health
Book excerpt: "The Meaning of Your Life" by Arthur C. Brooks
March 20, 2026 / 11:04 AM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- Arthur C. Brooks' book "The Meaning of Your Life" addresses a cultural crisis of meaning and a rise in anxiety and depression.
- Student mental health has significantly declined, with many receiving treatment for depression and anxiety.
- Rates of depression and anxiety have nearly tripled and doubled, respectively, among American adolescents from 2005 to 2019.
- The percentage of American adults reporting they are "not too happy" with their lives has more than doubled since 2000.
- Brooks describes the phenomenon as a "psychogenic epidemic" with social or psychological, not biological, causes.
- He dismisses generational scapegoating and popular explanations like economic hardship or entitlement.
- Research indicates a strong correlation between social media use and emotional problems.
- The overuse of technology is seen as a coping mechanism for an underlying absence of meaning, hope, opportunity, or love.