• GSHS survey data reveal rising loneliness, depression, risk-taking among adolescent boys
• While girls report higher emotional distress, boys increasingly express strain through violence, substance use, school disengagement
• Substance abuse, physical fights emerge as warning signs of deeper, unaddressed struggles
• Families, schools must rethink discipline and support systems 

“It’s crazy what your brain tells you to do when you’re a kid.” 

The line, delivered in Netflix’s 2025 drama ‘Adolescence,’ captures the turbulence of boyhood in an era shaped by digital influence and emotional isolation. The four-part, single-take series follows 13-year-old Jamie, who commits a violent crime, and examines the fraught intersection of teenage boys’ mental health, toxic masculinity, and online radicalisation.

Since its release, the drama has sparked global discussion about the long-neglected psychological struggles of adolescent boys, conversations that echo far beyond the screen. Sri Lanka is no exception. 

Sri Lanka’s adolescent mental health indicators have deteriorated sharply over the past eight years, with new data pointing to a generation grappling with loneliness, anxiety, depression, and escalating risk behaviours. While emotional distress among girls often receives attention, experts caution that teenage boys are facing a parallel and, in some cases, masked crisis. 

The Sri Lanka Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), conducted among students in Grades 8–12 in 2024, reveals significant increases across nearly every major mental health indicator when compared with 2016 figures. 

The percentage of students reporting that they had no close friends rose from 5.6% in 2016 to 7.5% in 2024. Feelings of loneliness more than doubled during the same period, with 22.4% of students reporting that they felt lonely in the preceding 12 months, compared to 9% in 2016. 

Sleep disturbances linked to anxiety increased from 4.6% to 11.9%, while 18% of students reported symptoms of depression, with a particularly alarming rate of 26.3% among 16–17-year-olds. 

Suicidal ideation rose from 9.4% in 2016 to 15.4% in 2024, while reported suicide attempts increased from 6.8% to 9.1%. More than one-third of students, 36.2%, reported experiencing severe psychological distress. Despite this, only 2.1% had sought support from adolescent health clinics. The data reveal a widening disconnect between distress and help-seeking behaviour.

High-risk behaviour of boys as hidden distress

Gender-disaggregated findings show sharply diverging patterns between boys and girls. While girls report higher levels of emotional distress and suicide attempts, boys demonstrate significantly higher levels of behavioural risk, often masking underlying psychological strain. 

Substance use and abuse is markedly higher among boys. Current alcohol use stands at 8.3% among boys compared to 2.4% among girls. Cigarette smoking is reported by 10.6% of boys and just 1% of girls. Electronic cigarette use is four times higher among boys. Lifetime cannabis use among boys is nearly eight times higher than among girls. Amphetamine and methamphetamine use also remains disproportionately higher among male students. 

Exposure to violence further compounds risk. More than half of boys, 51.3%, reported involvement in a physical fight in the past year, compared to 18.1% of girls. Serious injuries were reported by 56.5% of boys and 35.5% of girls. While bullying rates appear similar across genders, boys’ higher engagement in violent encounters signals patterns of externalised coping. 

Parental supervision gaps are also more pronounced among boys. A higher percentage reported that parents rarely understood their worries or knew how they spent their free time. Boys were also slightly more likely to miss school without permission. Experts argue that such behavioural indicators cannot be viewed in isolation from mental health.

Academic stress and maladaptive coping

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Senior Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Kapila Ranasinghe noted that while adolescence had always been a vulnerable developmental stage, contemporary social conditions had intensified its challenges. 

“Many adolescents today are growing up under intense academic pressure, high expectations, and rapidly changing social environments,” he said. “It is not uncommon for teenagers to feel overwhelmed, constantly stressed, or experience panic and anxiety.” 

He cautioned that emotional struggles were frequently dismissed as temporary phases. When stress accumulates without adequate coping skills, adolescents may seek relief through alcohol, cigarettes, or narcotics. 

Children who were unable to withstand school-related pressure were particularly vulnerable to substance use, he observed. Once dependency develops, mental health conditions can worsen significantly, increasing the risk of depression, psychotic disorders, personality disturbances, and long-term psychosocial impairment. “These issues are often minimised until they become severe,” he said, stressing that early recognition and supportive intervention were critical.

Identity, masculinity and the ‘visibility trap’

Psychosocial occupational therapist and University of Kelaniya (UOK) Lecturer Pradeep Chandana Gunarathne frames the mental health struggles of teenage boys within the broader context of identity formation. “Adolescence is fundamentally a psychologically unstable phase as children transition into adulthood,” he explained. “For boys, identity-building often becomes tied to proving masculinity.” 

