essay on social issues in pakistan

Social Issues in Pakistan – 10 Major Social Problems

Pakistan is a South-Asian developing country. It is 5th most populous country in the world. Given this fact, Pakistan is beset with multiple social issues. In this write-up, we shall discuss the social problems of Pakistan that are miring the progress of the country.

Some major social issues in Pakistan are:

• Over-population
• Unemployment
• Child Labour
• Lack of Rule of Law
• Violence, Terrorism, and Extremism
• Gender Discrimination
• Issues pertaining to Girls
• Early and Forced Marriages
• Acid-Throwing

…and the list goes on and on… These are some major social issues that Pakistan is currently beset with.

Top 10 Major Social Problems And Issues In Pakistan

Let us now discuss the major social issues in Pakistan in detail.

1. Over-Population

Overpopulation is a major social issue in Pakistan. The total population of Pakistan is circa 221 million making Pakistan the fifth most populous country in the world.

Moreover, the population growth rate is 2.8% which means an additional 3.6 million each year in Pakistan. As per estimates, the population of Pakistan will double from the current 221 million to 440 million by 2055. Thus, the population is increasing day by day.

Overpopulation is generally considered the root cause of all social evils. Over-population leads to crimes, social unrest, deforestation , environmental issues, water crisis, exhaustion of resources, unemployment, lawlessness, corruption , etc.

2. Illiteracy

As per reports , the literacy rate in Pakistan is 58 percent only. Illiteracy leads to inequality among the masses, class differences, social divisions, unemployment, poverty, etc. Illiteracy is the major reason why Pakistan is still a third-world developing country and lagging behind the world in various fields.

3. Unemployment

Unemployment is another major issue in Pakistan. As per reports , the unemployment rate in Pakistan was at approximately 4.45 percent in 2019. Recently, due to the recent pandemic, like in other countries, unemployment has obviously skyrocketed.

The lack of meritocracy and illiteracy on a large scale are major factors behind unemployment. Furthermore, unemployment gives rise to various social issues like poverty, backwardness, the economic downfall of the country, etc.

Poverty is another major social problem in Pakistan. According to a report submitted by the Ministry of Planning and Development in the National Assembly of Pakistan, around 29.5% of Pakistani lived below the poverty line which translates into 55 million people. Moreover, the Economic Survey 2019-20 estimates that another 10 million people are likely to slip below the poverty line.

Devoid of resources to earn, people often turn to illegal ways like snatching, stealing, corruption, extortion, etc. for survival. Thus, it will be apt to say that poverty is the mother of various social evils.

5. Child Labour

Child labor is in an inverse relationship to the literacy rate and development of the country. Due to poverty, children are often forced to earn for the family.

In Pakistan, many young boys are working in restaurants, workshops, as conductors in public transport, etc. These children without schooling often get involved in various social evils. Morality and character-building are something one can learn from his social circle, companions, and schools.

Thus, child labor gives rise to a number of other social issues.

6. Corruption

Rampant corruption in almost every stratum of society in Pakistan is another social evil. Corruption is widespread in every class of society. It leads to illiteracy when students fail to get admission where they deserve it. Moreover, it also leads to unemployment due to a lack of merit and nepotism.

Corruption also leads to economic downfall. It also leads to injustice. Moreover, corruption also gives rise to crimes and terrorism when people fail to get their rights.

7. Lack of Rule of Law

In Pakistan, lawlessness is another social problem. On the lower level, people commonly violate traffic rules i.e. breaking signals. On a higher level, the ‘one country two rules’ principle is observed when influential people even after doing massive corruption on large scale go scot-free, while a poor person gets proper punishment after committing a minor crime.

Thus, the lack of across-the-board accountability and lack of rule of law is severely tarnishing the image of Pakistan on the global stage.

8. Nepotism

Nepotism means; favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. Nepotism falls under the category of corruption.

Due to nepotism, deserving people cannot get admissions or jobs. As a result, intelligent and skilled people couldn’t serve the country in various domains. Also, for this reason, Pakistan is lagging behind the world in many fields.

9. Violence, Terrorism & Extremism

Violence exists in many forms in Pakistan. Most women suffer from domestic violence. Moreover, many cases of violence in Madrassahs and schools often surface on social media or in the news.

On the state level, religious violence and extremism are commonplace examples. Sit-ins at Faizabad interchange Islamabad by TLP and the destruction of public properties by some extremist elements are examples of religious violence in Pakistan.

Moreover, Pakistan has remained a target of terrorism since 2001. However, the incidents of terrorism have scaled down considerably.

10. Gender Discrimination

In Pakistan, gender discrimination has remained a major social issue since independence. Women are mostly sidelined from the educational and economic sector and confined to a domestic sphere with unpaid jobs. Undue restrictions are often placed on girls mostly in rural areas.

Furthermore, women and girls are not allowed to leave the house, thus barring them from jobs. In fact, gender discrimination is a social problem in Pakistan . Pakistani society is predominantly a patriarchal society that places women in an inferior position to men.

Moreover, there are various other social problems and issues in Pakistan pertaining to women and girls that include early or forced marriages, public harassment, acid attacks, and rape.

Mostly, in rural areas, child marriage at an early age is very common. It leads to excessive childbearing and health deterioration. Moreover, girls remain uneducated which ultimately impacts the upbringing of children.

Moreover, in the urban sphere and cities, girls often face public harassment. Most girls are sexually harassed at their workplaces. Many relevant cases have been reported so far in Pakistan.

Apart from these, cases of acid throwing at girls are also increasing day by day. Usually, when a girl rejects a proposal, considering this humiliation, the rejection is often avenged by acid thrown on the face of the girl leaving her disfigured for good and spoiling her future.

Also, rape cases are also rampant in Pakistan. Almost every day we hear such news on television.

Stringent law-making is the need of the hour to curb the issues pertaining to girls and women in Pakistan.

Wrapping Up

So these were the major social problems of Pakistan . For the progress and development of the country, it is the need of the hour that the state must make policies and take pragmatic measures to tackle these social issues.

Otherwise, these social problems and issues will keep hampering Pakistani society from making progress.

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About the author.

A versatile human being with a passion for reading and writing - always striving for growth, living in the moment but trying to keep pace with the evolving world.

[…] But, with the introduction of social media at all levels, the gap between rulers and those ruled vanished. Today, people are vocal about their problems on social media that usually results in swift action from concerned authorities. Thus, governance structures have considerably improved now. Moreover, corruption cases are highlighted more frequently today due to social media. Thus, social media has given people a medium to highlight various social issues. […]

[…] we dig deep, first we will discuss why this article is significant to read. Given large scale unemployment, rampant poverty, and economic crisis, a huge bulk of Pakistani youngsters are struggling with a […]

very helpful and well said by author i am agreed with them

informative and comprehensive explanation

can you please give the refrences for all these headings up there ?

you declared TLP protest as a social evil-extremism that is nothing but merely to protect the Law of Khatm e Nabuwat…Truth is that wrong is so common to people like you so right thing will obviously appear as an extremism in your senses.

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United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Publications

The Current Situation in Pakistan

A USIP Fact Sheet

Monday, January 23, 2023

Publication Type: Fact Sheet

Pakistan continues to face multiple sources of internal and external conflict. Extremism and intolerance of diversity and dissent have grown, fuelled by a narrow vision of Pakistan’s national identity, and are threatening the country’s prospects for social cohesion and stability.   

The inability of state institutions to reliably provide peaceful ways to resolve grievances has encouraged groups to seek violence as an alternative. The country saw peaceful political transitions after the 2013 and 2018 elections. However, as the country prepares for anticipated elections in 2023, it continues to face a fragile economy along with deepening domestic polarization. Meanwhile, devastating flooding across Pakistan in 2022 has caused billions in damage, strained the country’s agriculture and health sectors, and also laid bare Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate disasters and troubling weaknesses in governance and economic stability.

Regionally, Pakistan faces a resurgence of extremist groups along its border with Afghanistan, which has raised tensions with Taliban-led Afghanistan. Despite a declared ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir in 2021, relations with India remain stagnant and vulnerable to crises that pose a threat to regional and international security. The presence and influence of China, as a great power and close ally of Pakistan, has both the potential to ameliorate and exacerbate various internal and external conflicts in the region.

USIP’S Work

The U.S. Institute of Peace has conducted research and analysis and promoted dialogue in Pakistan since the 1990s, with a presence in the country since 2013. The Institute works to help reverse Pakistan’s growing intolerance of diversity and to increase social cohesion. USIP supports local organizations that develop innovative ways to build peace and promote narratives of inclusion using media, arts, technology, dialogues and education.

USIP works with state institutions in their efforts to be more responsive to citizens’ needs, which can reduce the use of violence to resolve grievances. The Institute supports work to improve police-community relations, promote greater access to justice and strengthen inclusive democratic institutions and governance. USIP also conducts and supports research in Pakistan to better understand drivers of peace and conflict and informs international policies and programs that promote peace and tolerance within Pakistan, between Pakistan and its neighbors, and between Pakistan and the United States.

USIP’s Work in Pakistan Includes:

Improving police-community relations for effective law enforcement

The Pakistani police have struggled with a poor relationship with the public, characterized by mistrust and mistreatment, which has hindered effective policing. USIP has partnered with national and provincial police departments to aid in building police-community relationships and strengthening policing in Pakistan through training, capacity building and social media engagement.

Building sustainable mechanisms for dialogue, critical thinking and peace education.

Nearly two-thirds of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. Youth with access to higher education carry disproportionate influence in society. However, Pakistan’s siloed education system does not allow interactions across diverse groups or campuses, leading to intolerance, and in some cases, radicalization. To tackle growing intolerance of diversity on university campuses, USIP has partnered with civil society and state institutions to support programs that establish sustainable mechanisms for dialogue, critical thinking and peace education.

Helping Pakistanis rebuild traditions of tolerance to counter extremists’ demands for violence

USIP supports local cultural leaders, civil society organizations, artists and others in reviving local traditions and discourses that encourage acceptance of diversity, promote dialogue and address social change. USIP also supports media production — including theater, documentaries and collections of short stories — which offer counter narratives to extremism and religious fundamentalism.

