Is Too Much 'Wokeness' Causing Unhappiness And Depression?

The Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, in its recent study, unravels the correlation between “wokeness” and depression and anxiety. With the help of a newly developed psychological assessment to measure attitudes toward issues of critical social justice, it is being seen that those embracing these “woke” beliefs are more prone to unhappiness, anxiety, and depression. 

The Research

The researchers carefully planned their study. They began with a small test run (pilot survey) on a group from their university (Turku) to perfect their survey tool. After making improvements, they launched a larger nationwide survey with 5,000 participants. They partnered with a major Finnish newspaper (Helsingin Sanomat) to distribute the survey to reach a broader range of people. Their research was well-founded, drawing from theories like intersectional feminism and critical race theory, which explore social justice issues. 

Finnish researcher Oskari Lahtinen noticed a rise in social justice discussions (often referred to as "woke" culture) within American universities during the 2010s. He observes this trend spreading to other Western nations, including Finland, where recent media has been buzzing with debates on the topic. Lahtinen highlights the lack of data surrounding these discussions and the absence of a reliable tool to measure their prevalence. This motivated him to develop a method to assess how widespread these social justice attitudes are within different populations.

What’s new? Nothing!

We live in a post-modernist world where there is an incredulity towards meta-narratives and an inclination towards discourses. Everything is a discourse. There are no single truths, but regimes of truths. Truth isn’t something that is discovered but rather constructed. In such a world, the meta-ideology of justice, freedom, and equality has been redefined, and tailored to voice the concern of the marginalised.

We live and thrive on our social media. It’s not anymore a virtual reality, but rather a constructed reality, one where the agency is ours. It has become a mechanism to show rage and solidarity against the various sides of oppression. From #FreePalestine to #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, this generation leaves no stone unturned in making the world known that NO MORE! ENOUGH! 

While this has raised concerns about freedom of speech, power, and questions of identity, it’s still a tremendous effort, one that doesn’t stop no matter what you throw at them. In a world where the celebration of genocide is the norm, it doesn’t seem like an unspoken myth that fighting for justice and humanity will be an easy task. It's a behemoth task. It's not a surprise that our justice warriors are more prone to unhappiness, anxiety, and depression. I mean, in a world where children are being mercilessly murdered, what’s to be happy about?

The world that is and the world meant to be

There are a lot of studies and articles on how GenZs are suffering from loneliness, depression, and anxiety. While I will not deny the fact that there is an inflation of issues and ideas, it’s also a fact that this generation is seeing injustice in a world that was painstakingly built from the ashes of war and violence. We live in a world where every year, top-notch leaders discuss issues ranging from gender to environment in summits. We live in a world where for every discrimination, there is a covenant condemning it and prescribing punishment. We live in a world where the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity are enshrined in the Constitution. We live in a world that has seen a state of war, bloodshed, and violence. 

How can the current generation unsee the humanity that was sewn into the fabric of the world? How can they not champion the cause of the oppressed? How can they not feel disillusioned and unhappy, when all they see is the world crumbling? How can they not be anxious at the state of the world that's unfurling in front of their eyes? You call us woke or depressed, what we see is a soldier who is returning half her weight, fighting the battle that you didn't, and still carrying the remnants of the world that was meant to be.

Views expressed are the author's own.