Beneath the surface of daily high school life, a silent crisis of unprecedented scale is unfolding, as recent statistics reveal that over half of all students are grappling with persistent sadness, nearly a quarter have seriously considered suicide, and the pervasive influence of social media is deepening a profound mental health emergency among today's youth.
Key Takeaways
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 57% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the previous year, with females reporting 72% compared to 45% for males
- The CDC reports that 22% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months in 2021 YRBS, rising from 16% in 2011
- 10% of high school students reported attempting suicide in the past year per 2021 YRBS, with Hispanic students at 12% and female students at 13%
- Obesity affects 20.7% of adolescents aged 12-19 per CDC 2017-2020 NHANES
- 8.4% of high school students had asthma currently per YRBS 2021
- 44% of high school students got 8+ hours of sleep on school nights per YRBS 2021
- 57% of high school students played video or computer games 3+ hours on average school day per YRBS 2021
- 59% of US teens use TikTok daily per Pew 2022
- 67% of teens use YouTube almost constantly or several times a day per Pew 2023
- 73% of US high school students graduate on time per NCES 2020-21
- 84% adjusted cohort graduation rate for public high schools per NCES 2021
- 56% of high school students met all 4 ELA/math readiness benchmarks per NAEP 2022
- 12% of 12th graders smoke cigarettes daily per MTF 2022
- 30% of high school students in physical fight past year per YRBS 2021
- 8% seriously injured requiring medical care from fight per YRBS 2021
Many teens struggle with severe mental health crises and other serious challenges.
Education and Academics
- 73% of US high school students graduate on time per NCES 2020-21
- 84% adjusted cohort graduation rate for public high schools per NCES 2021
- 56% of high school students met all 4 ELA/math readiness benchmarks per NAEP 2022
- Average NAEP math score for 8th graders 2022 was 236, down 8 points from 2019
- 26% of 8th graders proficient in math per NAEP 2022
- 31% of 12th graders proficient in reading per NAEP 2022
- 52% of high school students felt too sleepy to think clearly during the day per YRBS 2021
- 70% of teens aspire to college per Pew 2019
- 57% of low-income students graduate high school per NCES
- 93% for high-income students per NCES 2021
- 65% of 2020 high school grads immediately enrolled in college per NCES
- 42% of high school students used electronic devices 5+ hours schoolwork per YRBS 2021
- Chronic absenteeism affected 25% of students in 2021-22 per NCES
- 15% of high school students skipped school 2+ days past month per YRBS 2021
- 74% of 12th graders report B or higher GPA per Monitoring the Future 2022
- 80% of Asian students proficient in reading vs 35% Black per NAEP 2022
- 33% of students with disabilities proficient in math per NAEP 2022
- AP participation 50% among class of 2023 per College Board
- 60% pass rate on AP exams per College Board 2023
- 22% of high school students in 3+ AP/IB/honors courses per NCES 2021
- 86% of teachers say cell phones distract students per NMSC 2023
- 64% of 8th graders below basic in math per NAEP 2022
- 40% of students report bullying at school per NCES 2021
- 95% of teens use internet daily per Pew 2021
- 49% of rural teens lack broadband per Pew 2021
- 67% of high school students C average or lower per YRBS 2021
- 16% D/F average per YRBS 2021 high school
Education and Academics Interpretation
While we're managing to graduate more students on paper, the system is clearly producing a lot of sleepy, stressed, and under-prepared young adults who are chasing college dreams with alarmingly uneven support and widely varying readiness.