Support for acceptance and inclusion of religious minorities

Relations between religious communities in Pakistan have deteriorated, with some instances of intercommunal violence or other forms of exclusion. USIP supports the efforts of local peacebuilders, including religious scholars and leaders, to promote interfaith harmony, peaceful coexistence and equitable inclusion of minorities (gender, ethnic and religious) in all spheres of public life.

Supporting inclusive and democratic institutions

To help democratic institutions be more responsive to citizens, USIP supports technical assistance to state institutions and efforts to empower local governments, along with helping relevant civil society actors advocate for greater inclusion of marginalized groups. Gender has been a major theme of this effort and across USIP’s programming in Pakistan. These programs empower women in peacebuilding and democratic processes through research, advocacy and capacity building.

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Subscribe to the center for middle east policy newsletter, madiha afzal madiha afzal fellow - foreign policy , center for middle east policy , strobe talbott center for security, strategy, and technology @madihaafzal.

May 20, 2022

Even by the standards of Pakistan’s perpetually unstable politics, the last ten weeks in the country have been exceptionally turbulent. Pakistan has a new government as of April 11 after Imran Khan was forced out via a vote of no confidence. The weeks leading up to the vote, from the filing of the motion on March 8 to the vote on April 10, were dramatic and full of intrigue. Now, the country is in economic and political crisis. Shahbaz Sharif’s new government has been in a state of decision paralysis and is struggling to find its footing, while the ousted prime minister is leading rallies across the country attacking the government’s legitimacy and calling for fresh elections. At the same time, Pakistan is also in the grip of an acute climate emergency. It’s not only political temperatures that are spiking: an unprecedented heat wave has enveloped Pakistan for weeks.

The fall of Khan’s government

Crucial to the current crisis is understanding how Khan’s government fell. While Khan was Pakistan’s first prime minister to be ousted via a  no-confidence vote, he joined each of his predecessors as prime minister in not lasting five years — the length of parliament’s electoral term — in office. Pakistan’s major opposition parties had been clamoring for Khan’s exit since he came into office — calling him “selected” by the military as opposed to “elected” — and had formed an alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), in the fall of 2020 for that purpose. This spring, the opposition gained traction. On the surface, the opposition blamed governance and economic failures under Khan. But the underlying reason their maneuvers were successful was that Khan had lost the support of Pakistan’s military, which helped him rise to power.

Several factors were responsible for the fracture between Khan and the military, who previously had functioned on a much-touted “same page.” The biggest was an impasse over the transfer of the director general of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in October 2021. Khan refused to sign off on the director general’s transfer, already approved by the military, for weeks. The then-ISI chief was a Khan loyalist, and speculation was that Khan wanted him to be around for the next election (or perhaps even to appoint him the next army chief).

Once Khan lost the military’s support — though the military said it had become neutral — space was allowed to the opposition to make their moves. Two small parties allied with Khan in the ruling coalition switched to the opposition, enough to deprive him of his razor-thin majority in the National Assembly.

Khan hatched a conspiracy theory to blame for his government’s collapse — alleging , without evidence, U.S. “regime change” for following an “independent foreign policy,” and claiming “local abettors” were responsible — claims that Pakistan’s National Security Committee has rebuffed . But Khan and his allies have also alluded to the military being responsible for his exit — sometimes in veiled language and sometimes pointing fingers more directly at the “neutrals,” as they now refer to the military. In so doing, they are testing the limits of political confrontation with the military, receding only when it pushes back on their claims.

An intense polarization

Khan has used his ejection to galvanize his supporters. Day after day, in huge rallies across the country, he calls the new government an “imported government” and the new prime minister a “crime minister.” Khan has used his rallies and interviews to command media attention, and argues that his government’s fall returned to power the corrupt politicians that are responsible for Pakistan’s problems. His supporters, many of them middle class, young, and urban, and furious at what they see as Khan’s unceremonious, orchestrated ousting, repeat his words on social media. With this narrative of grievance, Khan aims to undermine the new government’s legitimacy; his party resigned from parliament and he is calling for fresh elections. He now plans to lead a “freedom march” to Islamabad, likely later this month , to further pressure the government for elections.

By contrast, supporters of the parties that constitute the government see Khan’s exit as having occurred democratically and see his politics as dangerous. Pakistan today has echoes of the post-January 6 moment in the United States, a polarization so deep that each faction sees no validity in the other’s arguments. Khan’s supporters in particular distrust anything the new government or the military says. In recent weeks, politicians from each side have also resorted to using religion to attack the other side, dangerous in a country where the weaponization of religion can spell a death sentence.

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The new government

The new government, led by the PML-N’s Shahbaz Sharif, faces formidable challenges — and not just from Khan. Shahbaz’s brother, three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was deposed in 2017 on corruption charges and now lives in London, still exercises outsized control over the party, and indeed the government. Shahbaz, a three-time former chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab, has throughout his political career played second fiddle to the more charismatic Nawaz. Last week, the prime minister and key members of his cabinet made a sudden trip to London to consult with Nawaz on the direction of the new government. While they were overseas, Pakistan’s economy continued its downward spiral. The rupee continued its precipitous slide relative to the dollar; the stock market also lost value.

The government faces a key decision on whether to continue costly, unsustainable fuel subsidies that Khan’s government installed, and that the International Monetary Fund wants removed as a precondition for renewing Pakistan’s loan program. Removing subsidies would certainly be unpopular, which worries a government with limited time in office before the next election. So far the government has stalled, announcing earlier this week, against its own finance minister’s advice, that it would maintain subsidies (for now).

Shahbaz’s overall hesitancy likely reflects deference to Nawaz and his team, who may have different views, and the fact that he commands an unwieldy coalition of rival parties, who will be competing against each other in the next election. But part of the indecision has to do with the fact that the main goal of the PDM was to oust Khan; they did not actually devise an alternate governance plan or economic strategy before coming into power. That lack of a plan is now showing in the face of Pakistan’s economic crisis.

The next election

A major question contributing to the political uncertainty in Pakistan is the timing of the next election, which must be held by the summer of 2023. Khan has made clear that he wants to ride his present momentum to immediate elections. In the days preceding his downfall, he aimed to deprive the then-opposition of a runway in government by extra-constitutionally dissolving parliament, a decision Pakistan’s Supreme Court (correctly) reversed. The new government, for its part, can use its time in power to turn things in its favor, including resolving outstanding corruption cases.

There is the question of whether Nawaz can or will return to Pakistan before the next election. If he does, that could boost the PML-N’s base, but if he does not face prosecution on his return, that will bolster Khan’s argument that the Sharifs have politically manipulated the corruption cases against them. The PML-N also faces considerable hurdles, including an economic crisis that is partially shaped by exogenous factors, a tussle over power in Punjab, and a president who belongs to and is loyal to Khan’s party. The coalition government this week has said it will not go to early elections; former president Asif Ali Zardari has insisted that elections not be held before parliament can undertake electoral reform.

Whenever the next election is held, it’s far from clear what the outcome will be. What matters in Pakistan’s parliamentary system is which party can get the most “electables” — powerful politicians in local constituencies — on their side. Large urban rallies may attest to Khan’s personal popularity, but will not necessarily define how his party does in parliamentary elections. The other factor, one that has historically determined which party electable politicians align themselves with, is where the powerful military’s support is leaning.

The bottom line

That brings us to the bottom line. The fundamentals of the system in Pakistan, beneath the intense ongoing political tug of war, remain the same. What matters for political success is whether you have the support of Pakistan’s military. Political parties now directly point to the military’s interference in politics, but only when they are in opposition; when they are in government and enjoy that support, they do little to challenge it. This was true of Khan’s party when it was in power, and it is true of Sharif’s government now.

In the end, what Pakistan’s soaring political tension amounts to is an opportunistic struggle for power. It has left the country a political tinderbox. And in all of it, little regard is displayed on either side for the ongoing suffering of ordinary Pakistanis, who continue to pay the price for the country’s long history of political instability.

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KARACHI: Grinding poverty, a lack of security, socioeconomic injustice, and increasing political polarisation are the driving forces behind rising unhappiness in South Asian countries, including Pakistan, say experts.

Rana Saba, a Karachi-based sociology professor, told Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Day of Happiness observed on Saturday, the long-time “mediocre” economic policies of almost all regional countries, including Pakistan, have resulted in widespread poverty, unemployment, and social injustice, apart from a nearly insurmountable gap between the rich and the poor.

According to the UN World Happiness Index 2020, Pakistan is the happiest country in South Asia and 66th in the world.

Whereas India, Asia’s third-largest economy, was ranked 144th, after slipping from 140th in 2019. The Maldives is placed 87th, Nepal is 92nd, and Bangladesh is listed 107th.

Pakistan plunged to 105th out of 149 countries in the ninth World Happiness Report 2021, whereas India made its way back up to 139th.

“If you randomly ask people strolling in the streets, especially in big cities, 80 out of 100 will choose to migrate to Europe or the US if they find an opportunity,” argues Saba, who heads the Sociology Department of the University of Karachi.

Nonetheless, she went on to explain, a certain number of people, albeit a limited percentage, have improved their living standards in some way during the last few decades.

“In urban areas, literacy, especially higher education, and an inclination towards civil services have played a role in uplifting a segment of society … lower and middle class … over the past two decades,” she explained.

In rural regions, though, living standards have improved mostly as a result of overseas Pakistanis, said Saba.

Around 9 million Pakistanis living across the globe, particularly in the wealthy Gulf states, Europe, and the US, remitted nearly $30 billion last year, propping up the country’s depleting foreign reserves.

Covid-19 adds to unhappiness

Adarsh Kohli, a leading psychiatrist from Chandigarh, the joint capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, observed that the coronavirus pandemic has added to the unhappiness already present in South Asian societies, particularly India, amid the economic meltdown and health-related suffering.

“During Covid-19, many developments took place. There was an economic downturn, people suffered, died, and a lot of them are still struggling to make ends meet,” Kohli observed, speaking to Anadolu Agency .

The economy, she said, is an important parameter to gauge happiness in a country.

“When you don’t have income, don’t have food, how can one be happy?” she questioned.

Apart from economic woes, she contended, social isolation and a ban on meetings and gatherings due to the pandemic also added to the already dwindling contentment.

“Although there was a similar phenomenon in other neighbouring countries, the difference in India is that the poor have a greater dependence on and expectation from their government. This is probably the reason their happiness was affected more than in other countries,” said Jaswinder Pal Singh, an author in the western Indian state of Gujarat who also runs a nonprofit organisation called the Institute of Happiness.

