I think this problem I have been considering (the increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among youth)  is related to a social phenomenon–the decline of the west, particularly the decline of our purported leader–the United States.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, in an article in the New York Times, described a school bus that Kristof regularly took in the days of his youth in the 1970s rural Oregon. In particular, they wrote about the Knapp family that also regularly took that same bus to school. The kids from that family were Farlan, Zealan, Rogena, Nathan and Keylan Knapp. Kristof and WuDunn suggest that this Knapp family, and others on that bus, were fairly typical of families at the time. Nothing really special–except that special things happened to them.  Here is what Kristof and WuDunn say happened to those typical kids:

“Yet today about one-quarter of the children on that No. 6 bus are dead, mostly from drugs, suicide, alcohol or reckless accidents. Of the five Knapp kids who had once been so cheery, Farlan died of liver failure from drink and drugs, Zealan burned to death in a house fire while passed out drunk, Rogena died from hepatitis linked to drug use and Nathan blew himself up cooking meth. Keylan survived partly because he spent 13 years in a state penitentiary.

 

Among other kids on the bus, Mike died from suicide, Steve from the aftermath of a motorcycle accident, Cindy from depression and a heart attack, Jeff from a daredevil car crash, Billy from diabetes in prison, Kevin from obesity-related ailments, Tim from a construction accident, Sue from undetermined causes. And then there’s Chris, who is presumed dead after years of alcoholism and homelessness. At least one more is in prison, and another is homeless.”

 

Kristof and WuDunn believe the causes are more complicated than those suggested by Dr. Friedman. In fact, they note, “Across America, working-class people — including many of our friends — are dying of despair. And we’re still blaming the wrong people”. Perhaps even Dr. Friedman was pointing in the wrong direction when looking for culprits (there is probably more than 1).

Here is what they have concluded:

 “We Americans are locked in political combat and focused on President Trump, but there is a cancer gnawing at the nation that predates Trump and is larger than him. Suicides are at their highest rate since World War II; one child in seven is living with a parent suffering from substance abuse; a baby is born every 15 minutes after prenatal exposure to opioids; America is slipping as a great power.”

In other words, Kristof and WuDunn, see these problems as part of American decline.  I see it as part of the decline of the west. As Haidt showed, this is not just an American problem. The same thing is happening in Canada.