{"id":24626,"date":"2025-10-30T14:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/?p=24626"},"modified":"2025-10-30T16:18:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:18:45","slug":"the-nations-doctors-put-spotlight-on-youth-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/2025\/the-nations-doctors-put-spotlight-on-youth-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nation\u2019s Top Doctors Put Spotlight on Youth Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
(Photo by Mark Washburn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The palpable weight of the day\u2019s topic hung in the room when six former U.S. Surgeons General took the stage at Dartmouth on Monday in front of an audience of hundreds. The topic at hand? \u00a0The global youth mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mental health of the most valuable resource we will ever have\u2014our children\u2014is at stake,\u201d said M. Joycelyn Elders, MD, MS, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 1993 to 1994, setting the tone for the dialogue.<\/p>\n

After being introduced by Steven Leach, MD, who is serving as the acting dean of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and Lisa McBride, PhD, associate dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Geisel, the Surgeons General spoke candidly about the most urgent mental health challenges facing young people. They cited grim statistics, shared personal stories of mental struggles and isolation, and offered tangible solutions that both individuals and society could enact to improve and save lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a responsibility, and we all can<\/em> do something,\u201d Elders said.<\/p>\n

Unprecedented Challenges to Mental Well-Being <\/strong><\/p>\n

Many culprits came up during the dialogue, which was moderated by Timothy Wilens, MD, president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. However, none were more prominent than smartphone and social media use. \u201cWhere did we lose our children? Social media,\u201d said Antonia Coello Novello, MD, MPH, DrPH, HON \u201925, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 1990 to1993.<\/p>\n

The unrestricted access to social media is particularly concerning, the doctors said. Elders spoke of the dangers of having smartphones available to teenagers at all hours, and the bombardment of information, negative headlines, opportunities for self-comparison, and uninhibited bullying that young people are experiencing as a result. And Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 2017 to 2021, described how the immediate, easy access to other vices\u2014such as gambling\u2014online could significantly magnify those risk factors for mental illness and suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re living in an environment with no safeguards for social media,\u201d said Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 2014 to 2017 and 2021 to 2025. And, he added, that\u2019s largely because we\u2019ve left it up to technology companies to manage safety. Murthy pointed to the shortcomings of that approach with the example of the introduction of the automobile: Most cars didn\u2019t have seatbelts, despite the safety feature existing before automobiles<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t until regulators got involved decades later and required them that seatbelts became ubiquitous. The same kind of intervention may be needed for social media, Murthy said, adding that given what we know about adolescent brain development, one option that is \u201ceminently reasonable and advisable\u201d would be to delay access to social media for users under the age of 16, if not older.<\/p>\n

\""Graphic<\/a>
Graphic illustrator captures the conversation in real time (Photo by Mark Washburn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We still have a lot to learn about the impact that smartphones, social media, and access to other new technologies have on adolescent brain development and mental wellness, added Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 2002 to 2006. \u201cI don\u2019t think people fully appreciated the consequences of the new digital age,\u201d he said, arguing for a national strategy for research. \u201cWe\u2019re playing catch-up now.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Illness to Wellness<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s panel discussion, which took place in the Spaulding Auditorium at Dartmouth\u2019s newly renovated Hopkins Center for the Arts<\/a>, was part of a three-day symposium, \u201cA Global Turning Point: Why Youth Well-Being Is in Crisis\u2014and What We Must Do About It<\/a>,\u201d co-hosted by Dartmouth and the United Nations Development Programme\u2019s Human Development Report Office. It also bore echoes of a previous conversation at Dartmouth among this esteemed group of doctors: In September 2023<\/a>, all living current and former U.S. Surgeons General convened at Dartmouth for dialogues about the future of mental health and wellness.<\/p>\n

In both conversations, the Surgeons General underscored the importance of not only considering mental health during times of emergency. For example, Adams offered an alternative way of looking at mental health: Instead of focusing all efforts on diagnosing and treating mental illness, healthcare leaders should also focus on mental wellness, he said.<\/p>\n

To make that shift, Novello added, mental health and physical health need to be treated equally and together by doctors.<\/p>\n

This sentiment was echoed by David Satcher, MD, PhD, who served as U.S. Surgeon General from 1998 to 2002. \u201cA balanced partnership between primary care and mental health provides an opportunity for the coordination and integration of patient care,\u201d said Satcher. \u201cPrimary care providers must remember that they are not alone. The primary care provider is the quarterback of the healthcare team that collaboratively makes the system work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adjusting our mindset could help with something the Surgeons General mentioned as a barrier to increasing mental wellness: stigma.<\/p>\n

One aspect of reducing stigma, Murthy said, is to demonstrate how pervasive mental health struggles can be. To that end, Murthy shared his own isolating experiences during adolescence describing the feeling of not being worthy, not being likable or lovable. Indeed, he said, that\u2019s one of the challenges with social media: The 24\/7 access, which affects one\u2019s self-esteem and exposure to intensified bullying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to look at the world and not feel some sort of despair,\u201d Murthy said, in reference to both social media and mainstream media. But \u201cin real life,\u201d he said, \u201cyou see neighbors stepping up and helping.\u201d Buried under built-up cynicism, he said, \u201cThat is who we are. We are kind, we are generous, we are loving people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vivek<\/a>
Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, the 21st US Surgeon General (Photo by Mark Washburn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exploring Antidotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The primary antidote to technology-enhanced depression and anxiety, the Surgeons General said, is connection.<\/p>\n

Social media isn\u2019t inherently bad, and can be a tool for human connection, allowing people who are isolated from their home cultures to connect with each other from afar, for example, Murthy said. \u201cThe problem comes when instead of trying to supplement human care, we try to substitute it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams pointed to a use of artificial intelligence that is actually increasing human connection: He described how doctors using ambient technology scribes to take medical notes, giving the physician the freedom to turn away from their computer and speak directly to the patient. This increases connection, he said, as the doctor can be more present.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a power to human presence,\u201d Murthy said. While an artificial intelligence tool could mimic the words a human might say in a difficult moment, he said, it cannot sit with someone through their pain and empathize.<\/p>\n

That means, he said, \u201cwe can all do something powerful\u201d to make a difference in others\u2019 mental health: Reach out, check-in, offer a helping hand, and be present.<\/p>\n

On behalf of Geisel, Dartmouth College, and Dartmouth Health, Steven Leach and Lisa McBride presented the Surgeons General with the C. Everett Koop Medal at the panel\u2019s conclusion to commemorate this moment.<\/p>\n

Written by Eva Botkin-Kowacki, Senior Content Manager with Medical & Healthcare Advancement.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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