The mental health in young adults has been declining rapidly since the start of the pandemic. Many blame this on the age of the internet. In a world more connected than ever, it’s easier to compare yourself to others. While having a role model is not a bad thing by any means, comparing oneself to others can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Especially when many use their social media to only show the best parts of themselves.

“As a whole social media and media in general can present an unrealistic picture of what one is ‘supposed’ to look like: what one should possess. The pandemic didn’t help due to the isolation and lack of human to human contact. Social media can increase feelings of loneliness and the combination of this plus being more socially isolated has impacted mental health especially in teens.” – Therapist, Ruth Foster 

Males have less refuge when expressing their struggles. The stigma towards males prevent them from being able to express their issues to others. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, male suicide rates were 3.88 times greater than female suicide rates in 2022. “I see more female than male clients, this probably has to do with societal messages that men receive about what it means to be strong (being able to handle things on their own,” said Foster.

It takes time to change stigma and getting people to open up about their struggles is a daunting task. However, sharing problems with others and being available to listen is a step in the right direction. Youths in Athens are spreading random acts of kindness, like compliments, to positively affect strangers. “We started this practice out of randomness,” said Carter Bass, “I complimented somebody’s hat … and he looked like he wanted to cry. We started talking amongst ourselves about how much we get complimented and realized it’s nearly never. Ever since then we’ve made a practice of complimenting someone for no reason at least once a day.”

This lack of reassertion is not a new phenomenon. “I feel like a lot of younger males have a really dumb [negative] stigma towards being viewed as homosexual,” said Jalen Davis, “It’s a very outdated and ignorant mentality that I feel like we can and need to change as a society.” Many people also report having social anxiety and getting wrapped up in intrusive thoughts that prevent them from talking to others. Another stigma is that it is weird or uncool to express appreciation or fondness of others randomly. Affirming the value of both friends and strangers is necessary for our society. Go be the reason someone smiles today.