Mental health and the many challenges associated have been a leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes for young people in the United States, with up to one in five children ages three to seventeen in the US having a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder.

Additionally, from 2009 to 2019, the share of youth in US high schools who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness was reported to be about one in three students. Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, an increasing amount of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and these rates have steadily grown over the past decade. This can be attributed to social media use, bullying in schools, eating disorders and body image issues, discrimination-based trauma and more. In December of 2021, the United States surgeon general issued an advisory about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health for youth due to how much it has altered their experiences and habits at home, school, and socially. This is particularly true for demographics of youth who were already vulnerable, including youth with disabilities, ethnic and racial minorities, LGBTQ+ youth, low-income youth, youth in immigrant households, along with youth in the juvenile justice system. However, despite the increase of mental health challenges, young people in the current generation have been much more open about these challenges among their peers and mental health issues have increasingly become less taboo. Social media has become a way to share tools for managing mental health issues and promoting lifestyle changes that can help young people with these issues.