Why are so many students—especially the ones doing everything “right”—so unhappy?

For young adults, life has become a qualifying round—boxes to check, hurdles to clear, worth proven later. Everyday experiences that build healthy humans—time with friends, cooking food, exercising—get crowded out by the relentless race to pad résumés. The little time left is captured by addictive algorithms engineered to harvest attention. Too many come to believe that today only matters if it produces a payoff tomorrow. When students lack evidence that they matter now—when their value feels conditional or inconsequential—a crisis follows. Colleges and parents see the downstream effects—and sometimes amplify them. With the right interventions, they can help young people gather evidence that their lives matter now.