‘Happiness is perceived incorrectly’

Singh believes happiness is often perceived “incorrectly” in today’s societies.

“Each segment of society is unhappy today because, in general, people perceive happiness incorrectly. It’s important to shift our perspective from living an outside-in life to living an inside-out existence,” he posits.

“Society is nothing but a set of individuals, and if each individual in the society makes this important shift in perception, they will be happier, and hence, society will be happier.”

Citing “increasing desires” as another factor contributing to the growing unhappiness, Singh said that when material options in a growing economy multiply, “people start having bigger desires and so get into the vicious cycle of more-better-best.”

“In their continuous strive for more, they miss enjoying them now as there’s always something to finish before they have the time to be happy,” he explained, adding that “this leads to a drop in their happiness index as goals are in the future and happiness is in the now.”

Iqbal Afridi, an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, agreed with Singh’s assessment, citing the “bad” effect of technology, as well as a lack of sports and recreational facilities as other causes of juvenile unhappiness and drug use.

Religious factor

In contrast to India, Pakistan has jumped a spot in the UN index compared to 2019.

An unimpressed Saba, however, downplayed the numbers game, contending that Pakistanis, in real terms, are equally as unhappy with the current economic and security situation as people in other regional countries.

Religion may be a factor that propels Pakistanis to stay happy or express happiness, she argued.

“Pakistan is a relatively more religious country in the region. To be grateful to Allah, in any circumstances, is one of the basic teachings of Islam,” she went on to explain.

“Alhamdulillah (by the grace of God), everything is fine, is the patent answer in replying to the inquiry about his or her condition,” she said in a lighter tone.

Otherwise, she claimed, successive regimes have done nothing enough to “make our people happy in terms of economy, security, and justice.”

Afridi, echoing Saba’s viewpoint, observed that the practice of the teachings of patience and gratefulness by a sizable segment of society, notably the low-income bracket, has propelled Pakistanis to the top of South Asia’s happiness index.

Otherwise, he believes, Pakistan is no different from other South Asian societies in terms of the common adversities they face.

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Pakistan Journal of Social Issues

About the Journal

Annual Research Journal of the University of Gujrat  ISSN: 2219-2433

The Pakistan Journal of Social Issues (PJSI) is an annual publication of the University of Gujrat aimed at providing an independent interdisciplinary forum for discourse on significant social science research and policy issues. It deals with questions of social justice broadly defined. Articles discuss particular social science or humanities issues, review conceptual problems, present empirical reports and debate policy alternatives. We encourage authors to discuss their research experiences and debate whether these experiences feed into an increased understanding of the research realm. We welcome papers in the field of social sciences and humanities, including sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, history, philosophy, economics, public health, education, statistics, management, law and linguistics.

Social Problems Of Pakistan And Their Solutions

Social Problems of Pakistan and their solutions are discussed here in the essay form. Pakistan is a developing state which is going through various problems and issues. These issues are from various origins having long lasting impact on the stability of the economy and the goodwill of country. Th social issues in Pakistan are being divided in to several heads among which one of the very important head is the Social problems of Pakistan. Education which is considered as the cheapest way of defense is not being promoted in our country which has made the literacy rate of our country decline to a major extent. The people will not have the education so they will not be able to put any impact on the country.

The literacy rate of Pakistan is 49.9% which makes them fall on the rating of 136th in the world that shows that the world’s 6th largest populated country is being kept away form education. According to a survey the primary education completing rate in Pakistan is 33.8% in females and 47.18% in males. The solution to social issues in Pakistan is that the education at least till the secondary part should be made compulsory and free for the students so that they can get full advantage form this blessing.

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Social Problems of Pakistan and their Solutions

The gender discrimination is another very much important factor in the decline of Pakistan as males are being given priority over females in a country where females are more in number. This is a big shame as in FATA the conditions are even worse where the literacy rate of males is 29.1% and in females it is less than 3%. That is where we are going wrong. Equal opportunity should be given to both male and females although the rules and regulation of Islam should not be over ruled but weight-age should be given to both the genders.

Terrorism is another social issue which has got in to the roots of the country and is damaging it. The main cause for the terrorism is political instability, economic conditions, standard or living and the most important one is the religious extremism. For this purpose the religious scholars should poke their head up and should come forward and should demonstrate the real Islam and its ideology so that such extremist acts should be avoided and human lives and property could be saved.

Other social issues in Pakistan which include child labor, sexual harassment, inflations, injustice, smuggling and drug abuse are also getting more and more common in the country which is causing harm to the youth of the country as well as to the law and order situation of the state. So to get rid of this problem the government had to take strong and strict actions in preventing such activities to prevail in the premises of the country and not only federal government but the provincial government should also play its vital role in eliminating all such social problems from the country, otherwise they will keep eating Pakistan like pesticides.

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Essay on Social Evils in Pakistan Types and Causes

The social evils are one of the most brutal and biggest curses to any nation which plays the vital role in the destruction of the society in any state or country. Pakistan is amongst one of those countries which are facing various disparaging social evils which have affected the law and order, national harmony and the peace of the country. Let us have the overview on the various types of social evils in Pakistan and what are the main reasons which have contributed in making these social evils from bad to worse.

One of the most critical social evil in Pakistan is corruption as unfortunately Pakistan is in the list of the top countries having mighty huge corruption in the system and the establishment. Corruption has strengthened its roots not only in the government organizations but at the same time private sector is also victim of this social evil, due to which the justice and equality has dispersed from the country as people can do anything with the help of the power of money at any level. The main cause for this social evil is greed for money and power and at the same time unfair and unpatriotic intentions not only of the officials but also including the government officials and politicians.

Terrorism is also a very significant social evil in Pakistan which has not only just affected the law and order situation but with the passage of time has a very huge adverse impact on the national economy of the state. Due to the terrorism activities the international investment has disappeared from the state leaving Pakistan all on its own or on the international loans. The basic reason behind this is the religious extremism and the hate against the government of the state.

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Pakistan is being ranked as one of those countries which have the highest ratio of Child Labor, which is another very heart breaking social evil in which the innocence of the children are being exploited. The basic reason for such high child labor ratio in Pakistan is due to unemployment and majority of the people living below the poverty line.

The families which cannot afford to send their children to acquire expensive education are forced to send their children to workshops, restaurants, and municipal corporation for working which is against the labor laws of the country but due to the need and urge for money they are forced to do so.

Sexual harassment is also considered to be a very destructive social evil in Pakistan where the children and females are being made victims of sexual harassment by the evil and inhuman peoples of the state. The main reason behind this curse is the sexual urge of uneducated people, frustration and the fire of revenge results in the occurrence of such brutal and immoral activities in Pakistan.

LEDC and MEDC Economic and Social Issues

The population in the UK is forever ageing, with people living until a much older age today. One economic effect of this is that pensioners will, in time, outnumber children. This will mean that there will be a generation between certain ages that has a very low population and once this age band becomes part of the working population, there will be significantly less tax revenues for the government. This will indirectly affect the economy. In addition, there may be a large deficit, where the about being paid into the economy is less than the amount being paid out.

Because pensioners require healthcare, disability benefits and state pensions, there may be a lot of money going out to the high number of pensioners and because there are much more older dependant people the working population cannot produce enough make sure there is stability. This could also mean there is a great burden on the health service. When people are older, they require much more healthcare, and so the health services in the UK will have more pressure as there are so many older people. There are also many social costs.

One is that with more people becoming older, the death rate will be high, but the birth rate remains low as there are so many older people and very few people are young enough to give birth. This will mean the population could decrease. Additionally, when there are more elderly people, the healthcare system cannot cope, there will be a sudden need for more old people's homes and this will put pressure on the NHS. However, there are some positive economic impacts. There will be a growing market for products such as stair lifts and wheel chairs.

Also, companies like hotels will have a wider spread of profits throughout the year because pensioners. There may also be an increase in private healthcare profits because many elderly people who are rich can afford to have private healthcare. There is also an increased life expectancy and lower death rates in the country as more people are living and for a long time. Caatinga in north Brazil is a rural area that is home to mostly poor people. The people living in Caatinga are moving to much more industrialized cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to the south of Brazil.

The main reasons people are leaving the rural areas are the lack of employment opportunities, the main source of income in Caatinga is farming jobs and other agricultural jobs. This is then made worse by the frequent droughts in the area and other natural disasters. Another reason people are moving is because of large families that have very little land to share amongst the sons. This is caused by a high birth rate in rural areas like Caatinga. Overgrazing of the land will lead to bad crops being produced and soil that is useless.

This then leads to starvation, resulting from either too little output for the people of the area or crop failure. This has then lead to more families selling land off and moving away. The land that they sell off may be to richer farmers that have tractors and other mechanized equipment. This then causes a reduction in the number of jobs available in the area. Farming is also hard work with long hours and little pay. In LEDC's lack of money will mean a lack of farming equipment. Caatinga also experiences many droughts and so the hard physical condition of the area will cause a loss of jobs or food in the area.

Caatinga also has a lack of services like schools and hospitals; this will be hard for families to cope with because of young children. Finally, the government are more likely to invest in urban areas rather than rural areas like Caatinga. The reasons that people move to the city and urban areas are because, they seek better jobs that pay much more money, jobs in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are much better paid than in Caatinga. They are housed better and have a better quality of life, they have a better medical treatment and more services like schools and they have enough food.

The UK, which is in Western Europe, is an MEDC. The average life expectancy in the UK is 77 years. Burkina Faso is in Central Africa and is an LEDC. The life expectancy there is 48 years. Firstly the infant mortality rate in Burkina Faso is 170 per 1000. This means out of every 1000 babies born, 170 of them are likely to die. This proves that there is a problem in Burkina Faso because in the UK the Infant mortality rate is only 6 per 1000. This clearly shows how the healthcare in Burkina Faso is poor and so they are more likely to die younger.

Another factor is the Average calorie intake per day. In Burkina faso it is 2387 calories, whereas in the UK it is 3317 calories. Burkina Faso's figure is lower than what is needed to live. This shows how more people are starving and dieing younger. Similarly, the amount of the population that is malnourished in Burkina Faso is 30%, whereas in the UK it is 2%. This illustrates a growing problem of food in Burkina Faso. The lack of available food will mean more people are dieing and many more young people are struggling to survive.

