity

Possibly but there's not a strong proven link between phones and anything.


Hmm this chart shows that we aren't at all time highs yet: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6630a6.htm

(Difference is that it's 15-19 instead of 15-24?)




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