This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel says social media may have a lot to do with America's mental health crisis among teenage girls.
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed teen girls are battling record levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk. The findings also revealed sexual violence among teen girls has increased 20% between 2017 through 2021, while hopelessness increased from 36% to 57%.
"This is shocking," Siegel told "Special Report" on Monday. "... Two out of three girls are now hopeless or saddened to the point of that ... 20% considering suicide...one out of ten or more raped and sexual violence up 60% just over the last few years."
While the pandemic increased isolation in the United States, Siegel said it also increased dependence on social media.
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"I think social media has a lot to do with this. We saw it in New Jersey the other day, that horrible case of the girl who committed suicide," Siegel reflected. "They had showed a violent video clip and it went viral just the day before. There's a lot of meanness involved."
The medical expert spoke with CDC chief medical officer, Dr. Debra Houry, who explained connectivity is the key to combating the crisis.
"Parents being more involved, a lot of communication, after-school activities, schools being more involved, that's all correct," he explained.
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The numbers show the U.S. is "in trouble with teen girls" and parents and schools must respond to the crisis.
"There can't be a disconnect between the schools and the parents," Siegel said. "If a parent is coming to a school with concern, the school has got to act. The school should be monitoring this to begin with and again, parents out there have to cultivate an open relationship where the child is not embarrassed. There's a lot of humiliation involved here and the social media increases that dramatically."