The number of years for the UK's population to double is 433 years, in contrast to Burkina Faso who's population is said to double in 23 years! This will cause large problems with resources and may start off a large phase of famine and disease. This will keep the Life expectancy low. The access to healthcare in Burkina Faso is less than 50% this clearly indicates a problem in health with many people and the majority of the population not being able to have healthcare. This will keep the life expectancy low, compared to the UK which has 100% access to healthcare for everyone.

With an average income of only $230 per person, Burkina faso is likely to have problems of poverty and lack of food and clean water. This means most families are likely to die young because no money will eventually be the cause of deaths, against the UK, with an average income of i??18,000. These factors clearly show that Burkina faso has a very low life expectancy, many people are dieing as a result of these poor living standards. Whereas the UK has a high life expectancy because the overall quality of life is better.

Social Mobilization and Political development

Karl Wolfgang Deutsch is a professor of International Peace in Stanfield. Being a great Social Scientist, he was able to come up with an innovative concept on fundamental issues that discusses aspects of nationalism, political integration and political disintegration that occurs within and among many states which have been found to be applicable. He was able to link the concepts of evidence in theory that which are sought to be most preferably systematic and quantitative.

In his concept of social mobilization, he defined it to be a process wherein people become deracinated from their ethnicity and turn out to be obtainable for innovative models of communication and behavior and he renowned quantitative pointers to consider it in most countries of the world.

He was bale to show how such a process would become a precedent to uplift the probability of what he termed as political integration among the citizens who had been sharing one language, one tradition, and one basic concept of social institution whereas it speed up the factors that causes the disintegration of countries wherein citizens do not have the same characteristics. Thus his research and study in effect became enlightenment to the social influences that paved way to the decomposition of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and also to the unification of the people of Germany in the history of the modern world.

In his study, he was aloe able to establish the specific working conditions for political integration founded on his concept on the “security communities” which was greatly manifested in the North Atlantic countries. He identifies that the concepts in the political process that occurred in Europe and in the Atlantic as an integration that occurred through a series of conditional hypotheses which he attempted to examine through a quantitative proof having empirical evidences.

In the article Deutsch argued that social mobilization is not merely a matter of having a series of changes that occur in a society among people. Rather, it should be understood to be a process that involves historical accounts and is related to economic developments wherein circumstances are clearly identified and are happening in a recurrent manner that are applicable in most countries which are found to be relevant in the field of politics.

Therefore, Social Mobilization should be understood to be as a process that occurs to a large quantity of individuals in a society that goes through the process of modernization wherein there is an introduction of the concepts of innovative technology, practices that are non traditional, advanced practices, and changes in their economic life and that which these are deemed applicable and practicable in their lives that such shall be accepted. It should not be misconstrued to be in paralleled with the process of modernization as a whole.

Social mobilization brings along with it the consequences where it deals with some periodic clusters history and tradition. These consequences would therefore imply that such a process would definitely sacrifice such recurrent clusters where it would eventually bring conflict of interest socially of political interest in the process.

This is the process involved in social mobilization where in there is a process of breaking down and erosion of the major clusters of the old social, economic, psychological commitments of the citizens making them ready for new models and patterns of behavior and socialization through the process of communication.

Deutsch pictured such process to be a major step of any society aiming towards full development. He addressed such issues through the test using real situations of states and many countries. He was able to construe the concepts involved in these series of changes which now are made available to many states and countries a s a theoretical basis for social mobilization.

Deutsch, K.W. (1961). Social Mobilization and Political Development. The American Political  Science Review, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Sep., 1961), pp. 493-514

Reflection Essay on Social Problems

What is a social problem.

A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being undesirable. Everyone would agree about some social problems, such as murders and DWI traffic deaths. Other social problems may be viewed as such by certain groups of people. Teenagers who play loud music in a public park obviously do not view it as a problem, but some other people may consider it an undesirable social condition. Some nonsmokers view smoking as an undesirable social condition that should be banned or restricted in public buildings.

Every newspaper is filled with stories about undesirable social conditions. Examples include crime, violence, drug abuse, and environmental problems. Such social problems can be found at the local, state, national and international levels. You will be focusing in the Public Policy Analyst on social problems in your own community. Specific community locations Your own community consists of… your school and your school district; your village, town or city; your county. The four examples of social problems above could possibly exist in all of these communities.

For example, there could be a problem of increased stealing within your school or throughout the school district. Likewise, local police agencies—village, town, city and county—maintain statistics on crimes such as thefts within their jurisdiction. When you describe the social problem in step 1, you must specify the geographical setting. Some examples include Lehman High School, the Bronx High School District, the Bronx, New York City, or New York State. As mentioned before, PPA will be used only for local and state social problems.

Social Problems of the Philippines

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the one who lacks basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1. 7 billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today.

Relative poverty refers to lacking a usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared with others within a society or country. For most of history poverty had been mostly accepted as inevitable as traditional modes of production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of living. After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made wealth increasingly more inexpensive and accessible. Of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, in order to provide enough yield to feed the population. The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, accommodating business regulations and providing financial services. Today, poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

Some of the Social Issues which is a part of Social Problems in the Philippines are: Falling Income The Philippine GDP per capita shrank to US$990 in 2000 from US$1,129 in 1997 while the GNP per capita contracted to US$1,033 from US$1,197. This was a result of the Asian financial crisis, which caught up with the Philippines in 1998. After expanding 5. 2 percent in 1997, the country's GDP backpedaled by 0. 5 percent in 1998. It grew by only 3. 4 percent in 1999 and 4 percent in 2000. With a high population growth rate of 2. percent annually, economic growth in 1999 and 2000 did little to improve the real per capita income of Filipinos. Peso Drops 14 Times vs. US Dollar According to Senator Ralph Recto, the country's per capita income has barely grown in the past 21 years. He said that the per capita income of P12,913 in 2001 is only P318 higher than P12,595 in 1980. "In today's pesos, the P318 increase in 21 years amounts to nothing at all. " he said. Senator Recto also noted that the value of the peso has depreciated by as much as 1,373 percent against the dollar since 1960. The Poor and the Rich

In its 2000 survey of family income and expenditure, the NSO said that the average income of the population's 10th decile, representing the richest 10 percent of the Filipinos, was 14 times higher than the average earnings of the first decile, representing the poorest 10 percent. Each decile was representing about 8 million Filipinos. Poverty Threshold: P13,916 While the per capita income declined between 1997 and 2000, prices of consumer goods and services increased by almost 20 percent during the three-year period or over six percent annually. The National Statistical

Coordination Board (NSCB) was forced to raise by 23 percent the national per capita poverty threshold to P13,916 in 2000 from P11,319 in 1997. Unequal Regional Development The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that Metro Manila's per capita gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2000 was more than twice that of the national average and more than five times that of Bicol region. Data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showed that 11 of the country's 16 regions had a poverty incidence of over 30 percent as of 2000. The five other regions with lower poverty levels are all located in Luzon.

The Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2002 showed that around 12. 581 million families or 79 percent of the total had electricity in 2002, up from only 10. 809 million or 73. 3 percent of all families in 1999. 72 Percent Had Strong Houses The Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2002 showed that 11. 497 million Filipino families or 72. 2 percent of the total had their roofs made of strong materials and 9. 888 million had their outer walls made of strong materials. 7 Percent Owned House and Lot The Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2002 showed that 10. 593 million Filipino families or 66. 5 percent of the total had their own house and lot in 2002, with only 546,000 of them or 5. 1 percent using the government's finance program to purchase their house and lot. Some 3. 425 million families or 21. 5 percent of the total had lands other than residence in 2002 while 376,000 families acquired lands through the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

A survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) in March 2001 showed that 16. 1 percent of its respondents had experienced hunger at least once in the last three months. About 6 percent of the households surveyed also claimed that they were experiencing hunger often or always. 20 to 34 Percent of Filipinos Undernourished About 20 to 34 percent of 74. 2 million Filipinos in the period 1998 to 2000 was undernourished, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its report entitled "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002. The situation in the Philippines was worse that those in Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam where only 5 to 19 percent of the population was undernourished. Only less than 2. 5 percent of population in Malaysia was undernourished while there was no record of similar problem in Singapore and Thailand. Only Cambodia, with 35 percent or more of its population being undernourished, was worse off than the Philippines. The FAO reported that there are some 840 million undernourished people in the world today while the World Bank said about 1. billion people lived on less than US$1 per day. Some 25,000 people reportedly die of hunger and poverty each day. Measured annually, around six million children under the age of five are dying of hunger. 6 of 10 Policemen are Poor A study concuted by the UP Variates and the CORPS Foundation in July 2002 showed that 32 percent of Metro Manila policemen claimed that their monthly income they took home were below the poverty threshold of P8,877 a month while nearly 90 percent admitted they had debts to government and private lending institutions.

Nearly 50 percent had no bank savings. 1. 391 Million Families with Working Children Child labor remains a problem in the country. As of 2002, there were 1. 391 million families or 12. 8 percent of the total that had working children aged from five years old to 17 years old. 4 Million Children, Working So critical was the poverty incidence in the country that many Filipino children had to find work in 2001. According to the NSO, 4 million out of the total 25 million Filipino children were working during the survey period from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001.

Most of these working children were male, aged 10 to 17 years old, unskilled and unpaid. They worked as farmers, fishermen, hunters, vendors, and factory workers. Some 221,000 children did heavy physical work; 1. 1 million faced physical hazards; 942,000 suffered injuries at work; and 754,000 had work-related illnesses. These figures were consistent with the findings of an international institution. According to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), some four million Filipino children were forced to work as of 2002 because their parents could not find jobs.

