What is Causing America’s Declining Mental Health?

When asked, many remember 2016 as a pivotal moment in American history, characterized by the spread of fake news and harmful social media algorithms exacerbating polarized sentiments across the country. The emotional turmoil encapsulating the 2016 presidential race was rather unprecedented, which revealed deep anxieties about inequities in our socioeconomic system and the chasm between differing ideological solutions.

In understanding what “anxieties” entail, it is critical to move away from a psychological framework of diagnosed mental illness. While there has undoubtedly been an increase in mental distress, I am interested in focusing on a socio-political sort of sentiment and anxiety, caused by material conditions and an increasing recognition of the contradictions brought about by late-stage capitalism.

In examining increasing levels of emotional distress in the United States, some may quickly point to the rise in smartphone usage since 2011, and its consequent effects on social interaction and information sharing. Yet, it is ultimately the profit motive that monetarily incentivizes large tech companies to exacerbate features of their software applications known to damage mental health. Other causes for anxiety that are pervasive in American discourse - lack of affordable healthcare, climate change, and student debt - share an underlying cause similar to what is driving these harmful technologies: corporations profiting off of basic human needs, as well as routinely choosing revenue over sustainability and ethical decisions. Americans are essentially entrapped in a system in which monopolistic corporations are rewarded for profiting off of American citizens’ basic need to survive. If 45,000 annual deaths are directly linked to a lack of afforable healthcare, one might deeply question this regime’s true regard for the wellbeing of its citizens (American Public Health Association). The Marxist theory of worker alienation best describes the repercussions of living in a society in which economic hyper-competition results in a system that commodifies the entirety of an individual’s livelihood, and thus alienates one from their true human capacity. The failure of American policy to curb free market forces, alongside the rate of technological development, has led to the increased commodification of human essence, and therefore responsible for increasing socio-economic grievances in recent decades.

Karl Marx’s theory of alienation describes the social alienation and unhappiness caused by a society with stratified classes, as capitalist mechanisms perpetuated by the ruling class unnaturally separate proletarians from virtually all aspects of their labor, and in effect, their identities and human purpose. There are five types of alienation defined in this theory: alienation from the self, alienation from others, alienation from the process of labor, alienation from the product of labor, and alienation from the species-being. In Estranged Labor, Marx states that these forms of alienation are contrived by industrial production that limits an individual’s capacity to initialize, determine, and own the design of their labor. As a result, “labor produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity [of the capitalist class]” (Marx, Estranged Labor). Marx is correct in stating that capitalist mechanisms relegate the working class to merely filling a gap in the economy. While Marx largely attributes his theory to observations of factory workers, it still holds true despite the shift towards managerial and service jobs, as our present economic structure presents the same issues Marx identified in the 19th century. Essentially, capitalist mechanisms pave the way for the monopolization of the US economy by a few, large corporate entities (and the bourgeoisie with ownership over those entities) that allow them to make decisions benefiting themselves in terms of revenue at the expense of the average consumer.

While Marx rationalizes the estrangement from the self and others as a derivative of worker alienation from the fruits of their labor, there are numerous other factors in our modern society that cause one’s alienation from the self and others, all with the profit motive serving as the underlying cause. This paper will thus outline several examples demonstrating the unethical and alienating effects of capitalist mechanisms, which, in turn, is causing increased distress in the American psyche.

While our economy’s structure has remained relatively constant, America’s mental health has been declining at alarming rates during recent years. A quick look at the statistics provides a bleak outlook, prompting public discourse regarding what changed in the recent decade to lead to these numbers. According to a 2019 report from the CDC, 11.2% of adults aged 18 and over suffer from regular feelings of anxiety, while 4.7% reported regular feelings of depression (CDC, 2019). In contrast, statistics taken from August 2020 to February 2021 show that the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of anxiety or depression has increased to 41.5%, with 11.7% reporting unmet health care needs (CDC, 2021).

Given that this data is derived from National Health Interview Surveys, it would be reasonable to ask if the increase in self reported symptoms is simply just a product of increased mental health awareness and its destigmatization in our day to day conversations. Perhaps examining the trend in suicide rates over the past few decades may provide an answer. The data is heartbreaking: reports from the National Vital Statistics System finds that the national suicide rate increased 35% from 1999 to 2018 across all ages (CDC, 2020). This trend thus indicates the mortal consequences of America’s declining mental stability, irrespective of how de-stigmatized a topic mental illness has become.

