Publication details
‘Snowflake’ temporalities: towards a critical understanding of mental health crises among young people
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | DISABILITY & SOCIETY |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2026.2710776 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2026.2710776 |
| Keywords | mental disability; mental distress; temporality; young people; chrononormativity; neurodiversity |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The proportion of young people experiencing mental health difficulties has been steadily rising over the past decade, with psychiatric hospitalisation rates increasing significantly in the 15–24 and 25–34 age groups (CZSO Citation2023). Situated in Czechia, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with individuals aged 20 to 28, with both diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions, to explore how young adults experience and conceptualise time during periods of diverse psychological distress. Drawing on decolonial theory and critical disability studies, I examine how dominant norms around education and career are internalised by young people. The findings show that ‘chrononormativity’ and ‘scarcity time’ were central to how participants understood their experiences. Further, the article reclaims the pejorative term ‘snowflake’ as a critical category to argue that growing mental distress among young people is not a problem of ‘weak generation,’ but a result of ‘correct’ and ‘timely’ ways of living in contemporary Euro-American societies. |
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