A 1996 report of the non-government movement End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) showed that the Philippines had 1. 5 million children living or working in the street of 65 cities. Metro Manila alone had at least 75,000 street children. ECPAT claimed that many children in the street were working as pickpockets and beggars and that around 60,000 children were either sexually exploited or driven to prostitution. According to the Dangerous Drugs Board, 325,000 children were using illegal substance, particularly rugby. About 100 million children in the world were said to be living in the street as of 1994. . 8 Million Illiterate Filipinos According to the Functional Literacy Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) conducted in 2001, about 2. 8 million Filipinos could not read and write while 7. 4 million others are functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy refers to the inability of a person to use his skills in reading, writing and counting to improve his life. 10. 8 Million Unemployed, Underemployed The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that as of April 2002, there were 4. 866 million unemployed Filipinos accounting for 13. percent of the total labor force estimated at 35. 052 million workers. About 5. 922 million others or 19. 6 percent of the labor force were also underemployed, meaning they had no regular sources of income. 26 Percent of College Graduates Unemployed A study commissioned by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) in 2002 showed that 26. 2 percent of college graduates aged 24 years old and below were unemployed. In comparison, only 13. 6 percent of high school graduates and 9. 1 percent of elementary dropouts were unemployed during the same period.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said there was a 22 percent vacancy in positions of prosecutors in the whole country. Just how the courts administered justice with such a wide vacancy in positions of judges and prosecutors paints a picture of disillusionment among victims waiting impatiently for justice. The vacancy in these positions usually means delay in the implementation of justice, which in turn discourages people from actually filing cases in courts. 88 Signatures for Housing Permit As of 2001, it took 88 signatures to get an approval to build a house in the Philippines.

President Arroyo ordered that the number of signatures be trimmed to 45. P35 Billion Lost to Project Anomalies The chairman of the Committee on Appropriations at the lower chamber of Congress said the Philippine government lost P21 billion to graft and corruption stemming from scheming contracts entered into by senators and congressmen in 2001. The amount excluded money lost to corruption involving projects executed by other government officials. Meanwhile, Senator Edgardo Angara said that around P35 billion is lost to graft and corruption in government infrastructure projects annually.

Such anomalies come in the form of rigged public bidding, substandard work and cost padding. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer) P21 Billion Lost to Procurement Process The Philippine government has been losing some P21 billion to corrupt officials involved in the procurement process, the none-government organization Procurement Watch Inc. (PWI) reported. At the same time, a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 15 percent of the cost of all government contracts is lost to corruption.

Aside from legislating laws, Filipinos senators and congressmen have made it their responsibility to distribute development projects in their respective districts. Each one of the 24 senators receives some P200 million in development funds annually while each one of about 218 congressmen receives P100 million in annual appropriations. In total, all these development funds for legislators, collectively known as procurement budget or pork barrel, amount to P104 billion annually. According to House appropriations committee chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. , some P21 billion or nearly 20 percent of this amount is pocketed by some legislators, other government officials and contractors each year. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer) RP, Fourth Most Corrupt in Asia In its 2002 survey, the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), which asked 1,000 foreign businessmen in 12 Asian countries, has ranked the Philippines as the fourth most corrupt country in Asia closely behind Indonesia, India and Vietnam. The Philippines received a score of 8. 0 in the survey, on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 the best possible score for a country with no corruption.

PERC said Singapore was the least corrupt in the region, with a score of 0. 9. In a separate survey also in 2002, Transparency International (TI) ranked the Philippines 77th among 102 countries in terms of fighting graft and corruption. The Philippines got a score of 2. 6 in corruption perception index, with 10 the highest possible score for the country that has no corruption. Finland was ranked number 1, with a score of 9. 7. Bangladesh was at the bottom of the list, with a score of 1. 2. P85 billion Ill-Gotten Wealth Recovered

In its claim as of 2002, the Presidential Commission on Good Government said that it has recovered a total of P85 billion in ill-gotten wealth since it was created in 1986. 2. 8 Million Income Tax Payers While there were 15 million salaried workers in the country in 2000, only 2. 8 million actually paid income taxes. According to Senator Ralph Recto, of the total individual income tax returns filed in 2000, 1. 953 million were by salaried workers (1. 350 million of whom were government employees) and only 536,000 by businessmen and non-salaried professionals (like doctors and lawyers).

In real amount, ordinary workers paid some P63. 8 billion while non-salaried individuals, mostly businessmen and professionals, contributed only P7. 3 billion for a total of P81. 8 billion in individual income taxes. The senator disclosed that about 56. 2 percent of salaried and non-salaried workers in the country failed to settle their individual income taxes in 2000. Over the past 11 years, leakage from the individual income tax amounted to P608 billion. This was on top of the P610 billion that were lost to leakage in the value added tax (VAT) scheme.

A study conducted by the research unit of US bank Morgan Stanley said that the Philippine government lost some US$205 billion in potential revenues from 1965 to 2001. The figure was computed based on the estimated annual tax leakage of US$7. 6 billion or P380 billion. It was higher than the government's estimate. According to the Department of Finance (DoF), some P242 billion (US$4. 65 billion) in potential government revenues is lost to tax evaders yearly. In its 1998 study, the Department of Finance said some P69. 85 billion was lost because of leakage in the value-added tax, P59. 3 billion in corporate income tax, P98. 95 billion in personal income tax, P2. 56 billion in excise tax, P6. 4 billion in documentary stamp tax, P1. 18 billion in interest withholding tax on bank deposits, P2. 33 billion in fringe benefits tax, P1. 5 billion in gross receipts tax, and P370 million in insurance tax. P187 Billion Tax Incentives to Corporations The government dangled some P187. 2 billion tax incentives to the largest foreign and local companies in the country in 2001. These incentives came in the form of income tax holidays and duty-free importation of raw materials from other countries.

Two People's Revolts

Fourteen years after the historic "People Power Revolution" that ousted the Marcos dictatorial rule in 1986, two people's revolts rocked Metro Manila in the first half of 2001. This was followed by several attempts to repeat the ugly May 1 mob rebellion staged by supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada. In the absence of a legal framework governing people's revolts, political stability became harder to establish. Foreign Affairs Secretary and former Senator Blas Ople called for a "sober" examination of the people power phenomenon and warned that a fresh call to stage another revolution would threaten the country's political stability.

In a Senate resolution, Senator Blas Ople urged the chamber to assess the merits of "people power" as an instrument of political change and its constitutional implications. Episode of Turbulence Even President Arroyo, who was a beneficiary of the January 2001 people's revolt, appealed for an end to what she called an episode of turbulence and threats. "In a living democracy, no group has the right to hold policy-making hostage by threatening to overthrow the executive on every issue of policy disagreement," she said. 34 Percent Says Democracy Works The Filipino people were also dismayed.

In a national survey conducted by the University of the Philippines (UP) Center for Leadership, Citizenry and Democracy in November 2001, only one of three Filipino respondents or 34 percent claimed they were satisfied with the way democracy works in the country. In contrast, about 42 percent of the respondents said otherwise. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer) Violent Elections A manifestation of poor peace and order situation in the Philippines is the death of at least 87 people in the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) elections in July 2002.

The police said another 45 individuals were injured in 183 violent confrontations among candidates and their henchmen. Ironically, the police described the situation as generally peaceful because fewer people died this year, compared with previous barangay elections. On July 15, the Filipino people elected 41,945 barangay chairmen, a similar number of youth leaders and 293,615 barangay council members. 25,000 Armed Rebels There are two major insurgency movements in the Philippines, namely: the communist insurgency and the Muslim separatist movement.

According to military estimates, there were 25,000 armed rebels as of the first quarter of 2002. These included 11,930 communist guerillas, 12,500 active members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and hundreds more belonging to Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf, Abu Sufia and Pentagon groups. 347 Clashes with the Reds The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recorded 347 armed confrontations with the communist guerillas, resulting in the death of 189 rebels and 120 government soldiers in 2001. Moro Leader in Prison

In November 2001, former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari who signed a peace pact with the government in 1996 broke the agreement and led another armed struggle along with his loyal supporters. He was facing sedition charges at a prison camp in Laguna province. Muslim Extremists The Abu Sayyaf (Bearers of the Sword) is a Muslim extremist group that was fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao. Since 1994, it has burned a Christian town, beheaded a number of innocent civilians, abducted foreigners and planted bombs in crowded areas.

The AFP claimed that it was able to reduce the Abu Sayyaf force from 4,000 in 1994 to 600 in June 2001 and to 60 in May 2002. In April 2000, the group took 21 hostages, mostly European tourists from the Sipadan Island in Sabah, Malaysia and brought them to Sulu province in Mindanao. The hostages were freed four months later upon payment of US$20 million ransom by the Libyan government. On May 27, 2001, the Abu Sayyaf abducted an American couple along with another American and 17 Filipinos from a beach resort in Palawan province.

The group had beheaded the other American but freed the Filipino hostages. Some 1,000 American troops went to Mindanao to coordinate, advise and train Filipino soldiers in the rescue mission of the American couple. On June 7, 2002, American hostage Martin Burnham and Filipino nurse who was also taken by the group were killed during an encounter between the Muslim extremists and the pursuing Filipino troops in Zamboanga del Norte province. Gracia Burnham was wounded but survived.

Camp Abu Bakar Falls

The former Estrada administration declared an ugly all-out war against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in the year 2000. While the government was able to siege Camp Abu Bakar, the main camp of the MILF, the war resulted in numerous bombings in the south and Metro Manila. There were also summary executions of Filipino Christians in Mindanao. On May 7, 2002, the Arroyo government and the MILF signed an interim peace agreement in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

While the agreement called for the government's rehabilitation and development of areas devastated by the war in 2000, it did not call for the laying down of arms by the Muslim dissidents. Cost of War: P100 Billion The World Bank said the recurring armed conflict between government soldiers and Muslim fighters would cost southwestern Mindanao over P100 billion in the next 10 years in terms of lost or stagnant investments. 2 Million Unlicensed Guns Around 2 million unlicensed guns were circulating in the Philippines on top of the 775,000 legally registered firearms.

The figures were disclosed during the "Regional Seminar on Implementing the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons" which was held in Quezon City in July 2002. A statement issued during the seminar also claimed that the 2 million unlicensed firearms and light weapons, including pistols, rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and shoulder-fired missiles, were responsible for the death of four million people in 46 major conflicts in the country in the 1990s. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the national police to intensify the campaign against loose firearms.

Reports said there are about 328,329 loose firearms nationwide. In 2002, the national police confiscated 7,633 loose firearms. The Department of Interior and Local Government said that of the 12,000 firearms used in crimes in 2002, more than 10,000 of which were unlicensed. 37,254 Index Crimes Some 37,254 index crimes were reported to the police in the year 2000 alone. The police claimed to have solved 32,445 or 87 percent of these cases. Index crimes refer to crimes committed against lives and properties.

