10 Things Teens and Young Adults Can Leave Behind in 2025

The year 2025 surfaced more than a few mental health trends to leave behind. Some recommendations for what to put in the rearview and what to nourish going forward.

1. Replacing Real Connection with AI

2025 has been the year of AI. It’s integrated in all we do, with the goal of efficiency, help, and sometimes comfort. But it can never replace the empathy, regulation, and understanding that come from human connection and bonding. 

When stress hits, leaning primarily on AI can cause damage rather than promote healing. In fact, evidence shows that chatting with bots can increase isolation, create false realities, and influence behavior in unhealthy ways. Although it may provide short-term benefits by helping you walk through a problem, chatbots can increase the risk of mental health challenges and persuade people to take harmful actions.

Here’s how to minimize AI use and optimize IRL connections: 

• Message or call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. 

• Find opportunities to connect that aren’t tied to tech, like a book club or volunteering. 

• Seek help from a professional for your or a loved one’s mental health challenges.

  
  

2. Getting Pulled into Rage-Bait and Doomscrolling

Algorithms and top content creators are more interested in engagement over wellness. So when you view a creator pouring excessive amounts of various foods onto a grill to make you disgusted, for example, and question, don’t engage, even though these feelings are strong because in reality, it’s built to be. 

Rage baiting is meant to trigger anger, which activates the body’s fight-or-flight response. Over time, with repeated exposure, this reaction can progress into hypervigilance and contribute to burnout. Paired with the dopamine release that comes with doomscrolling, rage-bait can turn into a negative mental health spiral that’s hard to escape. 

3. Mistaking Toxic Positivity for Optimism 

Seeking hope can be immensely healthy. Denying pain, troubles, and barriers is not. Toxic positivity pressures people “to look on the bright side,” before they’ve taken the time and space to process difficult emotions. Within close relationships, one person always offering a positive spin on something tough can feel disingenuous, and leave the person who’s struggling feeling unheard and unseen.

True resilience that stems from hope and growth also makes room for grief, anger, uncertainty, and other emotions, without rushing to fix them. Acknowledge what they’re going through and offer support in ways that don’t dismiss their feelings. 

4. Feeling Pressure to Decode Every Meme or Trend 

The internet is a big place, and new jokes are always emerging. Give yourself permission to opt out—you don’t need to understand every slang term or viral joke to stay relevant. 

The anxiety and self-doubt about being cool, trendy, or timely isn’t worth the mental investment. Trying to decode what “skibidi toilet,” “6-7,” or “crashing out” means won’t add value to your life or relationships.

So instead, just go with the flow and permit yourself to skip the Google searches and Reddit deep-dives to decode every new trend. 

5. Using Mental Health Terms Casually

Our society is making huge strides in destigmatizing mental health topics. But with the growing awareness of terminology, diagnoses are being used as catchphrases, as in “I’m so OCD,” or “That gave me PTSD.” This casual usage can minimize the true struggles people with these disorders encounter daily. 

Let’s keep conversations about mental health going, but let’s pause on language that trivializes mental health disorders and the work people do to overcome distressing symptoms that significantly reduce their quality of life. Here are some common words and phrases to replace the inaccurate use of mental health terms: 

• Instead of saying OCD to mean tidy, say you’re particular or detail focused.

• Instead of using PTSD to describe a stressor, say you’re having a strong reaction.

• Instead of calling yourself bipolar to describe a mood change, say you’re having a mix of emotions, or your day has been up and down.

  
  

6. Oversharing in Unsafe Online Spaces 

Vulnerability can be powerful, but only in the right spaces and with trusted people. Whether it’s sharing a deeply personal story time or showing the proud moment of buying your first home, personal information can be used in ways that can negatively affect your future, digital footprint, and safety. 

When you update your profile with big news, you may feel like you’re just keeping your friends and family in the loop—but, ultimately, you can’t control who’s seeing it. And once something is published online, you can’t get it back. Though it may seem harmless to tag your location at a hip new restaurant or share what school you go to in your bio, scammers may be waiting to use it for their own benefit. 

7. Confusing Parasocial Bonds with Real Relationships

Feeling connected to influencers, creators, or public figures is common, especially for young people. Being a follower, subscriber, or fan can bring joy and a sense of belonging. But this one-sided relationship also has the potential to blur the lines of what’s real. 

These relationships can’t provide the mutual care, accountability, or emotional support that’s required in a healthy connection. When parasocial bonds are the main source of interaction, once the screen turns off or the video ends, loneliness can feel that much stronger. 

8. “Relaxing” with Multiple Screens 

Maybe you’ve heard the joke circling the internet about how we all need a show playing on the TV, a text conversation in our hand, and a video game loading to silence our inner thoughts. The truth is that constant tech stimulation hurts your mind rather than protecting your mental health. 

When you seek out multiple screens and types of media at one time, it trains your brain to stay fragmented rather than focused. Over time, being tuned into multiple “channels” all at once, almost all the time, can create anxiety, sleep problems, and burnout. Your mind needs moments of quiet so it can repair, rest, and recover. 

9. Body Validation-Seeking Disguised as Style Content 

Expressing yourself through clothing can be a powerful part of one’s identity—but not when it’s about how your body looks. “Fit checks” (posting a video of an outfit and asking for feedback) can be fun and lighthearted. But sometimes these posts morph into validation-seeking behavior that’s less about fashion and more about body shape or size. 

The moment you feel that you need the comments, likes, and views in order to feel okay about your body, it’s time to take a break. From altered photo carousels to carefully posed videos, striving for the falsely perfect look can lead to poor self-esteem, anxiety, and unhealthy relationships with food or exercise. Your body doesn’t need to be content, and it doesn’t need to be rated or commented on to be worthy. 

10. Using Dating Apps as Entertainment 

Increasingly, young people are using dating apps as a source of entertainment. They’re matching with someone and chatting with them, but the moment the other person wants to cross the digital divide—like asking, “Do you want to get coffee this weekend?”—they run. 

Ghosting (disappearing from someone’s life without letting them know) is a common online experience. This pattern can erode empathy and emotional accountability over time, for both the ghoster and the ghostee. 

So before you swipe right, consider these questions: 

• What is my goal for being on a dating app? Always be clear with your matches about your intention, even if it’s just chatting with people. 

• Am I in a place to start a relationship? If you’re not in a place to go on a date or start a relationship, it might be time to delete the app. 

• Is there something I could do instead that I enjoy? If you’re not looking for a relationship, consider other activities that can benefit you, like going on a walk, reading a book, or finding a new club to join.

  
  

Sources

Mental Health Science. 2025 Dec; 3(4): e70033.

Occupational Organizational Psychol. 98(3): e70050.

PLoS One. 2017 Oct; 12(10): e0185781.

Clin Psychol Rev. 2012 Aug; 32(6): 545–52.

American Psychological Association

Gallup

Pew Research Center

Newport Healthcare December 22, 2025