Expanding Solutions to Improve Mental Health | Global Conference 2025

Mental Health Crisis Data & Trends

• A "gigantic surge" in mental illness engulfed people born after 1995, with rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm remaining stable until approximately 2012–2013.
• Following the 2012–2013 shift, a "hockey stick" increase in self-harm specifically emerged among 10-to-14-year-old girls.
• This surge correlates globally with the widespread adoption of smartphones replacing flip phones among teens in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia.
• Historical happiness trends have inverted; while elderly populations were historically the happiest and young people less so, young people are now the least happy demographic worldwide.
• First-break psychosis increasingly occurs around age 20–21 for both men and women.
• Elderly populations face a second surge in mental health issues, driven largely by loneliness, Alzheimer's, and dementia (often misdiagnosed as pseudo-depression).
• Social determinants such as housing and food insecurity significantly correlate with higher rates of mental illness across all age groups.
• Individuals with serious mental health challenges often experience "downward drift," ending up in the public mental health system due to socio-economic status.
• People with schizophrenia die 10 to 15 years earlier than the general population, primarily due to untreated physical conditions like cardiac disease and diabetes.
• Suicide prevention efforts have expanded with the destigmatization of the conversation and the implementation of the 988 crisis line.

Root Causes & Platform Dynamics

• Jonathan Haidt argues that the primary driver is the switch from flip phones to smartphones, which were optimized by corporations to maximize view time and monetize children's attention.
• Bill Reddy (Pinterest CEO) contends that social media business models shifted from engagement via "enragement" to addiction, utilizing AI to trigger users for maximum screen time.
• Reddy asserts that tuning AI for positivity and real-world action is possible and commercially viable, citing Pinterest's shift toward an "additive" rather than "addictive" model.
• A debate exists between two camps on AI: those who prioritize intentional guardrails and safety versus those who prioritize aggressive AI deployment with minimal restraint.
• Media distribution has become hyper-concentrated despite fragmented creation, meaning a few platforms make significant "editorial choices" via algorithmic tuning.
• Snapchat faced 10,000 reports of sextortion from users in a single month in 2022, highlighting the scale of predator risks on for-profit platforms.

Corporate Actions & Policy Proposals

• Pinterest launched the "Inspired Internet Pledge" to measure emotional well-being impact, publishing data and committing to improvement.
• Pinterest implemented a policy restricting social features to private-only interactions for users under 16, turning off stranger contact features.
• Pinterest reported that its "private-only for under 16" policy resulted in Gen Z becoming its largest and fastest-growing demographic, contradicting fears of user loss.
• Pinterest is launching a school-hour prompt for school-aged users that encourages returning after school and offers a link to disable all device notifications.
• Pinterest partnered with AmeriCorps and the Schultz Family Foundation to launch a "Youth Mental Health Corps" to train peers in navigating mental health care.
• The Kennedy Forum launched a "90-90-90 by 2033" initiative aiming for 90% screening, 90% evidence-based treatment, and 90% recovery by 2034.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) maintains a Center of Excellence for Mental Health and Social Media, funded by SAMHSA, providing resources for the 5C model (child-centric approach).

Disagreements on Medical & Regulatory Stance

• Jonathan Haidt argues that the AAP's current advice to "talk to your child" is insufficient, asserting instead that children should not be on social media until at least age 16, ideally 18.
• Haidt advocates for treating social media like tobacco or gambling, requiring clear medical guidance to ban access rather than merely educate parents.
• Markita Wills (APA) maintains that the AAP's role is educating parents on risks to facilitate informed conversations, noting that not every child becomes addicted.
• Haidt criticizes the failure of the Kids Online Safety Act (COSA) in the US Congress despite passing the Senate 91-3, citing heavy lobbying by Meta.
• Reddy warns that bad management by tech companies regarding safety will inevitably lead to regulations they may find more restrictive than self-imposed guidelines.
• Reddy suggests that if the industry does not establish standards for measuring well-being impact, external regulation will be forced upon the sector.

Forward-Looking Solutions & Collective Action

• Haidt urges a norm shift to raise the age of smartphone ownership to 16 globally as a cost-free, scalable solution.
• Panelists identify "phone-free schools" as a critical collective action solution, noting that individual implementation fails due to Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and social ostracization.
• Haidt and Reddy support phone-free schools, arguing that emergency safety concerns (e.g., school shootings) are better managed by students following drilled protocols rather than calling parents.
• Haidt calls for restoring "free play" and childhood independence, citing the decline in unstructured outdoor activity since the 1990s as a negative factor in mental health.
• Reddy advocates for industry-wide standards to measure and report on well-being impact, similar to automotive safety ratings, to allow consumers to make informed choices.
• Markita Wills highlights the need for compassionate treatment over objection orders and increased housing support for undomiciled individuals with mental illness.
• Rebecca Bagley notes that reimbursement rates for mental health professionals via Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance are a primary systemic barrier to scaling care.

Parental Guidance & Specific Interventions

• Parents are advised to create peer groups of families adopting similar screen restrictions to prevent children from feeling isolated.
• Recommendations for older children include banning phones from bedrooms after 10 PM and keeping phones out of the house unless traveling.
• Haidt suggests removing social media apps from mobile phones entirely, restricting access to computers where supervision is easier.
• For a 12-year-old suicide attempt survivor, the panel consensus recommends keeping the child entirely offline until a clinical assessment is complete.
• Haidt warns that boys are uniquely vulnerable to the combined effects of video games, pornography, and crypto/sports gambling, which downregulate dopamine systems.
• Panelists distinguish between "co-viewing" stories (beneficial for bonding and moral development) and unstructured iPad/Tablet use (harmful to brain development).
• Haidt notes that 40% of American two-year-olds own an iPad and over 50% own an iPhone, labeling this early exposure as "insane."
• Rebecca Bagley emphasizes the importance of prenatal and maternal mental health as a foundational element of the life-course approach to prevention.