The Citizens Action Against Crime, a non-government organization, claimed that around 2,100 people, many of them Filipino-Chinese businessmen, have become victims of kidnap-for-ransom gangs in the Philippines and paid ransom amounting to about P1. 25 billion from 1993 to 2002. The group added that in 2002 alone, kidnap victims paid a total ransom amounting to P211 million. News reports said kidnap-for-ransom syndicates victimized over 240 individuals, including 20 foreigners in 2001. In the first half of 2002, another 80 individuals, including 30 foreigners, became victims of kidnapping.

While Manila-based publications tagged the Philippines as the world's kidnap capital, the Philippine National Police (PNP) quickly denied this, claiming that Colombia owns the title. 1,877 Cars Stolen The Philippine National Police (PNP) documented a total of 1,877 car theft cases in 2000. Police data showed that a total of 2,219 vehicles were reported stolen in Metro Manila in 2002. This meant that six cars were stolen in the metropolis each day and 185 cars each month in 2002. 8 Rape Victims Per Day Some 3,145 cases of rape were reported in the country in 2001.

This translates to 8 cases of rape each day and one rape incident in every three hours during the year. The figure only covers rape incidents reported to the police. There were also 5,735 murder cases and 4,079 homicide incidents reported in the country in 2001 alone. 5,185 Sex Crimes Against Children According to the Social Welfare and Development, there were a total of 5,185 sex crimes committed against children in the Philippines in 2000, and 3,980 cases in 2001. Sex crimes refer to rape, incest, and acts of lasciviousness. 143 Escapees The Bureau of Jail Management reported that 143 prisoners escaped from their cells in 2000.

Of these fugitives, 89 were recaptured. 25,000 Inmates The Bureau of Corrections said that in 2002, it was holding 25,002 inmates, 16,134 of whom are at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), which has a holding capacity of only 8,700. 314 Political Prisoners As of December 2002, the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa was hosting 314 political prisoners. 239 Dismissed Cops in 2002 In the campaign against erring policemen, the national police reported that it dismissed from the service 239 commissioned and non-commissioned officers who were among the 4,447 policemen who were charged administratively for various offenses in 2002.

The national police is encouraging the public to report crimes or ask for police assistance in case of emergency by sending a short messaging service (SMS) or text message to 2920. P300 Billion Illegal Drug Industry According to Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, the crime syndicates produce and trade P300-billion worth of illegal drugs in the country annually. The Dangerous Drugs Board also disclosed that some 1. 8 million Filipinos are hooked on illegal drugs while 1. 6 million others are casual users. 1. 8 Million Drug Users

According to the International Narcotics Control Board, the use of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu has become "the most popular drug of abuse" in the Philippines. The Anti-Narcotics Group of the Philippine National Police disclosed that around 1. 8 million of the 80 million Filipinos were regular drug users. The agency also disclosed that about 70 percent of marijuana supply in the world might be coming from the Cordillera region in northern Luzon. It claimed that marijuana fields have been found among the 300,000 hectares of Cordillera farmlands in the past.

In 1999, the police conducted 7,956 raids and arrested 11,004 individuals on drug-related cases. 55,000 Mail Order Brides to US According to women's group Gabriela, about 55,000 Filipino women have entered the United States as mail order brides as of 1997. Another 20,000 mail order brides went to Australia. 15 Women Beaten Daily As of 2002, militant women's group Gabriela said at least 15 women and six children are beaten up daily. In 2001, Gabriela recorded 5,668 cases of wife battering and 2,274 cases of maltreatment of children. Two-Thirds of Young Workers Had Premarital Sex

A survey conducted by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) in 2002 showed that 30 percent of the country's young workforce claimed to be sexually active, with 10 percent of the single male respondents claiming to have casual sex. The study titled "Issues Affecting Young Filipino Workers" also showed that 37 percent of young males have had sex with more than one partner - usually with prostitutes - prior to marriage while two-thirds of married female and male workers said they had premarital sex with the people they eventually married.

In a separate report, a study conducted by the University of the Philippines Population Institute in the year 2000 showed that 23 percent of 16. 5 million Filipinos aged between 15 and 24 have engaged in premarital sex. According to the TUCP, about 6. 5 million Filipino workers were belonging to the 15 to 24 year age group as of 2002. 400,000 Prostitutes Despite the fact that prostitution is illegal in the country, women's group Gabriela said that around 400,000 Filipinos were working as prostitutes as of 1998. 100,000 Child Prostitutes

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), about 60,000 to 100,000 Filipino children were working as prostitutes as of 1997. Prostitution was present in 37 provinces then. The major child prostitution dens were found in Manila, Angeles City, Puerto Galera, Davao City and Cebu City. The Philippines has reportedly become a favorite destination of pedophiles from the US, Australia and Europe. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has documented 8,335 cases of child abuse from 1991 to 1996. 400,000 Abortions

A study released by the University of the Philippines Population Institute in February 2003 said that there were 400,000 cases of abortion in the country each year, despite the fact that abortion is illegal here. Vagina Economy While hundreds of surviving Filipino women are still demanding justice from the Japanese government for their travails in the hands of Japanese troops who held them as sex slaves during World War 2, thousands of young Filipino women are ironically asking the Philippine government to ease the rules in the deployment of entertainers to Japan.

One government agency that tried to screen the recruitment of young Filipino women as entertainers in Japan eventually found itself in deep controversy. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the country's main agency tasked to uplift standards of non-degree and non-formal skills training of Filipino workers, was under fire for allegedly delaying the issuance of certification to some 20,000 young Filipino women to work as entertainers or "overseas performing artists" in Japan in 2002.

The Philippine Association of Recruitment Agencies Deploying Artists (PARADA), the association of recruitment agencies deploying young Filipino women as entertainers in Japan accused TESDA director general Dante Liban of deliberately delaying the issuance of the so-called Artist Record Books (ARB) to 20,000 prospective overseas performing artists in 2002. Applicants need an ARB to get a visa from the Japanese embassy. PARADA alleged that a group of people in TESDA were demanding P25,000 for an ARB from applicants who do not want to undergo testing.

Without irregularity, the ARB is supposed to cost only P300. Because of the alleged irregularity in TESDA, PARADA claimed that 20,000 Filipino women lost the opportunity of earning US$800 a month in Japan. Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that deployment of Filipino entertainers to Japan slowed to 50,000 persons in 2002 from 70,000 in 2001. But a group of Filipinos said that the single biggest controversy was not the delay in the issuance of ARBs to young Filipino women but the deployment of thousands of them to work as prostitutes or sex workers in other countries.

Labor Undersecretary Lucila Lazo even went to the extent of calling it as "vagina economy". There are around 180,000 Filipino entertainers in Japan sending US$200 million each year. Many of these women were vulnerable to abuse and some driven to prostitution by the Japanese Yakuza gang. According to the Movement for Responsible Enterprise (MORE), a civic group of concerned Filipinos, the Philippine government provided cover to save Japan from the embarrassment of hosting Filipino prostitutes. "The government made them appear like performing artists, sent to Japan as entertainers," it added.

Filipino entertainers were eventually called "Japayuki", which was an original concoction made by Japanese media referring to young girls working as prostitutes. The Philippine government allows the deployment of Filipino women as young as 18 years old. The civic group also called on religious and militant groups to join the campaign against the continued deployment of Filipino entertainers abroad. "Let us all destroy this national disgrace. Stop the trafficking of women. Our national honor is priceless. We must defend it at all cost, at all times," it said.

Gambling is a major social problem in the country. Not even the ouster of President Joseph Estrada from Malacanang Palace, on charges of receiving "jueteng" money from syndicates, could abate the problem. Jueteng is said to be a P40-billion business in the Philippines, annually. While declaring "jueteng" as illegal, the government promotes other forms of gambling such as casino operations, lottery and recently text games. In May 2002 alone, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the government agency tasked to collect gambling revenues, reported an income of P1. 81 billion.

For the whole of 2000, Pagcor reported a net income of P8 billion, the second largest amount earned by any Philippine company in that year. Text Gambling No one seems to be bothered by the growing trend of text gambling in the Philippines. Due to the popularity of short messaging service (SMS) or text messaging in the country, broadcast stations and telecommunication companies have connived to endorse the now hugely popular text games. Here, the participants, mostly television viewers or radio listeners, put their bet in the form of a text message worth P10 each for the chance to win large prizes.

Although less pronounced as a form of gambling, text gambling is no different than other number games like lottery, jai alai or jueteng. Companies Lose P3. 5 Billion to Counterfeiting According to the Brand Protection Association (BPA), a group of 15 multinational companies based in the country, their member companies lost P3. 5 billion to makers and distributors of fake brand products in the first three quarters of 2002 alone. As a result, the government also lost P1. 3 billion in potential revenues.

The BPA also disclosed that the government confiscated fake goods amounting to P2. 4 billion in the first nine months of 2002 alone, up from P800 million in the whole of 1998. The BPA said that the counterfeiting and piracy problem is not limited to CD's, VCDs and computer softwares but also affects top brands of garments, bags, wallets, medicines, liquified petroleum gas (LPGs), batteries, lamps, bulbs and switches, brandy, vodka, cigarettes, soaps and shampoo, laser printer toner and ink cartridges, sofa beds, hacksaws, toys and electronic goods.

About 86 makers of product lines are said to be affected by counterfeits, which are boldly sold at formal distribution channels like shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets. "Not because these companies are in on it, but because they are also fooled," Mr. Wallace clarified. The BPA said that the fake drugs and smuggled medicines comprise 30 percent of total products in the pharmaceutical sector. The lighting sector is burdened by a 5 to 15 percent penetration of fake products while about 63 percent of softwares sold in the country is considered pirated. Most of the fake products sold in the country, the BPA added, come from China.

Smuggled Fuel

A study conducted by the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center (AIM-PC) suggested that some P1. 1 billion worth of diesel fuel were smuggled into the country between 1999 and 2001. Some 300,000 liters or 2,000 barrels of diesel are reportedly smuggled and sold in the country each day. The policy think tank blamed several owners of barges and tankers/trucks; ship captains and seamen; past and present officials of oil firms; owners of depots and storehouses; and importers and owners of import terminals as responsible for the smuggling.

