That study on a rise in liberal teen depression is being hilariously misrepresented

A closer look at a pretty tepid trend and the bad journalism around it.

A recent study, Michelle Goldberg writes, demonstrated that in depression scores “the gap in depressive symptoms between liberals and conservatives appeared to be growing.” Her explanation: social media. Jonathan Haidt sees “only a small difference between liberals and conservatives” on these scores prior to 2012, but also concludes that “liberals rise first and most” in the numbers afterwards. His explanation: the “cognitive distortions” of “campus culture” (read: wokeness), which “caused them to become more anxious and depressed than other groups.” Yglesias arrives at a similar take, concluding that “progressive institutional leaders have specifically taught young progressives that catastrophizing is a good way to get what they want”.

There must be some pretty dramatic data behind these conclusions, right? Here it is: