It was the internet. Yes, COVID does play some part more recently, but this was an issue before COVID ever came around.
Specifically the fact that they discovered that they much preferred living in the virtual world rather than the real one. The concept of the 'echo chamber' is well known, so I will not go into a description of it. The concept of how appealing that can be is also well known.
And, since there was (and still is) nothing serious going on as far as trying to combat this massive addiction (because that is what it is)... well...
Just like caffeine... it is one of the most dangerous things in our lives, but we not only ignore that, we market it as if it is some kind of cure-all or something.
One has to wonder how many people are clinically mental now thanks to years of sitting in a blob, suffering from social anxiety and other things that might not be so bad if one would just get outside once in a while, and drinking hundreds of energy drinks that drive one's body into extreme mode and yet they have no way to release that (and all the while being in that echo chamber and that rage being fed back on itself over and over)... other than to take it all out on anyone they can find in the world they live in that they decide isn't 'like them'. And, since there are far more 'followers' than 'leaders' in this world (and that one)... sycophancy is almost a given.
Sad, but true.
(On a somewhat similar note, if anyone is interested, I strongly recommend watching the Marvel movie 'Thunderbolts'. It is a really good film that addresses mental health in a very relevant way.)
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