The culprits reportedly got help from officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine Navy and the Coast Guard. Alcohol, Most Abused Drug Liquor is said to be the most abused substance in the Philippines and the world. While there remains to be a concrete study on the effects of alcoholism, many index crimes such as homicides, physical injuries and sex-related offenses are often associated with alcohol. Adding to these are the numerous accidents caused by drunk driving. Many Filipino families were also ruined by alcoholism, with young children exposed to the evils of their drunken fathers.

Sadly, the government does not do anything about it. San Miguel Corp. , a beverage conglomerate that is the top seller of beer and gin, is also the country's largest corporation. In 1998 alone, the company sold 327. 6 million bottles of beer. 1. 25 Billion Liters of Beer In 1995, Filipinos consumed 146,000 bottles of wine, making them the top wine drinkers in Asia. A more shocking report is that Filipinos consumed 1. 25 billion liters or 3. 9 billion bottles of beer in 1998 alone. In the year 2001, beverages comprised nearly 2. 3 percent of the average Filipino's expenditures.

A 1994 survey conducted by the University of the Philippines showed that almost 5. 3 million or 60 per cent of Filipino youths were drinking alcoholic beverages. Of the total, 4. 2 million were males and 1. 1 million, females. A conclusion was that there were more alcoholic drinkers than smokers among Filipino youths, who were starting to drink alcohol at the age of 16 or 17 years old. 21. 6 Percent of Students Smoke A global youth tobacco survey (GYTS) in the Philippines showed that as many as 21. 6 percent of Filipino students were smoking cigarettes.

The percentage was 32. 6 percent among male students and 12. 9 percent among female students. Some students believed that smoking would win them more friends and make them look cool. Tobacco comprised 2. 4 percent of the average Filipino's expenditures in 2001. 6,100 Tons of Garbage Daily According to the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the metropolis produces some 6,100 tons of garbage daily. In 2001, the total volume of recyclable materials that ended up in junkshops and recycling plants reached 120,162 metric tons.

The Cost of Air Pollution

The World Bank has reported that air pollution in the Philippines results in a yearly loss of US$1. 5 billion in medical treatment, lost wages, low productivity and deaths that severely impact the Filipinos' quality of life. The World Bank report also said that air pollution results in 2,000 deaths each year and causes US$1. 5 billion in lost wages, medical treatment in the four metropolis of Baguio, Manila, Cebu and Davao The World Bank also said that the country needs US$500 million (P25 billion) to implement the Clean Air Act of 1999 over the next 10 years.

In its Philippines Environment Monitor 2002, the World Bank said the government spends US$400 million in health cost as a result of air pollution in four urban centers alone, namely: Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Baguio where about a quarter of the population lives. Such a health cost is said to be 0. 6 percent of the country's gross national product. The World Bank cited a 2001 survey showing that more than 72 percent of Metro Manila's residents were alarmed by air pollution and 73 percent said they were not aware that the government was doing anything to address it.

The World Bank said air pollutants such as ozone and nitrogen oxides continue to spread. In its study, the World Bank said fine particle emissions result in about 2,000 premature deaths and 9,000 cases of chronic bronchitis in the country's four largest urban areas annually. These emissions of pollutants were largely blamed on public buses, jeepneys, utility vehicles, trucks and motorcycles that continue to emit visible smoke despite the government's anti-smoke belching campaign. As of 2001, there were 3. 9 million land vehicles in the country. 2 Million Filipinos Exposed to Tuberculosis A World Bank report in 2002 said that around 22 million Filipinos were exposed to tuberculosis. Nearly 740 Filipinos are afflicted with tuberculosis, while 68 die of the disease each day. The report added that Filipinos spend a total of P160 billion to cure the disease each year.

However, the US Central Intelligence Agency said that there were about 28,000 Filipinos infected with HIV or AIDS and that 1,200 of died in 1999 alone. P30 Trillion for Reforestation In January 2003, a study by the Green Tropics International (GTI) claimed that the Philippines would need P30 trillion to reforest country's denuded mountains in over 85 years. 2. 7 Trips by Metro Manilans Each Day Studies made by the Traffic and Engineering Center (TEC) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed that as of 2002, Metro Manilans were making an average of 2. trips individually and 12 million trips collectively each day. Before this, a study by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1999 showed that the Philippines was losing some P140 billion annually to traffic congestion. It said the national economy was directly losing P40 billion in the forms of gasoline and diesel fuel, man-hours, electricity, salaries of traffic aides and increased expenses for mobile phones. Indirectly, the country was losing P100 billion in the forms of lost business opportunities, depreciated value of real property and increased cause of health care due to air pollution.

Cost of Traffic Problem

US$3. 6 Billion The San Francisco-based Filipinas Magazine reported that traffic congestion costs the Philippine economy some US$3. 6 billion annually. Citing a government study, the magazine said the traffic problem , particularly in Metro Manila, results in a US$1 billion loss to wasted gasoline and electricity, man-hours and hiring of traffic aides; and US$2. 6 billion to missed business opportunities, reduced sales and investment disincentives. The study added that total loss would exceed US$36 billion in ten years.

It noted that the average speed of a vehicle has slowed to 12. 6 kilometers per hour today from 18 kilometers per hour ten years ago. Get-Rich-Quick Schemes If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This was how the corporate watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) described the usual promise made by pseudo-investment firms in luring the public to invest substantial amount in their get-rich-quick schemes. The SEC warned that pseudo-investment firms that are not registered with the government office have already duped many investors, including foreigners and Filipino-Americans.

Some victims, who have placed investments ranging from P10,000 to P50 million, were not able to recover their money and its supposed interest. The SEC has already issued cease-and-desist orders (CDOs) on the operations of several pseudo-investment firms that have been in operation without licenses. According to the corporate watchdog, some of these firms act as lending investors, investment firms, and financial companies that issue securities to the public.

The companies promote their services by telephone calls, mails or personal visits and usually offer investors huge interest on every investment placed, without explaining the risks involved. They also require immediate investments. The pseudo-investment firms give promise that a minimum investment of P10,000 to P100,000 would earn a monthly interest of 15 percent. Among the promotional gimmicks of these pseudo-investments firms are seminars that use the lines "You can become a millionaire in three years" and "You can turn your financial dreams into reality".

Investors usually discover that they have been duped only when the checks issued to them bounced. Pyramiding Scam As of January 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the government corporate watchdog said that investment firms engaged in the so-called pyramiding operation have duped at least 2 million Filipinos of as much as P70 billion. World's 4th Most Accident-Prone Country According to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Philippines was the fourth most accident prone country in the world.

The two institutions arrived at this conclusion after finding out that some 5,809,986 Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of disasters or man-made calamities over a ten-year period (1992-2001). Ahead of the Philippines in the accident list were China, India and Iran. On a separate report, the Philippine National Red Cross said 31,835 Filipinos were killed and 94,369,462 others were affected by natural disasters and calamities in a p of 20 years. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer) Shallow Knowledge of History

Congressman Edmund Reyes of Marinduque province quoted an NFO-Trends survey showing that Filipino youth had a "very shallow appreciation" of the country's history and cultural heritage. The survey showed that only 37 percent of the 1,420 respondents aged 7 to 21 years old, were able to sing the National Anthem and only 28 percent could recite "Panatang Makabayan". When asked to name Filipino heroes, the respondents could only name up to two heroes. A Day's Labor For A Burger In 2001, the minimum daily wage in Metro Manila remained at P250, the highest among the country's 16 regions.

An office worker in Makati, who was hired on a contractual basis by a job placement agency, did not receive P250 by the end of a working day. After tax, social security and other deductions were made on top of the share deductions by the agency, the office worker went home with only P200. However, he had to calculate his transportation and meal allowance that amounted to over P100. In other words, what was left in his pocket by the end of the day was less than P100. To treat himself after a hard day's work, he decided to stop by a popular fastfood restaurant.

He ordered a big burger, a large can of cola and French fries. He was billed P100. Before sleeping at night, he remembered that he had to buy a new pair of shoes. He reached for his pocket and found it empty. Yet, he considered himself lucky because he was unmarried and was living with his parents who were giving him free breakfast every morning. He was lucky because he had no wife to support and no children to send to school. He was lucky because he was healthy and did not have to buy medicine.

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David Wallace-Wells

Are smartphones driving our teens to depression.

By David Wallace-Wells

Opinion Writer

Here is a story. In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, initiating the smartphone revolution that would quickly transform the world. In 2010, it added a front-facing camera, helping shift the social-media landscape toward images, especially selfies. Partly as a result, in the five years that followed, the nature of childhood and especially adolescence was fundamentally changed — a “great rewiring,” in the words of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt — such that between 2010 and 2015 mental health and well-being plummeted and suffering and despair exploded, particularly among teenage girls.

For young women, rates of hospitalization for nonfatal self-harm in the United States, which had bottomed out in 2009, started to rise again, according to data reported to the C.D.C., taking a leap beginning in 2012 and another beginning in 2016, and producing , over about a decade, an alarming 48 percent increase in such emergency room visits among American girls ages 15 to 19 and a shocking 188 percent increase among girls ages 10 to14.

Here is another story. In 2011, as part of the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a new set of guidelines that recommended that teenage girls should be screened annually for depression by their primary care physicians and that same year required that insurance providers cover such screenings in full. In 2015, H.H.S. finally mandated a coding change, proposed by the World Health Organization almost two decades before, that required hospitals to record whether an injury was self-inflicted or accidental — and which seemingly overnight nearly doubled rates for self-harm across all demographic groups. Soon thereafter, the coding of suicidal ideation was also updated. The effect of these bureaucratic changes on hospitalization data presumably varied from place to place. But in one place where it has been studied systematically, New Jersey, where 90 percent of children had health coverage even before the A.C.A., researchers have found that the changes explain nearly all of the state’s apparent upward trend in suicide-related hospital visits, turning what were “essentially flat” trendlines into something that looked like a youth mental health “crisis.”

Could both of these stories be partially true? Of course: Emotional distress among teenagers may be genuinely growing while simultaneous bureaucratic and cultural changes — more focus on mental health, destigmatization, growing comfort with therapy and medication — exaggerate the underlying trends. (This is what Adriana Corredor-Waldron, a co-author of the New Jersey study, believes — that suicidal behavior is distressingly high among teenagers in the United States and that many of our conventional measures are not very reliable to assess changes in suicidal behavior over time.) But over the past several years, Americans worrying over the well-being of teenagers have heard much less about that second story, which emphasizes changes in the broader culture of mental illness, screening guidelines and treatment, than the first one, which suggests smartphones and social-media use explain a whole raft of concerns about the well-being of the country’s youth.

