Across the West there is observed in almost all jurisdictions, an epidemic of youth suicide, much of this related to mental health issues, which I previously covered at the blog. For example, in the US, mental-health-related visits among children, teenagers, and young adults increased between 2011 and 2020, from 4.8 million to 7.5 million, and psychiatric patients' share of all paediatric and young-adult emergency visits increased from 7.7 to 13.1 percent. Admissions related to suicide nearly quadrupled, from 0.9 to 4.2 percent of all paediatric emergency visits. And, this is no longer just a problem for males, as the number of adolescent girls admitted to emergency following suicide attempts rose by almost 51 percent between 2019 and 2021.
This surge in suicides, and attempted suicides occurs with the background of the elimination of the once strong moral and religious prohibition against suicide. Along with that some LGBT activists endorse suicide as a means of protest. Further, there is the added anomie produced by the machinations of present-day society, which with its threats and tensions, would be enough to drive any thinking sensitive person to despair and depression. All in all, it is a wonder that the suicide rate is not even higher. With lifelong unemployment produced by the rapid AI revolution, things may get even worse.