From Russell Wells, Bunbury, Western Australia
Your report on the impact of the pandemic on children’s health is all well and good, but we need an investigation into why we have seen a big spike in mental illness in the past few decades (6 March, p 8).
The recent mental health decline seems attributable to the lockdown conditions affecting everyone, yet your figures make it clear the pandemic wasn’t the cause of the decline, but the latest factor contributing to it.
I have a plethora of ideas as to why young people might be experiencing pathological levels of distress given the rapid deterioration of the planet and relentless evolution of social dynamics perpetuated by the online world. However, I am curious whether my assumptions are correct or if this decline is related to factors that I haven’t considered.
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