Teen Girls' Suicide Rates Are Rising in Many Countries Around the World
The article reports that suicide rates among teenage girls are rising in numerous countries globally, based on data analysis covering the 2010s and beyond. This trend is observed across various regions, indicating a widespread public health concern affecting adolescent females.
Background
- Jean Twenge is a psychologist and researcher best known for her work on generational differences and the effects of smartphones and social media on youth mental health; she wrote the book *iGen*.
- This article updates her earlier research showing a link between the rise of smartphones/social media (circa 2012) and a spike in teenage depression, anxiety, and suicide, particularly among girls.
- "After Babel" is Jon Haidt's Substack; Haidt is a social psychologist whose book *The Anxious Generation* (2024) argued that a "phone-based childhood" is driving a global youth mental health crisis.
- The piece presents new data showing that teen girls' suicide rates have continued to rise in many countries through 2022, not just in the US, strengthening the case that the trend is driven by a widespread environmental factor (like social media) rather than something country-specific.