Okay, well that might be an exaggeration, just like the headline in the article 4 in 10 College Kids are Depressed, Hopeless that was on msnbc.com on June 01, 2009. The information to back up such a claim came from the following lines:
More than 42 percent of those surveyed at 40 colleges said they had felt down, depressed or hopeless several days during the past two weeks, and 13 percent showed signs of being at risk for at least mild depression, based on the students’ answers to a series of questions that medical practitioners use to diagnose depressive illness.
Maybe it’s just me, but the original head line seems too over the top for the actual situation. Of course, almost half of college kids feel depressed or hopeless, they have a lot hanging over their heads. Beyond the regular stresses of school and work, college kids also have to deal with their parents, and what their parents expect of them.
They are caught in-between the real world and the world of adolescence. This causes stress and worry, and since it is the first time that they are responsible for themselves it may seem like the end of the world, when those that have lived longer know that what they are going through is nothing in comparison.
The headline was over the top, but then again it is sensationalism that sells the story.