One logical extension of Marx’s theory of Estranged Labor can be attributed to the increasing wealth gap in America, undoubtedly one of the primary roots for discontent and class divide in our country. Over the past few decades, the income gap between upper-income and middle and lower income households have increased, as the size and wealth of the middle class concurrently shrinks (Horowitz). Unprecedented levels of income inequality in the US naturally raises the question of how this economic trend has impacted the nation’s happiness as a whole. One may logically conclude that the growing class divide alienates individuals from others of a different wealth status; individuals are thus experiencing increasingly unequal levels of opportunity for socioeconomic mobility, and thus, very different realities. This fosters disillusionment with the government, corporations, and other institutions, as citizens are wondering who will mitigate these issues.

While it is clear that class divides are a cause for alienation from other individuals in America, one may wonder how widespread the cognitive effect of income inequality truly is. A 2018 study conducted to examine the status-anxiety hypothesis found that national income inequality only affects the psychological health of those facing scarcity, further stating that income inequality by itself does not lead to mental illnesses, but may lead some to the financial scarcity that would produce anxiety (Sommet). Given this research study, one may question if unhappiness can then be isolated to free market mechanisms, or the scarcity of basic needs it perpetuates? To answer this, we can look into Denmark as a case study. Denmark is ranked as the third happiest country in the world according to the World Happiness Report from 2021 (M. Szmigiera), yet also ranks high in terms of economic freedom (Denmark, Forbes). It is thus important to note that the largest difference between Denmark and the US rests in Denmark’s comprehensive welfare programs that promote individual autonomy and social mobility. In fact, their GINI coefficient of 0.249 (recorded by the World Bank) shows that there is low income inequality, and thus, presumably less anxieties derived from a scarcity of basic necessities (Gini Index). From this case study, we can see that unhappiness may not necessarily be isolated to the effects from a free market, but rather the lack of basic necessities that result from a hyper-competitive society. Income inequality thus results in unhappiness if there are no institutions in place to mitigate basic survival needs, which clearly outlines what is happening in America.

A common answer to the increase in America’s anxiety is the rise of social media and its intertwinement with our everyday activities, with its effects causing a devastating estrangement from the self and others. It cannot be a mere coincidence that since social media’s rise in prominence 2011, mental health amongst youth has declined. Alongside increasing rates of depression and eating disorders, suicide rates among people aged 10-24 have increased by 56% from 2007 to 2017 (Nesi, NCMJ). As the social atmosphere has increasingly shifted to online platforms (a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic), social media usage is responsible for distorting communication styles as well as fostering a competitive culture amongst its users. Ironically, what was initially designed to be a platform to connect people together has now morphed into the root cause of Gen Z’s loneliness epidemic.

When going out to a restaurant for dinner, for instance, one may take a quick look around and see the majority of children fixated on an iPad or phone screen, as their parents have found it to be the best way to placate them during the meal. This example lends itself to other social situations where individuals are unable to hold a conversation for long, before turning back to their phone screens. It is difficult to strike up a conversation in a cafeteria setting when everyone is staring down at their phones during lunch, or even after class when everyone is waiting for the bell, checking their text messages. Phones have thus become a hindrance for, or an ‘easy escape’ from, face to face interaction, as the algorithms become more powerful in holding their users’ attention.

One possible reason for the lure of social media is in the way it has revolutionized the art of self expression by creating a new medium where individuals can craft their social personas. This, in turn, incentivizes a cultivation of identity that does not necessarily match lived experiences. Many popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, use algorithms that have conditioned its users to buy into a ‘popularity contest’ by rewarding users who receive more engagement on their posted content. The content an individual posts is scrutinized by a vast number of other users, creating a self-reinforcing mechanism that pressures users to upload content that adheres to societal norms. As such, online competition for presenting one’s ‘best’ and most ‘socially acceptable’ self has created the phenomenon of performative self expression, which is quite the opposite of authentic self expression. This form of personal branding creates dissatisfaction with oneself, as it breeds a culture of measuring oneself and one’s accomplishments against another user’s content; this inauthenticity characterizing online content, in effect, prompts users to chase after an idealized lifestyle and self image that perhaps does not even exist. Performative self expression on social media platforms is thus another root cause of the alienation from the true self, affecting the youngest generation disproportionately.

Furthermore, there is a profit motive in this constant striving for the ‘perfect’ life, per social media’s standards. Performative online interaction and content creation serves to highlight how every aspect of our beings are commodified, even outside of the workplace. For instance, the idea of an ‘influencer,’ which often involves exhibiting material wealth online, is now characterized as a full time job. This breeds a sort of online culture where there is immense social pressure for an individual to exemplify a portfolio of material success, if not also producing online content that can be capitalized off of. These feelings of mental distress thus stem from a universal feeling of alienation from our natural sense of being, as modern channels have raised the expectation for all time to be used as labor. New social norms invoke pressure that individuals ought to be spending all of their time on economic profit, which is amplified through online platforms.

