This report is based on data from 2.5 million people across 85 countries. The author of this report is Tara Thiagarajan, she holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Stanford University.

Some of the important findings:

1) Young adults used to generally have good mental health, compared to older generations. But now, in ALL countries examined, they are doing badly compared to older generations in that country.

2) Four key factors have emerged that together predict three quarters of this decline. These are diminished family bonds, diminished spirituality, smartphones at increasingly young age, and increasing consumption of ultra-processed food.

3) The decline of young people's mental health is "most pronounced in the wealthier and more developed countries."

The report found that it is in such countries that smartphones are given earliest, junk food most heavily consumed, spirituality is most diminished, and family ties are looser and often weaker.

4) A younger age of first smartphone ownership is associated with increased suicidal thoughts, aggression, and other problems in adulthood

5) Here is the summary of findings on early smartphone ownership:

"GenZ is the first generation to grow up with a smartphone. Among this group, the younger they acquired their first smartphone in childhood, the more likely they are to have struggles as adults. These struggles extend beyond sadness and anxiety to less discussed symptoms, such as a sense of being detached from reality, suicidal thoughts, and aggression towards others. The effects arise through disruption of sleep, increased risk of exposure to harmful online content, predators, and explicit material as well as increased probabilities of cyberbullying during crucial developmental years. Excessive time spent on smartphones also diminishes the development of social cognition that requires learned interpretation of facial expressions, body language, and group dynamics. The negative impacts are particularly sharp below age 13."

https://sapienlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Global-Mind-Health-in-2025-Report.pdf