An accelerating society and the toll on young people
Everything has to be more efficient, faster, better. But at what price? Not only for the planet, but also for the mental health of our younger generations.
Success as a choice and the pressure of perfection
There are people who say this is no coincidence. They point out that our economic systems increasingly treat people as parts of a large market machine, in which success is something you have to ‘sell’. Success has become a choice, or at least that is what we are told. And if it is a choice, then apparently failure is too. The result? Young people get caught in an endless cycle of comparing, competing and constantly trying to be at the top, while they market themselves on social media.
Life becomes a kind of showcase of perfection, while vulnerability, which is so essential for real connection between people, fades further and further into the background.
The difference between immediate and delayed reward
The problem runs deep. Young people grow up in a world in which everything has to be engineered and measurable. From marks at school to the number of likes on an Instagram post: everything revolves around performance, visibility and immediate gratification. As a society we have focused so hard on short-term rewards that we have neglected the ability to look further ahead, towards meaning, connection and larger goals.
This is the difference between what scientists call the lower-order and higher-order components of the reward system.
Lower-order and higher-order components of the reward system
It is the difference between immediate gratification and delayed gratification. Immediate gratification is about fulfilling desires the moment they arise, without much patience or effort. This can be something as simple as the satisfaction you get from receiving likes on social media, buying something new or quickly snacking on an unhealthy meal. It gives you an instant kick, a short wave of pleasure.
This kind of gratification is often superficial and quickly over. You may feel good for a moment, but the urge for more soon returns. It is a consuming form of satisfaction that feeds on external stimuli and the approval of others. Think of the kick of that quick shot of positive attention. That kick is fleeting and keeps asking to be repeated.
On the other side there is delayed gratification, a deeper form of satisfaction that arises when you are prepared to wait and to invest in something that is valuable in the long term. This can be building a meaningful relationship, developing a skill or working on personal growth. Instead of the quick reward, this asks for patience and commitment.
The satisfaction you get in the end, however, is much more lasting. It feels less like a temporary high and more like a stable and fulfilling sense of contentment. This kind of gratification is less about what others think of you and more about how you feel yourself, about the connections you have built and the meaning you have found in your life.
The trap of immediate gratification
But this is where the friction is. The culture of immediate gratification, of success and performance, sidelines our ability to wait for a deeper reward. Young people chase those immediate rewards and become more and more estranged from meaning and connection. The likes on social media, the latest gadgets and even the quick snacks we eat are all examples of how we are stuck in a system that keeps us captive in the pursuit of superficial rewards.
The impact of this acceleration on society
This acceleration, in which success seems a choice and vulnerability no longer has a place, is not only a problem for the individual. It is a problem for society. We have created a culture in which young people constantly have to check whether they still belong, whether they meet the norm of perfection that is presented all around them. This is not a way of living that can be sustained in the long term, and it makes them vulnerable to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and a sense of meaninglessness.
Back to connection and vulnerability
What do young people really need? Connection. Vulnerability. The feeling that they are more than their achievements or the number of likes they get. We need to return to a society in which there is room for slowing down, reflection and deeper meaning. A society that is not only focused on economic growth and immediate gratification, but in which higher-order values such as meaning and connection are central too. And mental health care that looks beyond fighting symptoms and works on restoring meaning. Not only for the individual, but for society as a whole.
Vulnerability in young people as a strength for the future
The question is: how can we turn this round?
Perhaps it starts with accepting that vulnerability is a way of making connection, and not a weakness. Because in a world in which everyone seems perfect, who still wants to enter into a real relationship? It is time to stop running and to choose slowing down, connection and meaning. Not only for ourselves, but for the young people who will soon carry the future.
Read more: Young people and mental health.
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Prof. dr. Jim van Os, Chair Division Neuroscience, Utrecht University Medical Centre. Jim works at the interface of ‘hard’ brain science, health services research, art and subjective experiences of people with ‘lived experience’ in mental healthcare.
Jim has been appearing on the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of ‘most influential scientific minds of our time’ since 2014. In 2014 he published his book ‘Beyond DSM-5‘, and in 2016 the book ‘Good Mental Health Care’. In 2026 he published 'Wat psychisch lijden is'.
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Blogs by Jim van Os can be read here
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