The permanence of an online footprint is also a cause for anxiety amongst its users. From a young age, Gen Z has been taught that a distasteful post can have repercussions years later in regards to one’s social and professional relationships. As such, one may feel more vulnerable and cautious because of the magnitude at which their online content is viewed, as well as the longevity.

With data privacy violations and the spread of targeted misinformation, social media platforms have created a channel through which individuals can be commodified in the privacy of their own homes. The invasive nature of data extraction renders the platform user feeling powerless over their online activities, as tech companies feed consumer data into algorithms that make the platform more addictive, and allows for targeting advertising to reach consumers. Further, it is a grave issue that these data-fed algorithms are determining what shows up on a person’s feed, which essentially constructs a form of reality and manipulates thought processes in ways that the user may not be aware of. Another issue with targeted advertising and the spread of targeted misinformation is that it commodifies users, and signals to them that they only serve to deepen someone else’s pockets, or are reduced to a vote to put someone else in power. The manipulation and distortion of reality ensues from invasive data collection, as users are fed information that pushes them to either buy, vote, or act in a certain way intended by large corporations or politicians. In fact, underlying motives driving the development of addictive and utterly harmful technological features of social media platforms recently came to light when a former data scientist at Facebook testified in front of the Senate Committee, where she criticized its immoral leadership: “Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division… The company’s leadership knows ways to make Facebook and Instagram safer and won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their immense profits before people” (Haugen). She states that she joined Facebook after one of her friends became radicalized online and wanted to change the platform for the better, before realizing that executive decisions are championing revenue over fixing the harmful aspects of their products. These decisions, Frances Haugen says, are pushing a system that fuels “division, extremism, and polarization” and leads to “actual violence that harms and even kills people'' (Haugen). This tracks: the January 6th capitol riots is a prime example of online political extremism materializing into violence in real life. It is no secret that these algorithms feed information fueling division and polarization, with Haugen noting that “these problems have been confirmed repeatedly by Facebook’s own internal research” (Haugen). As such, one can point to the profit motive incentivizing unethical corporate behavior, effectively distorting the reality of not only Facebook users, but the people who they interact with on a daily basis as well. Corporate greed and unethical tech software is thus a prime example demonstrating how capitalist mechanisms allow for the commodification of American citizens. This form of exploitation increasingly alienates individuals from their true sense of identity, as well as creating political polarization that is causing divides amongst the population. While Marx correctly assigns the commodification of individuals as a result of a capitalist class exploiting a worker class for their labor, modern conditions expands this act beyond the workplace, and beyond the working class. Technology blurs the line for who becomes commodified, as individuals across class divisions are exposed to and affected by social media algorithms in their effort to connect with other people and convey their online brands.

One can further point to the nature of recent news coverage as a cause of mental distress and political polarization. The reporters tend to focus on issues that bring in more views and therefore more profit, which tend to exploit our negativity bias. For instance, US media was far more pessimistic in covering the COVID-19 pandemic than any other country, demonstrating a clear inclination towards maximizing profits at the expense of American mental health (Goldstein, MarketWatch). A 2021 NYT article cites that “About 87 percent of Covid coverage in national U.S. media last year was negative” (Leonhardt, NYT). This can be compared to 51% negativity in international media, 53% in US regional media, and 64% in scientific journals. Again, this demonstrates how corporations whose products are imminent in our day to day lives are consistently choosing unethical output that damages mental health, in favor of increasing revenue.

Social trust and faith in American institutions is also declining, with a 2018 Pew research poll finding that around 29% of Americans over 65 believed that most people can’t be trusted, while 60% of Americans 18-29 agreed that most people can’t be trusted (Vallier, WSJ). This research suggests that social trust levels will continue to fall as trusting generations are replaced by mistrustful ones. What is the difference between the younger generation and the older generation? The most obvious discrepancy is in their use of technology. Clearly, there is a generational trend in which the younger generation is much more pessimistic, which can be interpreted as a derivative of the increase in channels through which individuals now feel targeted for the sake of a profit. This mistrust comes from not being able to believe everything they see online, as they are not sure whose agenda the information pushes. Whereas older generations use less technology, and are therefore less exposed to the turbulent online world, the younger generation has clearly projected their mistrust of online information onto the real world and institutions who are propelling this behavior.

