MENTAL HEALTH IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: IMPACTS OF SOCIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Abstract

Introduction: Mental health has emerged as a major concern in contemporary society, especially given the transformations brought about by new forms of sociability, the intensification of digital technologies, and economic instability. Psychological suffering has become more visible and multifaceted, requiring analyses that articulate the social, cultural, and subjective aspects of illness. Objective: To analyze the impacts of social, economic, and technological relations on mental health in contemporary society. Methodology: This is a literature review developed based on the analysis of scientific articles published between 2018 and 2025, selected from SciELO, Google Scholar, and institutional journals. Only texts that addressed mental health from a critical, interdisciplinary, and contextualized perspective were included. The analysis was conducted based on interpretative reading and the identification of the main thematic categories. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that contemporary mental health is affected by factors such as the intensive use of social media, the medicalization of life, the precariousness of labor relations, digital exclusion, and the weakening of social safety nets. Young people are especially vulnerable, while neoliberal logic imposes a subjectivity focused on emotional performance, absolving the State of responsibility and intensifying individual suffering. On the other hand, institutional support practices, intersectoral public policies, and collective care strategies reveal promising paths. Conclusion: It is concluded that mental health must be treated as a social and collective right, requiring the coordination of critical, inclusive, and humane actions. Overcoming contemporary mental illness depends on integrated responses that are sensitive to the complexity of lived contexts.