Societal Pressures

Displayed above are three objects, two of which most people are likely very familiar with. The remaining object illustrates a feeling that we have all felt at some point. The first artifact is a pile of textbooks compiled from a college. At present, there is a drastic pressure on adolescents to go to school, enroll in a university, get a degree, and then get a job. This mindset leaves little room to think about much else beyond these goals. It's easy for a kid to get caught up in the stress of trying to stay on top of school work and balance extracurriculars on top of it, just so they can get into a college where they do the same thing over for the next four years, if not longer. Kids can be born with various mental disorders that go unnoticed for years, with no signs of symptoms. However, certain triggers can bring out or instigate these disorders. One example of this, which is discussed in the novel by Huberty titled Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents, is that school will trigger certain bouts of anxiety and depression in students by placing them under large amounts of stress and pressures to perform well. Additionally, there are various studies that further prove a correlation between school-life stress and depression. A study was done in Korea to determine this correlation, which showed that school-life had a significant positive correlation with depression (Lee). The pressures that society instills on younger generations are derived from higher expectations for adolescents to be able to do a variety of different things, while performing well academically. This ambidexterity is achievable for some, but there are others such as those mentioned by Huberty in his novel, that can't keep up with this high level of performance which in turn causes a severe decline in mental health and self-confidence.

The painting shown in the center of this display is a painting by Van Gogh, titled "At Eternity's Gate." The man in this painting appears very stressed, and viewers can easily argue that this figure seems melancholic. The reaction viewers likely have to seeing the figure of this state is not a pleasant reaction. This is because the stature of the man is one that viewers have found themselves in at some point, experiencing the same feelings that they can infer the figure is undergoing. Often these emotions are brought on by a sense of overwhelm. Following college, graduates are expected to have a job, move out and start their lives. This transition from hours of schooling to working a job in an endless cycle of work can drive people towards an unsatisfactory life. In a study on stress management and working in banks in Pakistan, bankers are seen to experience high levels of stress and not be able to spend much time with their families. This study by Hassan, et al. showed that if not resolved, long term symptoms of this could lead to depression, heart problems, diabetes, and other health issues. It's important for people to take time for things that they enjoy so that they get a feeling of satisfaction from their life, rather than each day being a burden.

The final object is a cell phone, which contains apps that allow people to access various forms of social media. This was something that people didn't need to worry about during the ages of Aristotle and Freud. Now we can see a noticeable affect of social media on mental health, especially on the younger generations. In a study by Keles, tests were done to see if social media impacted mental health. The result was that depression was one of the most common outcomes for higher levels of each of the factors tested which were time spent, addiction, activity, and investment. This is a new problem being faced today, in which comparison is driving people to be more unsatisfied with themselves and to instead chase an idealized lifestyle that they can only see a part of online. These three components of this display demonstrate various aspects of society that have emerged only relatively recently which lead to melancholy symptoms. Out of these three aspects, work and overworking oneself is the one factor that has stayed consistent throughout time, however the mentality surrounding work has changed it into a much more modern theme where it has the ability to consume people's lives due to how technology connects the world today, creating a tie between the workplace and home so that there is no break for some people.