Furthermore, social media is creating a change in communication style and replacing face to face interaction with online communication. It is now harder to engage in meaningful conversation when people are more distracted by their phones. This also exacerbates a generational divide, as older generations struggle to adapt to new technologies and understand the effects of social media on a young person’s mental health. This causes individuals, particularly Gen Z, to feel lonelier than previous generations, as they are facing contradictions in expressing their true identities online, while simultaneously struggling to connect to peers and family members.

This brings us to the question of how Gen Z is different from past generations, as the younger generation is plagued with more anxiety and depression rates in comparison to the older generation. Over the past 25 years, violent crime rates have fallen, and the standard of living has largely increased for children. Opportunities have also increased with the invention of the internet, as there is a breadth of information exchange available. One may further point out that previous generations have dealt with more fatal threats - war drafts, bomb threats, etc. - and were seemingly more equipped to handle these issues mentally. I would argue that the increase in protifization from government institutions, negative news coverage, and social media platforms are priming the younger generation to feel more detached from their own identities and less secure in themselves, as well as their relationships with others; this makes it harder for them to seek support when dealing with these issues. The answer is therefore contingent on societal factors that have bred loneliness and mistrust in corporate and government institutions to have their best interests at heart.

Another cause for Gen Z’s anxiety may be from Gen X’s parenting style. As income inequality grew over the past few decades, and many witnessed the millennial generation graduate from college with bleak job prospects and mounting student debt. Gen X parents therefore instilled a ‘do or die’ type of mentality into their children, as they witnessed the competition for attaining a livable income becoming more and more cutthroat. However, Gen Z watched the formula their parents adamantly enforced on them (good grades lead to a good job) dissipate in the hyper-competitive job market. Growing anxieties regarding adequate housing, affordable healthcare and education, as well as job security are all being passed down to the younger generation. The children are watching their parents pay taxes and pledge allegiance to a country that does not always pledge allegiance back to them.

There is also an issue with the idea of a ‘dream job,’ when some individuals find that it is difficult to make a living income off of pursuing their interests. While some may attach great pride and happiness to their careers, the capitalist mechanisms that dictate the organization of labor and produce in this economy can alienate many from being able to fuse their passion and interests into a career that is valued by the economy. In a modern society where many are told that their worth is equated to how much value they can bring to our economy, and where minimum wage is not always a livable wage, many have begun to question how far the profit motive can go to devalue an individual’s worth, as well as blur the lines for ethics amongst large corporations and government institutions that dictate our wellbeing. There is a clear issue with this country’s system, as free market forces do not necessarily work in the vast majority’s favor anymore.

In a society where individuals profit immensely off other individuals’ basic needs and other products subject to everyday use, there is a large incentive for unethical behavior to occur, much of which has been responsible for alienating an individual from their true purpose and identities, as well as their peers. Marx was correct in identifying that capitalist mechanisms estrange an individual from the product of their labor, which in turn causes estrangement from the self and others. Yet, modern institutions have changed the channels through which individuals can be commodified, not only through their labor, but through other unethical phenomena driven by the profit motive. It has thus become clear that the profit motive has blurred the line for ethical boundaries, incentivizing large corporations to make decisions that are harmful to the vast majority of the population. With government inaction, unbridled capitalism breeds a ‘dog eat dog’ form of society, which leads to mistrust, less cohesiveness, and less compassion.

Works Cited

“American Public Health Association (APHA).” American Journal of Public Health

“Denmark.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine

“FastStats - Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Sept. 2021

“Gini Index (World Bank Estimate) - Denmark.” Data

Goldstein, Steve. “U.S. Media Is Far More Pessimistic in Covering the Coronavirus Pandemic than Anyone Else.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 23 Nov. 2020,

Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, et al. “Trends in U.S. Income and Wealth Inequality.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 17 Aug. 2020,

Leonhardt, David. “Bad News Bias.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021

M. Szmigiera, and Jun 10. “Happiest Countries in the World 2020.” Statista, 10 June 2021,

Marx, Karl. “Estranged Labour.” Estranged Labour, Marx, 1844

Nesi, Jacqueline. “The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.” North Carolina Medical Journal, North Carolina Medical Journal, 1 Mar. 2020

“Products - Data Briefs - Number 361 - March 2020.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 Apr. 2020

Sommet, Nicolas, et al. “Income Inequality Affects the Psychological Health of Only the People Facing Scarcity.” Psychological Science, vol. 29, no. 12, SAGE Publications, 2018, pp. 1911–21, doi:10.1177/0956797618798620.

“Statement of Frances Haugen,” United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, 4 October 2021

“Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder and Use of Mental Health Care among Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, August 2020–February 2021.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Apr. 2021

Vallier, Kevin. “Why Are Americans So Distrustful of Each Other?” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 17 Dec. 2020,