Gareth O'Callaghan: Cool in 1976, crushed in 2024 — where did teen joy go?

Despite Ireland’s academic excellence, one in three teenagers feel unhappy — and the digital age may be to blame

Young teenagers are now spending up to nine hours online every day — about the same time it takes to fly from Dublin to San Francisco.

American fiction writer Harlan Coben once said: “Make no mistake. Adolescence is a war. No one gets out unscathed.” 

Truer words were never spoken, I was reminded last week while reading the UN report from Unicef which finds that Irish teenagers are among the least happy in high-income countries despite leading the world in academic skills.