1 week ago
Phones, Failure and Fear: Why Young People Reach Extremes
Young people can feel overwhelmed by problems involving phones, school, friends or family.
Social media can make this worse because it constantly shows them people who seem more successful or popular.
This may make them feel that they are not good enough.
Experts say this does not mean young people are naturally weak.
Some may simply lack safe places and skills to talk about difficult feelings.
Learning that mistakes and disappointment can be survived helps build resilience.
Parents and schools should listen carefully and notice changes in behavior.
They should also set healthy boundaries while allowing children to face age-appropriate challenges.
Getting psychological help should be treated as normal, especially before a crisis happens.
Recent cases involving phones and social media have raised concerns about youth distress and extreme reactions.
Experts say constant online comparison can make young people feel inadequate about appearance, wealth, relationships and popularity.
Academic results, material possessions and social approval can become closely tied to a young person’s sense of self-worth.
Professionals reject the idea that young people are simply a weak generation, pointing instead to intense pressures and limited coping skills.
Parents and schools are urged to teach emotional resilience, recognize warning signs early and normalize psychological support.
- Who
- Young people, including an 18-year-old boy and three minor sisters aged 16, 14 and 12, along with their parents, educators and mental-health professionals.
- What
- A discussion of why children and young adults may take extreme steps when facing conflicts over phones, bullying, academic failure, social comparisons and other pressures.
- Where
- The cited incidents occurred in India, including Ghaziabad.
- When
- The article cites recent cases, including an incident in February 2026 involving three sisters in Ghaziabad.
- Why
- Experts attribute the risk to intense social comparison, emotional distress, pressure to succeed and insufficient opportunities to develop coping skills.
Weakness-and-Resilience Concern
Changing-Pressure Explanation
Are young people less resilient?
Weakness-and-Resilience Concern
Some observers may interpret extreme reactions to phones, failure or criticism as signs that young people are less able to handle pressure.
Changing-Pressure Explanation
The experts quoted reject labeling young people as a weak generation, arguing that today’s pressure is more constant because social media provides little escape from comparison.
Protection versus preparation
Weakness-and-Resilience Concern
Parents may try to protect children by removing phones, shielding them from discomfort or controlling exposure to difficult situations.
Changing-Pressure Explanation
The experts argue that protection alone is insufficient and that young people need boundaries, responsibility, emotional connection and age-appropriate exposure to challenges.
How should adults respond?
Weakness-and-Resilience Concern
Telling young people simply to be resilient or dismissing their reactions as oversensitivity may appear to emphasize personal responsibility.
Changing-Pressure Explanation
The article’s specialists say resilience must be taught over time through supportive relationships, open conversations, coping skills and early access to psychological help.
Key facts
- Cited incident
- An 18-year-old boy threatened to jump from a cliff after an argument over an iPhone instalment.
- Ghaziabad incident
- In February 2026, three sisters aged 16, 14 and 12 jumped from the ninth floor of their apartment building after their father took away their phones and deleted their social-media accounts.
- Key pressure
- Experts identify constant comparison involving money, appearance, relationships, possessions and popularity as a major source of distress.
- Self-worth
- Young people may connect their value to academic achievement, physical appearance, relationships, lifestyles and material possessions.
- Resilience
- Professionals say resilience develops through relationships, managing emotions, learning that failure is survivable and being allowed to make mistakes.
- Adult responsibility
- Parents and educational institutions should identify emotional and behavioral changes early and make psychological support easier to seek.
- Preferred source
- WION
Quotes
Dr Munia Bhattacharya
Senior Consultant Psychologist at Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram
“Self-worth can become tied to academic achievement, physical appearance, relationships, way of life and even material possessions. The fear is not that this generation is inherently less resilient, but that so many youngsters may be under enormous emotional stress, without having developed proper coping skills or safe spaces to process distress.”
wionews.com
“I would not call today's youngsters a 'weak generation'. In fact, I think that is an unfair way of looking at it. Young people have always faced pressure. What has changed is the nature of that pressure. Today there is almost no psychological escape from comparison.”
wionews.com
Sources
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