By John MacPhee
As we enter 2026, young people are growing up in systems that are fragmenting, automating, and, in some cases, withdrawing human care. Technology is accelerating while human connection and social support erode. Social connection is increasingly mediated as in-person spaces disappear. Economic and policy instability collide with developmental needs for belonging, stability, and guidance.
At the same time, young people are navigating a broader climate of uncertainty and division, from global conflict and political polarization to fears about immigration enforcement and school safety — conditions that shape daily life and contribute to chronic stress, anxiety, and even dread.
This moment clarifies what matters most: Young people deserve stronger, more stable systems of support, and that belief must fuel our work forward. Although the challenges facing young people in 2026 are complex, we also acknowledge hope in the way young people remain resilient and how many people and systems are responding.
Digital Systems Are Optimized for Engagement, Not for Care
The speed and scale of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation far outpace the development of clinical safeguards, safety standards, and clear accountability. Much of this innovation is being driven by profit-maximizing, market-share-seeking corporations, making it clear that we cannot rely on industry self-regulation alone to protect young people. As a result, young people are increasingly exposed to systems that can shape emotional development, decision-making, and behavior without transparency, oversight, or meaningful recourse when harm occurs.
As highlighted in our Open Letter to the AI and Technology Industry, the impacts of AI are neither hypothetical nor distant. When AI is used not to support learning but to replace core acts of thinking and creating, it may narrow opportunities for creativity, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving, particularly for adolescents. More concerning emerging evidence suggests AI is already contributing to suicidal ideation and planning, underscoring the need for policymakers to require safety-by-design defaults and establish explicit boundaries around what AI can and can’t do. AI holds promise, such as supporting earlier detection of mental health concerns and expanding access to mental health services, but those benefits are only realized when innovation is explicitly paired with clinical oversight, rigorous safety standards, and clear lines of responsibility.
Child Mind Institute is one organization demonstrating what that approach can look like in practice, by developing trustworthy, youth-centered tools, such as the journaling app Mirror. Designed with safety at its core, the app detects warning signs of mental health distress and prompts users to reach out to a trusted adult and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. That model shows how AI, when built with intention, accountability, and care, can meaningfully support youth well-being rather than undermine it. Yet such tools are challenging to build, maintain, and market in a sector that is designed for profit.
Looking at the year ahead, the central question is not whether AI will continue to shape young people’s emotional lives but whether safeguards, standards, and accountability will be put in place quickly enough to protect them. Progress will depend on treating AI not simply as a promising new business innovation, but as a powerful system that influences youth development — one that demands the same level of clinical rigor, transparency, and responsibility as any other mental health intervention for children.
Public Systems of Support Are Shrinking as Needs Intensify
Crisis care remains a critical frontline resource for all youth, and the opportunity to strengthen youth-specific crisis response is especially urgent as suicide and suicide attempts among young people remain a serious concern. Yet in a time of greater need for mental health supports, we are seeing funding cuts that undermine the very systems we need to prevent suicide and protect the emotional health of teens and young adults.
For example, LGBTQ+ young people have greater suicide risk and mental health challenges than their peers, but their access to critical supports such as the LGBTQ+ suicide lifeline has been cut, underscoring the urgency of strengthening support systems rather than allowing recent gains to erode. The recent loss of federal funding highlights the need for stable funding streams to sustain this work.
As the largest payer of mental health services for children and adolescents, Medicaid is also undergoing significant shifts that are limiting young people’s access to health care. Changes to eligibility rules and procedural disenrollments have created instability for families, leaving many young people at risk of losing coverage during critical periods of need or with drastically increased premiums that are unaffordable for many families. Many states are expanding school-based Medicaid billing, enabling districts to seek reimbursement for a broader range of mental health services, but implementation remains uneven and administrative burdens continue to pose challenges for schools and providers.
Looking ahead, new opportunities are emerging through increased cross-agency collaboration, offering glimmers of hope for meeting the mental health needs of young people. The future of Medicaid’s role in supporting youth mental health will depend on whether policymakers strengthen enrollment access, streamline school-based reimbursement processes, and ensure consistent and affordable coverage for preventive and early intervention services that can meaningfully improve long-term outcomes.
Social and Economic Systems Are Limiting Pathways to Connection, Mentorship, and Purpose
Connection is built through environments that provide repeated, low-stakes opportunities for young people to belong, practice relationship skills, and build trust with peers and adults. Many young people are being asked to develop these skills in contexts that offer fewer shared spaces, fewer informal interactions, and fewer trusted adults.
Against that backdrop, it is not surprising that many young people are struggling to build and sustain connections. Social life is increasingly mediated through screens, and, for some, digital tools are filling gaps once occupied by peers, mentors, and community. Nearly half of Gen Z reports not having had a romantic relationship during their teenage years — a shift that may reduce certain risks, but also limits opportunities for closeness, vulnerability, and mutual support, all of which help build social emotional skills.
The consequences are especially visible among boys and young men, many of whom report feeling isolated and reluctant to seek help or confide in trusted adults. According to the latest Surgo Health report, more than three-quarters of young men struggling with their mental health don’t want to confide in their parents and more than half believe they don’t need professional help. That is particularly concerning, given that males are much more likely to die by suicide than females.
For many young people, early relationships are not only social, but also foundational to how they develop confidence, identity, and belonging. The workplace has traditionally been another key site for that development, one that is increasingly difficult for young people navigating the transition from school into early adulthood. AI-driven changes to hiring have accelerated automation and reduced opportunities in entry-level roles, narrowing traditional pathways into the workforce. With youth unemployment in recent months at some of the highest levels since 2021, these shifts carry serious implications for young adults seeking stability, purpose, and a foothold toward meaningful careers. These conditions can heighten anxiety, disrupt identity development, and limit access to the social connections that support emotional well-being.
When connection is optional or filtered through screens and algorithms, it’s easier for young people to slip into isolation and harder for anyone to notice when they’re struggling. Addressing that challenge will require deeper investment in schools, community-based organizations, mentorship programs, and peer leadership opportunities that serve as everyday relational hubs where young people can connect, be seen, and build supportive relationships long before they reach a point of crisis.
Looking Ahead With Hope
This year will be shaped by rapid technological change, shifting policy landscapes, economic uncertainty, and deepening social isolation. We remain optimistic, though, because across the country, youth are stepping into leadership roles, speaking out against stigma, advocating for mental health literacy, and helping shape solutions that reflect their lived experiences.
At the same time, states are collaborating more intentionally, sharing strategies and investing in innovative approaches to prevention, crisis response, and recovery. The Arizona State Department of Education, for example, collaborated with JED to develop a training course for school mental health professionals on how to recognize and respond to suicide risk. In Texas, seven school districts are participating in a new District Mental Health Initiative with the Texas Region 10 Education Service Center to strengthen districtwide approaches to youth mental health and build more coordinated, sustainable supports for students.
As federal resources remain uncertain, coordinated efforts like those demonstrate promise by ensuring that young people receive vital services and communities have support when they need it most.
At JED, we remain committed to meeting this moment with care, urgency, and collaboration. In 2026, our work will continue to center youth voices, mobilize communities, build coalitions, and strengthen school systems that make it easier for young people to access support, find connection, and build healthy futures. To deepen our impact, reach more young people, and strengthen the systems that support youth mental health and suicide prevention nationwide, we need the continued support of and collaboration with partners across programmatic, financial, and community sectors. Progress is possible when we respond to systems under strain with sustained, human-centered commitment.