Jesus flipping the money changer’s tables and scattering coins across the temple floor in the heart of a corrupt and utterly contemptible Jerusalem would go over just about as well today as it did then. I would imagine He would receive the same amount of scrutiny as well. I can hear it now, “Don’t you care about the poor?” “God is love,” “Hypocrite.” Shining light in a world of darkness will always lead to resistance. For many present day truth tellers, the response is similar: scorned, slandered, de-platformed, banned, or worse. And the darkness, though it will never overcome the Light, will do its best to hide it from you.
Take for example a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry that examined the increases in depression, self‐harm, and suicide among U.S. adolescents after 2012 and links to technology use and the possible mechanisms. The conclusion in a nutshell: “U.S. adolescents and young adults are in the midst of a mental health crisis, particularly among girls and young women. The rise of digital media may have played a role in this problem via several mechanisms”
May have? It’s not like we couldn’t see it coming. The advent of smart technology was easily viewed as a clear and present danger. So much so that tech founders, a few of the biggies, “seldom let their kids play with the very products they helped create.”
So, back to the study, and mind you, this is pre-covid. That comes next. Let me list the “highlights:”:
- Depression, self‐harm, suicide, and unhappiness suddenly increased among adolescents after 2012, especially among girls and young women.
- Increases in depression among adolescents have been concurrent with increases in digital media use.
- Increased digital media and smartphone use may influence mental health via several mechanisms, including displacement and disruption of in‐person social interactions, interference with sleep, cyberbullying, and online information about self‐harm.
“As of 2022, about 4.5% of U.S. adolescents and young adults, ages 12 to 25, had received a prescription for antidepressant medication. Antidepressant prescriptions have been on the rise for all age groups in the U.S. over the past decade; those rates increased even faster in the early months and years of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescent girls and young women, especially.”
So, smart technology coincides with SSRI’s. Interesting. And in case you didn’t know:
“The most commonly used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. These medications block the recycling, or reuptake, of the brain-signaling molecule serotonin by neurons. This action leaves more serotonin free in the brain where it can be used for communication between neurons involved in emotional regulation.”
Sounds benign right? Google SSRI’s and you will find article after article about the benefits of anti-depressants. And if a warning is mentioned, for instance the Black Box Warning, it is downplayed, and venerated as Medical Freedom.
But what if there is another side?
Let’s get back to the study:
Remember I mentioned the mechanisms that may increase depression, self-harm, and suicide among adolescents? Here are the six:
- Displacement of In‐Person Social Interaction (Individual Level)
- Displacement of In‐Person Social Interaction (Generational Level)
- Interference With In‐Person Social Interaction
- Interference With Sleep
- Cyberbullying and Toxic Environments
- Self‐Harm Information and Contagion
Sound familiar? Do you by chance experience any of these mechanisms yourself? Someone you know perhaps? Friend, mom, dad, sister, brother? Have you watched any recent news headlines? Here is another stat that is telling:
“The number of Americans taking mental health prescription medication increased by 6.4 in the last year, indicating that 65 million people (1 in 5) are now prescribed medication to help them cope with stress, anxiety, or depression. About 1 in 6 American adults reported taking a psychiatric drug at least once in the past year, with white Americans having the highest number of prescriptions.”
And one final quote from our study that sums up were we are as a society:
“We are in the midst of a mental health crisis among adolescents in the United States. This crisis will necessitate more resources for treatment in the coming years and potentially far into the future, given that those who experience their first episode of depression as adolescents are more likely to relapse as adults. The cause of this crisis is difficult to determine, but the rise of digital media is one possibility. The interaction between digital media use and mental health is complex, appearing to operate directly and indirectly, at the individual and generational levels, and via time spent as well as through specific experiences. With more adolescents diagnosed as having depression and engaging in self‐harm behavior and suicide attempts, it is imperative to not only treat those with these conditions but to explore how to prevent their onset.”
Is the cause of this crisis difficult to determine? To those made alive in Christ the answer is no. To those lost in spiritual blindness the answer is yes. But Jesus Christ, the true Light brings divine life into a world of darkness, sin, evil, unbelief and spiritual death. If in your heart you know something is wrong, but you are not sure what, there is One who will show you the Way. His name is Jesus, and He alone will set you free. At His crucifixion, through His death, He implemented the New Covenant. A Covenant that is available to you through Christ alone. One that offers the light of salvation and empowers you to be bold and courageous against darkness. One that compels you to shine light in a world of darkness.