When the smartphone thesis first came to prominence more than six years ago, advanced by Haidt’s sometime collaborator Jean Twenge, there was a fair amount of skepticism from scientists and social scientists and other commentators: Were teenagers really suffering that much? they asked. How much in this messy world could you pin on one piece of technology anyway? But some things have changed since then, including the conventional liberal perspective on the virtues of Big Tech, and, in the past few years, as more data has rolled in and more red flags have been raised about American teenagers — about the culture of college campuses, about the political hopelessness or neuroticism or radicalism or fatalism of teenagers, about a growing political gender divide, about how often they socialize or drink or have sex — a two-part conventional wisdom has taken hold across the pundit class. First, that American teenagers are experiencing a mental health crisis; second, that it is the fault of phones.

“Smartphones and social media are destroying children’s mental health,” the Financial Times declared last spring. This spring, Haidt’s new book on the subject, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, debuted at the top of the New York Times best-seller list. In its review of the book, The Guardian described the smartphone as “a pocket full of poison,” and in an essay , The New Yorker accepted as a given that Gen Z was in the midst of a “mental health emergency” and that “social media is bad for young people.” “Parents could see their phone-obsessed children changing and succumbing to distress,” The Wall Street Journal reflected . “Now we know the true horror of what happened.”

But, well, do we? Over the past five years, “Is it the phones?” has become “It’s probably the phones,” particularly among an anxious older generation processing bleak-looking charts of teenage mental health on social media as they are scrolling on their own phones. But however much we may think we know about how corrosive screen time is to mental health, the data looks murkier and more ambiguous than the headlines suggest — or than our own private anxieties, as parents and smartphone addicts, seem to tell us.

What do we really know about the state of mental health among teenagers today? Suicide offers the most concrete measure of emotional distress, and rates among American teenagers ages 15 to 19 have indeed risen over the past decade or so, to about 11.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2021 from about 7.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2009. But the American suicide epidemic is not confined to teenagers. In 2022, the rate had increased roughly as much since 2000 for the country as a whole, suggesting a national story both broader and more complicated than one focused on the emotional vulnerabilities of teenagers to Instagram. And among the teenagers of other rich countries, there is essentially no sign of a similar pattern. As Max Roser of Our World in Data recently documented , suicide rates among older teenagers and young adults have held roughly steady or declined over the same time period in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Norway and Belgium. In Sweden there were only very small increases.

Is there a stronger distress signal in the data for young women? Yes, somewhat. According to an international analysis by The Economist, suicide rates among young women in 17 wealthy countries have grown since 2003, by about 17 percent, to a 2020 rate of 3.5 suicides per 100,000 people. The rate among young women has always been low, compared with other groups, and among the countries in the Economist data set, the rate among male teenagers, which has hardly grown at all, remains almost twice as high. Among men in their 50s, the rate is more than seven times as high.

In some countries, we see concerning signs of convergence by gender and age, with suicide rates among young women growing closer to other demographic groups. But the pattern, across countries, is quite varied. In Denmark, where smartphone penetration was the highest in the world in 2017, rates of hospitalization for self-harm among 10- to 19-year-olds fell by more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2016. In Germany, there are today barely one-quarter as many suicides among women between 15 and 20 as there were in the early 1980s, and the number has been remarkably flat for more than two decades. In the United States, suicide rates for young men are still three and a half times as high as for young women, the recent increases have been larger in absolute terms among young men than among young women, and suicide rates for all teenagers have been gradually declining since 2018. In 2022, the latest year for which C.D.C. data is available, suicide declined by 18 percent for Americans ages 10 to 14 and 9 percent for those ages 15 to 24.

None of this is to say that everything is fine — that the kids are perfectly all right, that there is no sign at all of worsening mental health among teenagers, or that there isn’t something significant and even potentially damaging about smartphone use and social media. Phones have changed us, and are still changing us, as anyone using one or observing the world through them knows well. But are they generating an obvious mental health crisis?

The picture that emerges from the suicide data is mixed and complicated to parse. Suicide is the hardest-to-dispute measure of despair, but not the most capacious. But while rates of depression and anxiety have grown strikingly for teenagers in certain parts of the world, including the U.S., it’s tricky to disentangle those increases from growing mental-health awareness and destigmatization, and attempts to measure the phenomenon in different ways can yield very different results.

According to data Haidt uses, from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the percent of teenage girls reporting major depressive episodes in the last year grew by about 50 percent between 2005 and 2017, for instance, during which time the share of teenage boys reporting the same grew by roughly 75 percent from a lower level. But in a biannual C.D.C. survey of teenage mental health, the share of teenagers reporting that they had been persistently sad for a period of at least two weeks in the past year grew from only 28.5 percent in 2005 to 31.5 percent in 2017. Two different surveys tracked exactly the same period, and one showed an enormous increase in depression while the other showed almost no change at all.

And if the rise of mood disorders were a straightforward effect of the smartphone, you’d expect to see it everywhere smartphones were, and, as with suicide, you don’t. In Britain, the share of young people who reported “feeling down” or experiencing depression grew from 31 percent in 2012 to 38 percent on the eve of the pandemic and to 41 percent in 2021. That is significant, though by other measures British teenagers appear, if more depressed than they were in the 2000s, not much more depressed than they were in the 1990s.

Overall, when you dig into the country-by-country data, many places seem to be registering increases in depression among teenagers, particularly among the countries of Western Europe and North America. But the trends are hard to disentangle from changes in diagnostic patterns and the medicalization of sadness, as Lucy Foulkes has argued , and the picture varies considerably from country to country. In Canada , for instance, surveys of teenagers’ well-being show a significant decline between 2015 and 2021, particularly among young women; in South Korea rates of depressive episodes among teenagers fell by 35 percent between 2006 and 2018.

Because much of our sense of teenage well-being comes from self-reported surveys, when you ask questions in different ways, the answers vary enormously. Haidt likes to cite data collected as part of an international standardized test program called PISA, which adds a few questions about loneliness at school to its sections covering progress in math, science and reading, and has found a pattern of increasing loneliness over the past decade. But according to the World Happiness Report , life satisfaction among those ages 15 to 24 around the world has been improving pretty steadily since 2013, with more significant gains among women, as the smartphone completed its global takeover, with a slight dip during the first two years of the pandemic. An international review published in 2020, examining more than 900,000 adolescents in 36 countries, showed no change in life satisfaction between 2002 and 2018.

“It doesn’t look like there’s one big uniform thing happening to people’s mental health,” said Andrew Przybylski, a professor at Oxford. “In some particular places, there are some measures moving in the wrong direction. But if I had to describe the global trend over the last decade, I would say there is no uniform trend showing a global crisis, and, where things are getting worse for teenagers, no evidence that it is the result of the spread of technology.”

If Haidt is the public face of worry about teenagers and phones, Przybylski is probably the most prominent skeptic of the thesis. Others include Amy Orben, at the University of Cambridge, who in January told The Guardian, “I think the concern about phones as a singular entity are overblown”; Chris Ferguson, at Stetson University, who is about to publish a new meta-analysis showing no relationship between smartphone use and well-being; and Candice Odgers, of the University of California, Irvine, who published a much-debated review of Haidt in Nature, in which she declared “the book’s repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children’s brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness is not supported by science.”

Does that overstate the case? In a technical sense, I think, no: There may be some concerning changes in the underlying incidence of certain mood disorders among American teenagers over the past couple of decades, but they are hard to separate from changing methods of measuring and addressing mental health and mental illness. There isn’t great data on international trends in teenage suicide — but in those places with good reporting, the rates are generally not worsening — and the trends around anxiety, depression and well-being are ambiguous elsewhere in the world. And the association of those local increases with the rise of the smartphone, while now almost conventional wisdom among people like me, is, among specialists, very much a contested claim. Indeed, even Haidt, who has also emphasized broader changes to the culture of childhood , estimated that social media use is responsible for only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the variation in teenage well-being — which would be a significant correlation, given the complexities of adolescent life and of social science, but is also a much more measured estimate than you tend to see in headlines trumpeting the connection. And many others have arrived at much smaller estimates still.

But this all also raises the complicated question of what exactly we mean by “science,” in the context of social phenomena like these, and what standard of evidence we should be applying when asking whether something qualifies as a “crisis” or “emergency” and what we know about what may have caused it. There is a reason we rarely reduce broad social changes to monocausal explanations, whether we’re talking about the rapid decline of teenage pregnancy in the 2000s, or the spike in youth suicide in the late ’80s and early 1990s, or the rise in crime that began in the 1960s: Lives are far too complex to easily reduce to the influence of single factors, whether the factor is a recession or political conditions or, for that matter, climate breakdown.

To me, the number of places where rates of depression among teenagers are markedly on the rise is a legitimate cause for concern. But it is also worth remembering that, for instance, between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, diagnoses of American youth for bipolar disorder grew about 40-fold , and it is hard to find anyone who believes that change was a true reflection of underlying incidence. And when we find ourselves panicking over charts showing rapid increases in, say, the number of British girls who say they’re often unhappy or feel they are a failure, it’s worth keeping in mind that the charts were probably zoomed in to emphasize the spike, and the increase is only from about 5 percent of teenagers to about 10 percent in the first case, or from about 15 percent to about 20 percent in the second. It may also be the case, as Orben has emphasized , that smartphones and social media may be problematic for some teenagers without doing emotional damage to a majority of them. That’s not to say that in taking in the full scope of the problem, there is nothing there. But overall it is probably less than meets the eye.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Further reading (and listening):

On Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack , a series of admirable responses to critics of “The Anxious Generation” and the smartphone thesis by Haidt, his lead researcher Zach Rausch, and his sometime collaborator Jean Twenge.

In Vox, Eric Levitz weighs the body of evidence for and against the thesis.

Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie deliver a useful overview of the evidence and its limitations on the Studies Show podcast.

Five experts review the evidence for the smartphone hypothesis in The Guardian.

A Substack survey of “diagnostic inflation” and teenage mental health.