Junior Theme Reflection
Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
Abstract
This paper dives into the topic of teen depression and answers the question: Why are more teens in recent years depressed? As a teen myself who knows many other teens and adolescents who are either struggling or have struggled with depression in the past, I wanted to find definite answers for the cause of teen depression. Although there are not specific reasons as to why teens are depressed, with thorough research I was able to find out that three big contributors to the rise of teen depression were parental verbal discipline, social pressures, and social media.
Reflection
When doing my research, the thing that surprised me the most was evidence that depression was caused by parental verbal discipline. Social pressures and social media were things that I had believed could cause depression before writing this research paper. However, I never would have guessed that parental verbal discipline could cause depression. This was not only surprising, but also interesting. This did not change my opinion on my topic. If anything I think it reinforced my opinion. Being able to find a lot of strong evidence and sources to use in my paper definitely made me feel more confident in my opinion. I think the topic of teen depression is important in today’s society because with the prevalence of the internet, social media and the rise of teen depression, we simply cannot ignore this issue. We don’t want our kids to be miserable or depressed. We don’t want kids killing themselves. Mental health is a clear issue that needs to be addressed and should not be ignored. I think I am passionate about my topic as a whole because being a teen, as well as knowing many other teens and adults who have struggled or are currently struggling with depression, I know that this issue is important. I don’t want to struggle with depression, and I wouldn’t wish it upon any others either. I’m glad I did my research on teen depression because I wanted to learn about something that impacts both me and my generation, and I learned a lot.
