For many Americans, it may appear as if the country has experienced news-breaking changes every single day since the beginning of 2025. Change can be difficult to comprehend and endure, especially for young people, which can result in the mental health issues that have appeared to be on the rise. From the threat of recession to civil rights infringement, students have had a lot to process.
“Many of the stories that have been put out…they’re important but they have more of a sad note to them, or they have a negative connotation,” said senior Katie Follis. “You’re worried about everything, and it’s not good news about good things that are happening in the world.”
The oversaturation of negative stories across news feeds can have an effect on the overall perception of America as well. “A lot of the news stories are about bad things happening in our government,” said senior Kate Jansen. “And it’s making everyone feel very anxious about everything that’s happening.”
Everyone has certain subjects and issues that they feel a personal connection to or care deeply about in one way or the other. A lot of hot-button topics have been discussed in the public eye or brought forward for consideration within the government, especially with the recent presidential election. Reactions to these topics have varied across the board based on these aforementioned connections, whether they be influenced by political party, age, location or core beliefs.
“I feel like for me the [stories on the elimination of DEI are] the scariest because diversity and equality are such important things,” said senior Ara Odom. “And if that’s going away, I feel like we lose a lot of culture and traditions and history that America has.”
For Follis, “the tariff” stories were the most impactful, “because there’s just so much talk of a recession or a depression […] that could be so detrimental to America and the economy.”
Meanwhile, the rise of artificial intelligence, or AI, could appear troubling, especially for students. “I feel like we just continue seeing how [AI is] advancing so quickly,” said Jansen. “And I feel like every news story I look at is just about the dangers of AI and how it’s going to take over the world.”
For the seniors soon entering the world or the freshman just being introduced to these topics, it can be difficult to look past the negative news.
“I like to stay informed about [the news]. I watch The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live and stuff, so I’m going to be informed by it because I watch those types of things every day,” said Follis. “Sometimes I do feel myself be like, ‘I can’t watch anymore’, and go and do something else.”
In times of change, confusion and negativity, it becomes very important to be able to not allow the news to have control over your mental health, although it may be difficult.
“There’s a lot of changes right now with everything happening in the world,” said Jansen. “So I think once everything settles down and a lot of changes stop happening, […] it will become more normal again even though we don’t see that much of a difference.”
Although many in distress may have the mentality that their now is their forever, this is not always true. “Every generation is scared of change.” said senior Daisy Dayberry.
