There are many reasons as to why so many college students are experiencing anxiety and depression, so there is not a single definitive cause of this phenomenon. However, researchers identify that there are several possible factors that might be causing anxiety or depression among this age group. Some of these factors are inherent in the stage of life being experienced among many college students, with the uncertainty of future employment. Other factors might involve personal situations, such as facing relationship problems or social issues such as bullying or peer pressures. Additionally, some of these factors are believed to be unique to the pressures of social media and mobile technologies, as many studies cite that social media can cause anxiety and/or depression among frequent users (Primack 2).
The first possible cause of anxiety and depression among college students is that most students are facing significant life changes, such as moving away from home for the first time, and leaving behind previous friends and acquaintances, and meeting new ones. These changes will be naturally disruptive to many individuals, as their living situation, daily routine, and social circle will be changed, particularly if they are attending a college away from the city they were raised in. On top of these life changes, they will also be taking college courses which can be demanding, and they may be working on top of classes in order to pay for schooling. This can quickly become overwhelming for many students, who are faced not only with uncertainty about their future, but also facing significant changes in their own life. For some of these students who feel overwhelmed, anxiety and depression would seem to be a natural response. Anxiety involves uncertainty or fear, and the life changes experienced by many college students will naturally introduce uncertainty into their lives, which can escalate into debilitating anxiety. Similarly, if a student does not find these life changes rewarding, and longs for a life with less change and uncertainty, depression would also naturally result.
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The second possible cause would be personal changes often experienced at this age. Anxiety over social pressures, including anxiety over feelings of inclusion as well as toward romantic relationships, can similarly become overwhelming for an individual. Others might experience bullying, which can result in feelings of depression. When these personal factors are considered alongside greater life changes such as moving to a new city and having to create a new social circle while simultaneously performing well in school, anxiety and depression would be an unfortunate, but natural response, for many being faced with these changes.
The third cause of anxiety and depression would be unique to the current generation, with many college students today being the first generation raised entirely with smartphone technology and social media. Many researchers have identified that social media can cause anxiety among its users, and there is a correlation between social media usage and feelings of anxiety and depression. Although social media can connect people, it can also create feelings of exclusion if one does not receive any interaction on social media platforms. Social media also creates a path for cyberbullying, which may also be experienced by many college students (Shensa 117). Similarly, as the media becomes increasingly sensationalized, many news headlines designed to elicit an emotional response can be having an impact on students who are constantly checking the latest headlines on their smartphones. Essentially, modern culture today, including both within traditional media and social media, is particularly conducive toward feelings of anxiety that can result in depression.
In order to reduce these feelings of anxiety and depression which are so prevalent among college students, there should be an effort among many college campuses to create a culture where these feelings are acknowledged, rather than shunned. Anxiety and depression are both normal feelings, and the more these campuses do to acknowledge the pressures being faced by college students, by establishing support groups and other platforms where these feelings can be discussed, the more this issue will come out into the open. This can lead to some sufferers of anxiety and depression having a platform to explore and ideally overcome these feelings. Rather than keeping their feelings hidden, which can exacerbate these feelings, providing a platform for students to discuss and share their experiences can be one way help reduce the problem. This would result in reducing the stigma often associated with mental health issues, which would be an effective way to help students who are experiencing both anxiety and depression.
Depending on the efforts of campuses to address anxiety and depression among students today, future students will either fare better or worse than modern students. If campuses are able to not only recognize the problem, but also provide means of support for these students, then hopefully mental health issues will not be stigmatized, and counseling and support for these issues will be seen as normative. If this happens, then future students will enter college with these support mechanisms already in place, which would help them fare better than current students in regard to anxiety and depression. However, if this problem continues to be ignored, and technology continues to have an association with anxiety and depression, then this problem will only become worse over time. Only by facing this problem head-on, and in the present, will there be a future where students experiencing these issues will have the proper resources they need to overcome these feelings.
- Primack, Brian A. “Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among US young adults.” Computers in human behavior 69 (2017): 1-9.
- Shensa, Ariel. “Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Cluster Analysis.” American journal of health behavior 42.2 (2018): 116-128.
