By LilyAnn Haight
Editor-in-Chief
Now more than ever, American high school students have a lot working against them. The political landscape is extremely divided, fentanyl overdoses are more common, the anxiety rate is rising, and social media is increasingly addictive and harmful to mental health. Many of these problems came to light during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, but the answer as to why varies, depending on the person you ask. North Eugene High School’s resident school psychologist Kaitlyn Bryant, who goes by KB, says that COVID-19 “took the mask away from all of us.” North Eugene’s Principal Muñoz thinks that the pandemic added another layer to the already-prevalent multitude of issues. Regardless of the reason for all of these issues, most can agree that America’s high schoolers are experiencing a crisis, in more ways than one. The question is, how do we fix it?
The simple answer to that loaded question is that there is no one “fix” to the situation. This is because most professionals can’t even agree on what the main crisis even is. At the end of January, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency on the effects of social media on mental health. He is in the group that believes social media is a main cause of the mental health crisis America is experiencing. The US Surgeon General would agree with him, seeing as how last May, he issued a new advisory on the effects of social media on teens, saying that there is a “profound risk of harm” with social media usage. Their claims are not unsubstantiated, either. School psychologist KB says that the introduction of social media gives students too much exposure to the world, and deteriorates the “in-school/ out-of-school” boundary that used to exist.
Another train of thought is that the main crisis teenagers face today is related to the fentanyl epidemic in America. In the past 20 years, usage and overdoses of fentanyl have increased dramatically, especially in the years since 2013, when the CDC claimed fentanyl was the cause for the third wave of the opioid epidemic. Lane County Public Health’s Overdose Coordinator, Alexander Lavake, said in an interview that “a couple years ago, no one was talking about this, ‘cause no one knew what was happening.” Lavake is referencing the rise in fentanyl -related deaths. This crisis affects teenagers and Gen Z particularly because of the commonality in drug experimentation. According to Lavake, teens who turn to drugs as a form of self-medication are oftentimes struggling with mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression. These people are especially vulnerable to overdoses, because many teens who overdose from drugs were completely unaware those drugs were laced with fentanyl.
Arguably the biggest of these various crises is the rise in anxiety in teenagers recently. When asked about if they see a difference in the short three years they’ve been at North Eugene, school psychologist KB says they’ve seen a rise in the volume of anxiety students are experiencing this year, compared to last year. The main challenges KB noticed related to anxiety were task completion and finishing projects in class. She went on to say that getting started is the hardest part for some people, which causes a lot of anxiety. But, KB pointed out that there are “so many more layers [to life now] than [for] previous generations.” Most of the counseling KB does in school is related to events happening outside of school and in students’ lives outside of academics. “The anxiety [I see] isn’t academic in the way that it has been historically, it’s way more social,” KB said. They followed up by repeating the sentiment that social media isn’t going anywhere, but that we also need to learn how to adapt to it. As for the increasing causes of anxiety that she sees day-to-day, KB was quick to point out the new schedule implemented this year. “[90 minutes] is a long time to retain focus, and that causes a lot of kids anxiety.”
So, what is the main crisis that is harming Gen Z the most? Again, there is no sufficient short answer. A rising overdose crisis, coupled with social anxiety spurred on by social media and polarized politics, combined with the rising anxiety rate in Gen Z makes it difficult to distinguish the one main thing that is causing stress in high schoolers in today’s world. To quote the now commonly-used phrase, it feels like the world is on fire.
Thankfully, there are many different ways to cope with and help reduce the harm of these three crises.
“We want more conversation; more education,” says Overdose Prevention Coordinator Alexander Lavake. This theme is echoed in Principal Muñoz and KB, as well. Thankfully, there are initiatives to promote both conversation and education. As for the mental health crisis, KB says that teachers are more aware than students think of Gen Z’s struggles. KB stresses the fact that self-advocacy to teachers and counselors is one of the most effective ways for students to support themselves. She also acknowledges that some days are worse than others. “There are going to be days where you sit in all your four classes and get nothing,” she says, but continues on to say that is okay.
As for the crisis in drug overdosing, Alexander Lavake stresses the point of education. He is part of a team that does outreach to schools on the education of overdosing and drugs. Lavake also stressed the need for appropriate policies and laws surrounding decriminalizing drug use, spending money on treatment counseling, and increasing funding for school counselors. “There’s a lot of policy that needs to be reworked…We have work to do,” Lavake says. Principal Munoz even had some words of encouragement, saying that school counselors and psychologists are now being included in the budget for school districts, which is a change from earlier in his career. Amary Taylor, North Eugene’s librarian, is also helping de-stress students, by holding a guided meditation session in the mornings before school.
So even in this world that may be on fire, support is plentiful in our community. Although Gen Z has crisis on top of crisis against them, we are able to see a path through the proverbial fire.
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