The Kids Are All Right: A nationwide poll shows teenagers are doing pretty well, all things considered

There’s been a lot of attention recently given to the idea that teenagers are struggling.

The Utah Legislature passed multiple laws this session in order to address one aspect of that — social media addiction (as a result, after March 1, 2024, teens won’t be able to access social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m). Nationwide, academic test results have shown dropping scores in recent years, especially as a result of the pandemic. I’m sure there are other examples, and I don’t want to argue here that some things haven’t declined.

But I also think that, to a very real extent, the handwringing about teenage kids’ wellbeing has been perhaps too much on the side of doom and gloom. In particular, a regular poll from the research outfit Morning Consult, has made a habit of repeatedly asking 1,000 randomly sampled American teens and their parents about their experiences in school and in life. And the most recent poll released this week showed real improvement in teens’ happiness levels across the board.

It’s worth noting: this poll simply hasn’t been covered very much elsewhere. The methodology is sound, and previous editions of the poll showing worse news were written about. But this one has largely escaped public attention. Why? I think it’s this: Good news is no news, as the saying (kind of) goes.

More happy than unhappy; more hopeful than fearful

First, let’s look at the basics. The teenagers, who ranged from ages 13 to 18, were asked, “When thinking about the future, please select which of these words best describes how you feel right now?” Then, they were given two opposites. Uniformly, drastically more chose the more positive term than the negative one.

Maybe the most negative interpretation of this data is that a large percentage of teenagers are trepidatious about the future. But I’m not sure that’s the one I’d go with. How about this one: 85 to 90% of those kids, when given the chance to say they were pessimistic, unhappy, dissatisfied, frustrated, without purpose, dreadful or fearful when considering the future... chose otherwise. Perhaps I’m naive, but I think that’s pretty good!

Where we do see the negativity creep in is with the “I feel overwhelmed” category response. Of course, that could be due to a number of stressors, including social media. But truth be told, so many of us growing up have always felt that overwhelming feeling — one adults feel, too. In high school, I was juggling sports, homework, various wildly unsuccessful crushes on cute girls, friendships, family life, and so much more. It’s a negative feeling, sure, but one I might argue is a function of growing up itself, not the era we’re in.

Relationships, health, and wealth are all better

The teenagers were also asked: “Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started in March of 2020, how have each of the following changed for you?” Here are those results:

The poll was conducted at the end of March. So they’re essentially asking these kids to evaluate how the last three years have gone for them. These three years, with a global, life-changing pandemic, will be studied for ages in history as some of the toughest circumstances around.

And the kids overwhelmingly responded that their relationships with their family and friends had grown stronger. That they had grown stronger. That their families were better off. That they were more motivated than before. And even, yes, more happy. These numbers also represent improvement compared to the same polls conducted in 2021 and 2022.

Now, yes, they also reported feeling more anxiety and stress than they had three years ago. That is unfortunate. But again, I would argue that those feelings are naturally bound to increase over time. In particular, take stress. The report’s crosstabs indicate that it was the 13-year-old age group that was most likely to report they were more stressed than they were 3 years ago. To me, that seems like a very logical result, that junior high students would feel more stressed than fifth graders. I would be surprised if they reported otherwise.

Who supports them most?

The teenagers were also asked where they get most of their positive support.

They’re more likely to report their parents and friends being extremely or very supportive than their school or teachers. To some degree, that makes sense: those are the most important bonds in their lives. But to me, it also represents an opportunity to improve schools and teachers’ supportiveness — especially when it comes to mental health issues. Those kinds of programs might have a stronger impact on teenage mental health than social media bans.

In particular, only 21% of LGTBQ students reported feeling supported by their school when it came to mental health, the lowest subgroup in the study. (LGBTQ students were also the only subgroup who were more likely to say they were “suffering” rather than “thriving” in the poll.) The most-supported subgroup was those who attend church frequently, 52% of whom said their school supported their mental health. That being said, 75% of teenagers said their school “emphasizes showing respect for all students’ cultural beliefs and practices.”

While we’re here, there were some other results of the poll that interested me:

• The number of students who say they want to go to a 4-year college has increased since the 2022 poll: 54% compared to 47%. About one quarter of the 13 to 18 year olds said they didn’t know or had no plans after high school.

• 92% of the teens said they had a cell phone — even 87% of 13-year-olds. More teens said they used that phone to connect with friends than did those who said they connected with friends at school in person or with social media.

• 42% of teens say they’ve heard some or more about ChatGPT, but only 13% say they’ve used it at school.

• The top three policy priorities of the teens were “addressing gun violence and gun control”, “improving healthcare in the country,” and “dealing with global climate change.” But only 28% of teens said they were worried about a mass shooter entering their school, compared to 52% of parents.

And maybe it’s that last stat that is a larger microcosm of the whole thing — in general, the teenagers say they’re better off than their elders perhaps think they are.

Now, we can certainly do better. Ideally, every student that feels supported by their school, none feel anxiety or stress, and all are optimistic and hopeful. We should do all that we can — and do much more — to reach those students who are struggling.

But I’m not seeing the data that backs up widespread cynicism among and about the teenage generation.

Andy Larsen is a data columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune. You can reach him at alarsen@sltrib.com.

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