Many parents believe that being a teenager now is more challenging than it was 20 years ago, with social media being a significant factor.

At least one thing that teens and parents agree on is that kids faced less challenges 20 years ago compared to today.

According to Pew Research Center, 69% of parents with children aged 13 to 17 believe that growing up is more challenging today than it was in 2004, while 44% of individuals aged 13 to 17 share the same sentiment.

The reason why it is more challenging to navigate adolescence now compared to before is not entirely agreed upon. While parents attribute it to social media, kids believe it is due to "more pressures and expectations."

'The biggest effects of social media happened during puberty'

In his book "The Anxious Generation," NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that smartphones and social media have negatively impacted the mental health of teenagers born after 1995.

According to Zach Rausch, the lead researcher to Haidt and an associate research scientist at NYU-Stern School of Business, using a phone during puberty can have a particularly negative impact.

"During early puberty, ages 9 to 15, social media had the most significant effects, causing harm."

Conversations online don't typically result in in-person connections, which are vital to enhancing and maintaining happiness.

"Rausch argues that while we use social media to connect with others online, it is not enough to replace in-person meetings."

Young people's brain chemistry can be altered by extensive social media use, according to Haidt.

According to Haidt, adolescents going through puberty online are likely to experience more social comparison, self-consciousness, public shaming, and chronic anxiety than previous generations, which could potentially make their developing brains habitually defensive.

In his 2023 report, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy cautioned about the risks of social media alongside the dangers of loneliness and isolation.

"Murthy wrote that several harms of technology include displacing in-person engagement, monopolizing our attention, reducing the quality of our interactions, and diminishing our self-esteem, which can lead to greater loneliness, fear of missing out, conflict, and reduced social connection."

According to Pew Research Center, 41% of parents believe that social media is the reason it's harder to be a teen, while 26% attribute the difficulty to "technology in general."

'There aren't a lot of vehicles to build wealth'

More than one in four teens say that social media is the reason life is harder today, while 31% cite pressures and expectations as the main reason they feel strained.

Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of "Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic — and What We Can Do About It," informed CNBC Make It that kids are aware of their potential financial limitations compared to their parents.

The "encore effect" is still felt by them, as they feel the pressure to replicate their parents' success.

The student I interviewed asked his mother in 8th grade, 'If I wanted to be an architect, where would I live?' She replied, 'You can live anywhere.' However, he discovered through Zillow that he couldn't afford their current home.

Young people today face more challenges in building wealth through the housing market compared to their parents and grandparents.

According to a report from Redfin, the median price of a home in 2023 was $408,806. A person earning the median U.S. income, which is just under $80,000, would need to spend 41.4% of their earnings on monthly housing costs to afford that home.

Teens face complex issues that social media may not fully capture.

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