Mental Health
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 57% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the previous year, with females reporting 72% compared to 45% for males
- The CDC reports that 22% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months in 2021 YRBS, rising from 16% in 2011
- 10% of high school students reported attempting suicide in the past year per 2021 YRBS, with Hispanic students at 12% and female students at 13%
- Pew Research Center found that 46% of teens aged 13-17 felt worse about their own life due to social media in 2022
- NIMH data indicates that 20.1% of adolescents aged 12-17 had a major depressive episode in 2021
- 32% of teen girls aged 13-17 reported using anxiety or depression medication in the past year per 2023 KFF survey
- CDC YRBS 2021 shows 42% of high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless, up 9% from 2019
- 35% of LGBTQ+ high school students considered suicide in 2021 YRBS, compared to 14% of heterosexual students
- Anxiety disorders affect 31.9% of adolescents aged 13-18 per NIMH lifetime prevalence data
- 18.8% of youth aged 12-17 experienced a substance use disorder in 2021 per SAMHSA
- 24% of teens reported high levels of psychological distress in 2022 Australian study
- WHO states that 10-20% of adolescents worldwide experience mental health conditions
- 37% of teen girls felt persistently sad in 2021 YRBS
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10-14 year olds per CDC 2021 data
- 16% of high school students made a suicide plan in 2021 YRBS
- 14% of high school students experienced homelessness in 2021 YRBS, linked to mental health issues
- 26% of teens with two or more ACEs had poor mental health per CDC
- 50% of mental health disorders begin by age 14 per WHO
- 21% of adolescents aged 12-17 had a past-year major depressive episode per NSDUH 2020
- Teen girls' depression rates doubled from 2009-2019 per JAMA Pediatrics
- 44% of high school girls considered suicide in 2021 YRBS
- 19% of teens report cyberbullying victimization linked to mental health per Pew 2022
- ADHD affects 9.4% of children aged 13-18 per NIMH
- 11% of high school students injected drugs in lifetime per 2021 YRBS, tied to mental health
- 30% of teens with depression do not receive treatment per CDC
- Eating disorders prevalence is 2.8% lifetime for adolescents per NIMH
- 15% of high school students missed school due to feeling unsafe, impacting mental health per YRBS 2021
- Bipolar disorder affects 2.9% of adolescents aged 13-18 per NIMH
- 40% of teens report stress from school affecting mental health per APA 2022
- PTSD prevalence is 5% among adolescents per NIMH
- 29% of high school students reported poor mental health in past 30 days per YRBS 2021
- 17% of US adolescents aged 12-17 had a past-year SUD per SAMHSA 2021
Mental Health Interpretation
If the data were a yearbook quote for this generation, it would sadly read: "Most Likely to Feel Hopeless, with Anxiety as our plus-one and a society that keeps handing us the bill."
Physical Health
- Obesity affects 20.7% of adolescents aged 12-19 per CDC 2017-2020 NHANES
- 8.4% of high school students had asthma currently per YRBS 2021
- 44% of high school students got 8+ hours of sleep on school nights per YRBS 2021
- 15% of adolescents aged 12-19 have high blood pressure per CDC NHANES 2017-2018
- 21% of high school students were obese per YRBS 2021
- Only 24% of high school students met fruit intake guidelines per CDC
- 14% met vegetable intake guidelines per CDC youth data
- 53% of high school students were physically active 60+ minutes daily per YRBS 2021
- 85% of high school students drank soda one or more times per day per YRBS 2019
- Type 2 diabetes prevalence in youth aged 10-19 is 0.46 per 1,000 per CDC SEARCH
- 11.3% of adolescents have fair or poor health per NHIS 2020
- Concussions reported by 14.4% of high school students in sports per YRBS 2021
- 36% of teens aged 12-19 have dental caries experience per CDC OHIS
- HPV vaccination coverage is 59% for girls aged 13-17 per CDC 2021
- 60% coverage for boys aged 13-17 per CDC 2021 HPV data
- 9.2% of youth aged 12-17 have eczema per CDC 2021
- 19% of high school girls were overweight per YRBS 2021
- 24% of high school boys were overweight per YRBS 2021
- Only 27% of adolescents meet aerobic activity guidelines per CDC 2019
- 76% of high school students used electronic vapor products in lifetime per YRBS 2021
- 82% lifetime alcohol use among high school students per YRBS 2021
- 29.2% current marijuana use among high school students per YRBS 2021
- 55% of adolescents aged 12-19 consume less than 100% DV calcium per NHANES
- Iron deficiency affects 14% of adolescents aged 12-19 per NHANES 2011-2012
- 12.5% of youth have myopia per CDC Vision data
- 7% of teens have diagnosed diabetes per NHANES
- 80% of high school students had sexual intercourse by grade 12 per YRBS
- 30% high school students currently sexually active per YRBS 2021
- 51% of high school students who had sex used condom at last intercourse per YRBS 2021
- 22% of 9th graders had sexual intercourse per YRBS 2021
- 8.5% of high school students experienced forced sex per YRBS 2021
Physical Health Interpretation
Teens are running on soda fumes and insufficient sleep, fighting off everything from cavities to concussions, while their collective diet is so lacking in fruit and vegetables that you'd think they were allergic to color, yet over half of them manage to be physically active—a testament to youthful resilience operating in spite of itself.