He described what he termed a ‘visibility mentality,’ where teenage boys feel compelled to demonstrate that they are powerful or significant. In communities where informal power structures, including illicit figures, command respect, adolescents may equate notoriety with authority. “If the most ‘respected’ figure in their area is an illegal liquor dealer, they may internalise that as acceptable power,” he noted. 

The digital environment has amplified these identity struggles. Short-form content consumption has shortened attention spans and increased impulsivity, according to Gunarathne. When combined with adolescent vulnerability, this can result in risk-taking behaviours driven by instant gratification. 

“Because of reduced focus and heightened impulsivity, if something comes to mind, they want it immediately,” he said. “That makes them more susceptible to exploitation, misinformation, and unhealthy influences. Technology has become the primary platform for identity building, but it brings new psychological risks. The consumption of short-form content, such as reels, has contributed to shorter attention spans. This lack of focus translates into real-world behaviour. 

“This impulsivity, combined with the inherent vulnerability of being a child, makes them easy targets for victimisation. Through social media and mobile phones, boys are increasingly exposed to abuse and exploitation.”

A shrinking social world

Gunarathne also highlighted structural shifts in Sri Lankan society over the past several years. Since 2019, a succession of crises, including the Easter Sunday attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic downturn, have reduced opportunities for outdoor social engagement. 

The decline of recreational spaces and community interaction has forced many adolescents into digital spaces as primary social environments. Reduced physical socialisation, he argued, had significant implications for emotional development, peer bonding, and resilience-building. “Children have fewer safe, physical spaces to interact. That affects their social skills and emotional regulation,” he said. 

Both experts emphasised that addressing teenage boys’ mental health required structural reform rather than isolated interventions. Schools, Gunarathne pointed out, must move beyond narrow academic performance metrics. Compulsory engagement in sports, clubs, and extracurricular activities fosters teamwork, leadership, and emotional regulation. Character development, he said, could not remain secondary to examination results. 

To counter these trends, Gunarathne argued that the school system must move beyond being a mere ‘token’ of education. Currently, teachers promote only book education, but the focus should shift towards building character through compulsory participation in sports or clubs. These environments are essential for developing leadership, teamwork, and emotional regulation, while also normalising healthy interactions with the opposite sex. 

Crucially, the method of guidance must change. For creative or rebellious children, Gunarathne advised: “The best way is to navigate it, not restrict it. Even if a behaviour is against the rules, adults should find ways to channel that energy rather than shutting it down.” 

He also stressed that disciplinary approaches must evolve. “You cannot raise teenagers through fear or physical punishment,” he said. Authoritarian models create emotional distance, reducing the likelihood that boys will share vulnerabilities. 

Instead of suppressing rebellious behaviour, adults should guide and redirect it constructively. Structured networks such as scouting, cadet programmes, and sports clubs provide safe spaces where boys can share emotions without stigma.

A global and long-term concern

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally, one in seven adolescents aged 10–19 experiences a mental disorder. Depression, anxiety, and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability in this age group. Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29. 

Unaddressed adolescent mental health conditions frequently persist into adulthood, limiting educational attainment, economic productivity, and social integration. 

Sri Lanka’s rising indicators suggest that teenage boys, in particular, may be expressing distress through high-risk behaviours rather than overt emotional disclosure. Experts caution that aggression, substance use, and school disengagement often mask deeper psychological strain. 

“Because boys are often shy about vulnerability, they are prone to bringing misinformation (particularly regarding sexuality) back to their peer groups from unreliable sources. Proper sexual education and involvement in structured networks like scouting, cadeting, or sports clubs are vital because they provide safe spaces where boys can share emotions and talk about vulnerabilities.

“Ultimately, the best support system is the family. Adolescence brings physical and psychological changes that can manifest as aggression or anger. Rather than reacting with judgement, parents must remain close. Instead of criticising them for how they have changed, they need to be understood,” Gunarathne said. 

At the end of ‘Adolescence,’ Jamie’s father, Eddie, is seen hugging a stuffed animal on his son’s bed, weeping as he whispers, “I’m sorry, son. I should have done better.” 

“He was in his room, wasn’t he? We thought he was safe, didn’t we? What harm could he do in there? We thought we were doing the right thing.” Eddie’s anguish should not belong to fictional parents alone. It is a question for families, schools, communities, and policymakers alike. 

If the warning signs before us are ignored, those words, “we should have done better” may one day be spoken not on screen, but in real life, when it is already too late.