Author of KIDS THESE DAYS (Out Now), social work academic, outdoor therapy enthusiast.
Washington DC / Adelaide, SA
Joined July 2012
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What do you think? What is happening here? Why is youth mental health improving? I don’t necessarily think it’s the fruit or veggies, or the screen time. Safe-enough space here for your thoughts.
U.S. teens saw notable declines in self-reported sadness and suicidal ideation from 2021 to 2025.
Relative to 2021, they were also more likely in 2025 to:
1) play sports (49% to 58%)
2) do strength training (45% to 51%)
2) eat fruit >=twice/day (19% to 28%)
3) eat at least one vegetable/day (55% to 63%)
Good news. I wonder what “caused” this. Must have been social media and screen time.
U.S. teens saw notable declines in self-reported sadness and suicidal ideation from 2021 to 2025.
Relative to 2021, they were also more likely in 2025 to:
1) play sports (49% to 58%)
2) do strength training (45% to 51%)
2) eat fruit >=twice/day (19% to 28%)
3) eat at least one vegetable/day (55% to 63%)
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
The quote from the Australian MP is a good illustration of the Goldilocks Effect...every generation thinks it got media and technology *just right*. The generation before were sticks in the mud and, of course, the kids today are out of control.
Many of us have nostalgia for our childhood. We had scraped knees, sore egos, and no screens. And the best music that ever existed was from...you guessed it...your childhood. The problem is, so many things were worse back then. Nostalgia isn't the best lens for thinking about child development and kids these days...
Here's my latest Substack on the topic: willdobud.substack.com/p/whe…
Many of us have nostalgia for our childhood. We had scraped knees, sore egos, and no screens. And the best music that ever existed was from...you guessed it...your childhood. The problem is, so many things were worse back then. Nostalgia isn't the best lens for thinking about child development and kids these days...
Here's my latest Substack on the topic: willdobud.substack.com/p/whe…
Kids these days don’t do anything anymore.
Oh yea, we stop them from doing kids things.
Middle schoolers banned from Massachusetts school playground reason.com/2026/11/09/middle…
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I really love the deliberate practice of dialing up a presentation. I record it, listen, have a friend listen and refine refine refine. Two keynotes in two weeks. Fun and happy.
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Will Dobud PhD retweeted
"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent... The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
I find this quote relevant to modern psychiatry. Psychiatry wants to help (beneficience), and often does. But good intent doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to exercise restraint.
About 1 in 3 adults has taken an antidepressant, and 1 in 6 is taking one now. About 1 in 5 boys is diagnosed with ADHD by high school graduation.
The expansion (encroachment) of psychiatry into everyday life deserves reflection.
Ref: Perlis et al., 2026; Brandeis, J., dissenting, Olmstead v. US (1928)
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
PHQ-9, depression screener, even worse than you think.
Not only do we inappropriately use this 9-question generic questionnaire made by pharma to diagnose depression, but also:
• It is wrong (false positive) 2/3 of the time.
• 1/2 (almost) of those who test negative still get the meds.
I am glad that we are finally looking into overprescribing and overdiagnosing more seriously.
REF: 2/3 false positive DOI - 10.1186/1471-244X-12-73
42% get meds with negative PHQ-9 DOI - 10.1136/bmj.b750
Excited for my keynote at The #RiteJourney this week in Fremantle, WA. Going to be an exciting few days! We'll cover how the current climate affects kids, the adventure of adolescence, and how we can create educational settings where youth can thrive.
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So we've seen on the news in Australia that they're going for a digital detox in schools. I've read the document, which starts with the most glaring "Kids These Days effect."
Not joking, the Minister's opening statement starts with: "When I was a kid..."
That's usually how good policy and science begin...
education.gov.au/download/20…
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Will Dobud PhD retweeted
Another large study finds ADHD meds don't improve school performance, at least for kids on the margin of treatment.
I remain unsure what ADHD is. I was taught it was a delay in maturation that resolved. Later, a lifelong disorder of attention. More recently, a problem of alertness and reward pathways more than attention.
Either way, parents and teachers often push medication hoping to improve grades.
This study looked at all children aged 5 to 15 in Norway. It used differences in how clinics prescribe as a natural experiment. Using this analysis academic benefits of medication disappeared.
"For children and adolescents on the margin of pharmacological treatment for ADHD, we found no causal effect of pharmacological treatment on any of our measures of academic performance."
DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2026.10754
Picture: Figure 2(b) showing that GPA doesn’t significantly increase with meds using the instrumental variable analysis.
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
The relationship between "adolescent time on social media" and "mental health wellbeing" (r=0.01-0.06) is as about as strong as the relationship between "eating potatoes" and "mental health wellbeing".
Insignificant.
And should NOT be the basis for any social media policy.
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
"It IS possible to despise the tech companies AND understand why teenagers use their products and find value from doing so. Listen to teenagers; they get these contradictions." made-not-found-by-danah-boyd…
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
Great essay by Gnaulati about psychotherapy drop out rates. Sometimes getting back to basics is what is needed. madinamerica.com/2026/10/the…
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
Can I sum up my new novel, Orphans in the Garden, in just three words? 📚
Here's my attempt! 🎥
What three words would you choose?
📖 amazon.com/dp/B0GYQ53GXF
#OrphansInTheGarden #MichaelUngar
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
In complaining about Meta considering a “whisper campaign” against Jonathan Haidt, The Times instead actually does begin a whisper campaign against Candice Odgers and Peter Gray despite no evidence they had anything to do with meta.
candiceodgers.substack.com/p…
Will Dobud PhD retweeted
DSM-6 is a grift/mistake whose only real purpose is publishing profits for Am Psychiatric Assoc.
Changing its name from 'Diagnostic & Statistical Manual' to 'Diagnostic & Scientific Manual' is putting lipstick on a pig.
Giant leaps in neuroscience during past 50 yrs have had absolutely no impact on diagnosis.