Social and Behavioral
- 12% of 12th graders smoke cigarettes daily per MTF 2022
- 30% of high school students in physical fight past year per YRBS 2021
- 8% seriously injured requiring medical care from fight per YRBS 2021
- 15% carried weapon on school property past month per YRBS 2021
- 7% missed school due to feeling unsafe at school per YRBS 2021
- 20% bullied on school property past year per YRBS 2021
- 35% electronically bullied past year per YRBS 2021
- 11% forced to have sexual intercourse per YRBS 2021
- 14% experienced sexual violence by peer per YRBS 2021
- 46% of high school students had 4+ lifetime sexual partners per YRBS 2021
- 10% currently drink alcohol daily per YRBS 2021
- 29% binge drank past month per YRBS 2021
- 11% used cocaine past month per YRBS 2021
- 5% used heroin lifetime per YRBS 2021
- 14% drove after drinking per YRBS 2021
- 24% rode with drinking driver per YRBS 2021
- 67% of 12th graders used alcohol past year per MTF 2022
- 48% used illicit drugs past year per MTF 2022 12th graders
- 31% vaped nicotine past year per MTF 2022
- 15% of teens report frequent sadness linked to peer issues per CDC
- 42% of girls experienced persistent sadness per YRBS 2021
- 25% of high school students smoke cigarettes lifetime per YRBS 2021
- 76% vaped nicotine lifetime per YRBS 2021
- 50% of 10th graders used alcohol past month per MTF 2022
- 19% of 8th graders vaped per MTF 2022
- 6% sold illegal drugs past year per YRBS 2021
- 5% stole from store past year per YRBS 2021
- 4% used methamphetamines lifetime per YRBS 2021
- 21% of LGBTQ+ students felt unsafe at school per YRBS 2021
- 27% of Hispanic students in physical fights per YRBS 2021
Social and Behavioral Interpretation
It is a statistical portrait of adolescence that reads less like a yearbook and more like a cautionary tale, where the rites of passage are too often marked by violence, substance abuse, and a profound, often hidden, sadness.
Technology and Media Usage
- 57% of high school students played video or computer games 3+ hours on average school day per YRBS 2021
- 59% of US teens use TikTok daily per Pew 2022
- 67% of teens use YouTube almost constantly or several times a day per Pew 2023
- 58% of teens use Instagram daily per Pew 2022
- 95% of teens have smartphone access per Pew 2022
- 46% of teens are online almost constantly per Pew 2022
- 32% of teens use Snapchat daily per Pew 2022
- 20% use TikTok almost constantly per Pew 2023
- 16% are online almost constantly on YouTube per Pew 2023
- 89% of teens use YouTube per Pew 2023
- 62% use TikTok per Pew 2023
- 83% of girls use TikTok vs 41% boys per Pew 2023
- 71% use Instagram per Pew 2023
- 51% use Snapchat per Pew 2023
- 33% use Facebook per Pew 2023
- 17% use Twitter/X per Pew 2023
- 10% use BeReal per Pew 2023
- 63% of teens experienced a social media account hack per Pew 2023
- 41% say social media makes them feel more accepted per Pew 2023
- 32% feel worse about body image due to social media per Pew 2023
- 25% of high school students texted or emailed 3+ hours daily per YRBS 2021
- 19% played video games 4+ hours on school nights per YRBS 2021
- 72% of teens have smartphone by age 12 per Common Sense Media 2022
- Teens average 8.2 hours recreational screen time daily per Common Sense 2021
- 67% of teens worry about social media time per Common Sense 2021
- 54% of teens use social media for news per Pew 2023
- 81% find it hard to give up social media per Pew 2023
- 38% of teens experienced cyberbullying per Pew 2022
- 48% feel worse about social media pressure per Pew 2022
- 97% of teens play video games per Pew 2022
- 41% play daily per Pew 2022
Technology and Media Usage Interpretation
While a teen’s world is built of glowing screens, the blue light reveals a generation perpetually performing, perpetually connected, yet grappling with anxiety, hacks, and body image under the ever-present digital curtain call.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 2PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 3NIMHnimh.nih.govVisit source
- Reference 4KFFkff.orgVisit source
- Reference 5SAMHSAsamhsa.govVisit source
- Reference 6AIHWaihw.gov.auVisit source
- Reference 7WHOwho.intVisit source
- Reference 8JAMANETWORKjamanetwork.comVisit source
- Reference 9APAapa.orgVisit source
- Reference 10COMMONSENSEMEDIAcommonsensemedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 11NCESnces.ed.govVisit source
- Reference 12MONITORINGTHEFUTUREmonitoringthefuture.orgVisit source
- Reference 13REPORTSreports.collegeboard.orgVisit source
- Reference 14NMSCnmsc.orgVisit source