Mental Health

When you scroll on your phone today, it can feel like you are being sold a solution to everything. Six-pack abs in twelve days. A supplement to cure burnout. A medication framed as a miracle fix for weight, confidence, and self-control. From viral wellness trends to prescription drugs turned lifestyle shortcuts, we are surrounded by promises that change can be fast, easy, and almost effortless.

It is understandable why these messages land. Many people are tired, overwhelmed, and genuinely looking for relief. Anxiety, poor sleep, and stress are no longer occasional experiences but constant undercurrents of modern life. When something promises results without the emotional or behavioural work, it can feel like hope.

It is difficult to pinpoint the moment our relationship with our phones changed, but it is impossible to ignore how deeply embedded it has become. For many Australians, the first thing they touch each morning is not the floor or a toothbrush, but a screen. The last thing they see at night is often a stream of headlines, videos, comments and notifications that continue long after the lights are out.

Teen mental health is a growing national concern. According to the ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, almost two in five Australians aged 16–24 experienced a mental health condition in the past year, a figure that continues to rise. A 2024 national scoping study also highlighted that regions with the highest prevalence of mental health needs among children often have the lowest availability of appropriate services and workforce.