Young People Are Facing a Rights Crisis—Here's What's Really Happening

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-09

Dr. Raj Joshi has a message that should make all of us pause: young people in Britain are living through a rights crisis, and it's being fueled by three powerful forces—mental-health failures, economic insecurity, and digital harms. If you care about the next generation, this isn't just a headline. It's a wake-up call. ### The Mental-Health Crisis Nobody Can Ignore Let's start with mental health. Waiting lists for counseling can stretch for months, sometimes over a year. Young people are told to be resilient, but resilience without support is just abandonment with a nicer name. When a 16-year-old can't get help for anxiety or depression, that's not a personal failing—it's a system failing. Dr. Joshi points out that this isn't just about access to therapy. It's about the stigma that still lingers, the lack of early intervention in schools, and the pressure to perform academically while your mind is falling apart. We wouldn't expect someone with a broken leg to run a marathon. So why do we expect young people with untreated mental illness to keep up? ### Economic Insecurity: The Weight of Uncertainty Then there's money—or the lack of it. Rents are skyrocketing, entry-level jobs often don't pay enough to cover basic needs, and the dream of owning a home feels like a cruel joke. Young people are told they're entitled, but wanting a stable future isn't entitlement. It's human. > "You can't build a life when you're constantly worried about keeping a roof over your head." That quote from a young activist sums it up. Economic insecurity isn't just about numbers. It's about stress, sleepless nights, and the feeling that no matter how hard you work, you're falling further behind. And when you add student debt to the mix, the weight becomes unbearable. ### Digital Harms: The Unseen Toll Finally, digital harms. Social media was supposed to connect us, but for many young people, it's a source of constant comparison, cyberbullying, and anxiety. Algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling, not to keep us well. And the pressure to curate a perfect online image can be exhausting. Dr. Joshi argues that we need stronger regulation and digital literacy education. But more than that, we need to talk about this openly. If you're feeling overwhelmed by what you see online, you're not alone. And it's not your fault—the system is rigged to keep you hooked. ### What Can Be Done? So what's the solution? It starts with listening. Young people aren't asking for handouts. They're asking for a fair shot. That means: - Investing in mental-health services that are free, accessible, and stigma-free. - Creating economic policies that make housing, healthcare, and education affordable. - Holding tech companies accountable for the harms their platforms cause. It also means changing the narrative. Instead of blaming young people for struggling, we should be asking why the system is so broken. Dr. Joshi's work is a reminder that rights aren't just about laws—they're about lived experience. And right now, too many young people are living through a crisis that we can no longer ignore. The good news? We can fix this. But it requires all of us—policymakers, parents, educators, and yes, young people themselves—to demand better. The first step is acknowledging the problem. The next is taking action.