The rate of depression among adolescents is rising, what is destroying the flowers of the motherland?

——This article is the entry of the 7th National College Students " Review Star" Selection Contest of the Red Network

On October 10, the 30th World Mental Health Day, the "China National Mental Health Development Report (2019-2020)" shows that in 2020, the detection rate of adolescent depression is 24.6%. Experts say that in the past two or three years, there have been many teenagers in the group of depressed patients, most of whom are concentrated in the junior high school age group. (The Paper, October 10)

After reading this data, people can't help but be shocked, why do teenagers, who should be energetic and positive, have a "difficult black dog" in their hearts? Although depression is caused by a variety of factors, including genetic factors, physiological factors, social and environmental factors, cultural factors, psychological factors, etc., the author believes that the rate of depression among adolescents is increasing year by year, which is inseparable from the information environment of the era in which they live.

Chen Lin, director of the depression ward at Peking University, said: "Teenagers now have many channels of information, such as the Internet, which prompts teenagers to learn a lot of information that does not belong to this age. "In the era of Internet mass media, we have more channels to obtain information, in a variety of ways, and in a variety of ways. As the "natives" of the Internet, this generation of teenagers not only enjoys the benefits of the convenience of information access brought by the Internet, but is also being reshaped by the Internet.

Loss of roots, flood of information, and the proliferation of endless new information patterns are the most common causes of mental illness of all degrees. The "mimetic environment" built by the Internet is shaping people in the real world. Teenagers are immersed in the "mimetic environment" composed of media, and they see the Internet, mobile phones, and computers as understanding the world, contacting the whole world, facing reality, but abandoning it. The more they surf, chat, and get information on the Internet, the more they feel empty and confused, because they are detached from the sense of existence of reality, and over time, they fall into the quagmire of self-doubt, and depression creeps in.

At the same time, the Internet brings "group loneliness" and social autism, which aggravates the invasion of depression on people. While the technology of chat social software is constantly updated, it is also weakening the relationship between people, and some people even lose the ability to communicate face-to-face. The happier teenagers are on the Internet, the more anxious and lonely they are in reality, after all, the Internet is cold and emotionless after all.

From oral communication to text communication, and then to the era of print communication and electronic communication, the development of technology is constantly changing, benefiting mankind, but human beings must also be vigilant and examine themselves, how not to be controlled by technology, the correct use of the Internet. Teenagers are growing, physical and psychological is not yet sound, as a parent, in life, should communicate with children more, control their network use time, do not let them indulge in the network virtual environment for a long time. Secondly, do not give pressure on learning, encourage and support children, children have their own judgments and cognition, do not force or urge, and go with the flow. Finally, parents and adolescents should abandon the "stigma" after getting sick, and seek medical treatment in time when problems are found, without delay.

Today, we live with the Internet. In any era, technology reflects our value orientation and the opportunities for the future, and we want to make the Internet a tool in our hands, not a demon that engulfs us toward disease. We must be vigilant about the harm of the Internet, pay attention to the depression of teenagers, give them a little warmth, and protect the healthy growth of the flowers of the motherland.

Text/Ma Haihong (Chang'an University)