According to Michelle Magdeburg in her article “The Growing Teen Epidemic: Stress,” “On average, teens reported their stress level was 5.8 on a 10-point scale, compared with 5.1 for adults.” Between 2010 and 2015 the suicide rates for teens rose after they had a decline for nearly two decades. This has been the most it’s ever been. Stress is a daily struggle that everyone goes through on a daily basis. It is important to be able to control stress levels to prevent any health effects that come with it. Stress can be the cause of many physical or mental problems. Adolescents struggle with stress caused by the increase of traumatic events, people who deal with mental illness, and the increase in social media.

To begin with, there has been a lot of traumatic events recently. These include school shootings and suicides. The impact of these events can cause stress and difficulty to process in teens. According to the article “Trump Calls Attackers ‘Deranged’ But Mental Health Link Weak,”  “A man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on November 5, killing more than two dozen people and wounding others”. This is an example of a traumatic event. Events like this can frighten, worry, and stress teens. These events can happen anywhere which is scary. “Suicide rates for teens rose between 2010 and 2015 after they had declined for nearly two decades…” (“Teen”) Based on the evidence shown, many teens have committed suicide over the years. There could be many reasons as to why a teen would commit to an act like this. It is very unlikely that this would be predicted by family and friends. Wouldn’t you be concerned if your friend or family member was thinking about committing suicide? According to the Washington Post article about the Netflix Series “13 Reasons Why”, “Many professionals have linked the series to increased prevalence of self-harm behaviors and thoughts of suicide threats among young people”. This has made apparent that there is an increase of teens having self-harm thoughts and behaviors. Teens may also deal with stress on their own and struggle to make the right decisions and might perform self-harm.

Next, many teens around the world suffer from mental illness. It causes stress and takes away their happiness. According to the article “Trump calls attackers ‘deranged’ but mental health link weak” it says, “Later when it was discovered that the Texas gunman Devin Kelley did have a history of mental health issues...”. A person who would do such a thing is clearly not mentally stable. Many teens around the world are affected by mental health. Knowing that mental health issues can be a part of a violent act can frighten them. “Only 3 to 5 percent of violent acts ‘can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness’” (Tanner). Although that text states that only 3 to 5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to mental illness, it is important to know that mental illness can still be a factor in violent acts. That three percent of violence caused by factors of mental illness can affect people for the worst. According to “‘13 Reasons Why’ popular with teens, but it worries educators and parents” it says, “Under the Baker Act, an individual with a mental illness who shows signs that they plan to harm themselves or others can be hospitalized with or without her consent.”  There are already laws made to help people with mental illness. Families and especially the youth are mostly affected by this. There are many triggers that can cause mental illness. People who are affected by mental illness have to deal with the stress of being put in these facilities and leaving their families. 

Lastly, many adolescents nowadays use social media or are very social. Social media has taken over the world. Based on the evidence, social media and our peers can be one of the triggers that affect many teens. According to “New study suggests a link between teen suicide and social media use” it mentions, “Teens using the devices went from 8 percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2015”. Based on the evidence shown, this shows the rates of social media use among teens. There has been a major increase within a matter of six years. This increase could impact the youth. According to “New study suggests a link between teen suicide and social media use” says, “ 14 percent more likely to be depressed than those who used social media less frequently”. Given these facts, it shows statistics on how the use of social media can affect us. Being depressed is something no one should deal with. It is very hard to get out of, adding stress and unnecessary feelings. “After hours of scrolling through Instagram feeds, I just feel worse about myself because I feel left out”, says Caitlin Hearty (17). Based on what Caitlin says, her thoughts reveal how teens think and feel as a result of social media use. This can be the cause of depression within millions of adolescents. This is the reason why teens are always stressed when they are left out. 

Due to traumatic events, mental illness, and the increased use of social media, adolescents are not equipped to handle everyday stress. As a teen myself I can definitely say that I have been very stressed and have experienced the stress and concern when there are shootings. Whenever I hear on the news or around town that there has been a shooting or a person going around with a gun, I get so scared and stressed. I would always text my family members and my friends to see if they doing okay. It still stresses me out knowing that those events can happen anywhere and anytime, and we may not expect them. It is really needed to take concerns to everyone’s well being, we may never know the emotions and feeling that people are going through. By doing so may save the lives of many people. Stress, especially in teens and young adults can scar them for the rest of their lives.