n the 1930s the young were seen as threats to public order; in the 1980s they were growing up too fast. Today they are growing up too slowly and are miserable.Smartphones and social media are the chief villains. Instead of small, stable real-world communities, young people join virtual ones. Many young people are certainly anxious, unhappy or lonely. But the conviction that their mental state matters above all is contemporary. Previous generations of adults cared less about young people’s minds than about their deviant and unruly behaviour. Is Gen Z behaviors getting out of control and how do we help them ?

