I just ran across something called the Teen Happiness Index, published by Mission Prep (missionprephealthcare.com.), an organization that deals with adolescents and families with mental health struggles. The study surveyed 3,012 parents across the country and asked this question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy is your teen?” In Georgia, the answer was that our teenagers are among the least happy in America. Really?
The Top 5 States for teen happiness were Kansas, Delaware, New Hampshire and South Dakota. The bottom 5 were Rhode Island, Alabama, Maine, New Mexico and Mississippi.
In higher-ranking states, the experts cite “a sense of belonging or a buffer against stress – think tight-knit towns or outdoor escapes.” As for the bottom-feeders, the challenges include poverty, sparse mental health resources or a lack of opportunity.
That is what confuses me about why teenagers are unhappy in Georgia. We have a lot of tight-knit communities and plenty of outdoor escapes from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Golden Isles to a lot of lakes in between.
I’m not a social scientist. (In fact, I’m not a scientist of any kind. I flunked Biology in college and decided that was all the exposure to science I needed.) But, I find it interesting that the assessment of whether a teen is happy or not comes from the observations of their parents. It makes you wonder if they might be part of the problem.
Parents identified what is causing teen angst. A third comes from peer relationships – friendships, rivalries, and the desire to fit in. Another third is social media and screen time. About 20 percent named academic stress. The rest mentioned family conflict and household financial worries.
Screen time, in particular, stands out according to the Mission Prep study. (missionprephealthcare.com.) Teens average 3 hours and 32 minutes daily on social media or personal devices, not counting homework. As the authors note, that’s a significant slice of their lives spent online — time that could cut into sleep, real-world connections or simply unwinding.
As I looked at this study, I thought of my own days as a teenager. There was no Teen Happiness Index back then because, frankly, I don’t think how happy we were was of much concern to anybody but us. We were teenagers, after all. We complained about everything. The school year was too long and we had too much homework. We were always broke. No transportation. Going steady and then not going steady. Our parents didn’t understand us. The world didn’t appreciate us. How in the world did we survive?
The times were different, that’s why. There were no metal detectors at school and no school police because neither were needed. Nobody brought a gun to school. If we had a disagreement, we would meet after school and duke it out. Boys only. Girl fights didn’t come along until decades later.
Looking back, I now realize times were better than I thought. My parents didn’t try to be my pals. They tried to be my parents and they did an exceptional job of it. There were peer pressures and a desire to fit in, but I don’t think I spent 30% of my time worrying about it. Getting a good education wasn’t as difficult then as it seems to be today. I learned a lot because teachers were not hampered by a bunch of red tape and second-guessing bureaucrats at all levels of government and there weren’t enough Republicans around at the time Running around to remind us we were attending failing schools.
Perhaps the biggest difference in my life as a teenager is I didn’t spend 3 hours and 32 minutes a day on a computer. There were no computers and Al Gore hadn’t invented the Internet yet. Any games I played came out of a cardboard box or on a vacant lot. A troll was a mythical Norse creature that lived under bridges and not an anonymous scumbag that posts serious misinformation online. We didn’t carry our phone around with us. It sat in the hall and if we weren’t there when someone called, they would call us back. Big deal.
So to all the unhappy teenagers in Georgia, suck it up. You live in the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth. Be grateful. Plus, I promise the day will come when you can lecture the next generation on how good their life is and why are they complaining? This should make you and your index very happy.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139