Academic Pressure, Social Media & Anxiety: What Pakistani Students Face in 2025

Introduction

In 2025, the mental health of students in Pakistan has become a pressing issue—no longer whispered about in private, but increasingly acknowledged in public discourse. The convergence of relentless academic pressure, omnipresent social media, and cultural silence around emotional well-being is creating a silent crisis among the youth. From bustling urban campuses to rural high schools, students are battling rising levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout—often without the tools or support to cope.

The problem is multi-faceted. On one side, there is an education system that glorifies grades over growth, demanding excellence at the cost of well-being. On the other, there’s a digital world where curated lives and online validation amplify self-doubt and comparison. Pakistani students, trying to navigate these dual forces, often find themselves overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted.

While global studies have long discussed the impact of screen time and academic stress, local data is catching up—and it paints a sobering picture. Studies from institutions like the Aga Khan University and Punjab University reveal rising levels of stress-related disorders, with little institutional infrastructure to address them. Meanwhile, cultural stigmas surrounding mental health make it harder for students to seek help.

This blog dives into the emotional landscape of Pakistani students in 2025. We’ll explore how academic and digital pressures intersect, the signs of distress students face, and what can be done to promote balance and well-being. Because understanding the problem is the first step toward healing—and every student deserves not just education, but mental peace.

The Weight of Academic Expectations in Pakistan

Societal and Parental Pressure to Succeed Academically

In Pakistani society, academic success is often equated with future security, family pride, and personal worth. From a young age, students are taught that good grades are the key to a better life. While encouragement is natural, the pressure to excel academically at all costs has created a toxic culture of perfectionism. Parents, often motivated by love and concern, may unknowingly impose unrealistic expectations, pushing children into study routines that leave little room for recreation or rest.

The emphasis on conventional professions—medicine, engineering, law—limits students' freedom to pursue their interests. Many suppress their passions in fear of disappointing their families or being labeled failures. This social conditioning not only builds stress but chips away at self-confidence and emotional resilience.

School Systems, Grading Obsession, and Lack of Holistic Learning

Pakistan’s education system remains heavily focused on rote memorization, standardized testing, and rigid grading scales. Creativity, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving often take a backseat. Schools and coaching centers foster a “result-only” mindset, where marks matter more than learning or personal development.

Students spend countless hours cramming textbooks, driven not by curiosity but by fear—of low grades, public shame, or not making the cut. This system, while producing top scorers, often fails to nurture mentally healthy individuals. The lack of mental health education and emotional support in schools further exacerbates the issue.

Competitive Entrance Exams and Limited University Slots

The stakes get even higher after secondary education. Competitive entrance exams like MDCAT, ECAT, and SAT dictate a student’s future in just a few hours. With limited seats at top universities and thousands of aspirants, the pressure to perform is immense. Failure to gain admission—even by a few marks—can result in severe emotional distress, especially when students tie their self-worth to academic outcomes.

This high-pressure environment leaves students burnt out before they even reach university. It also fuels a coaching industry that thrives on fear, adding financial strain and more hours of study to already overburdened teens.

Social Media – A Double-Edged Sword for Youth

FOMO, Cyberbullying, and Comparison Culture

While social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat offer creative expression and connectivity, they also create toxic environments of comparison and validation-seeking. Students are constantly exposed to curated, filtered glimpses of others’ lives—academic achievements, physical appearances, lifestyles—which breeds FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and low self-esteem.

In Pakistan, where societal pressures already weigh heavy, the added comparison to peers online—especially influencers or students abroad—can be mentally exhausting. Worse, cyberbullying is on the rise, with students often being targeted for their appearance, academic choices, or even opinions. The anonymity of online platforms emboldens harassment, while schools and parents remain ill-equipped to respond.

Sleep Disruption and Attention Fragmentation

The compulsive nature of social media leads many students into doom-scrolling late into the night, disrupting sleep cycles. Lack of sleep directly impacts cognitive function, memory retention, and emotional regulation—creating a vicious cycle of poor academic performance and heightened stress.

Furthermore, the constant stream of notifications and multitasking—switching between study tabs and social feeds—weakens attention span and deep focus. This “digital multitasking” often gives the illusion of productivity while eroding the ability to engage in meaningful, concentrated learning.

Academic Performance vs Screen Time – What Research Says

Multiple studies, including those conducted by local institutions like LUMS and Aga Khan University, show a clear correlation between excessive screen time and lower academic performance, along with increased signs of anxiety and depression. A 2024 report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics noted that students who spend over 3 hours daily on non-academic screen activities reported higher levels of restlessness, social withdrawal, and sleep disturbances.

Yet, social media isn’t inherently harmful. When used mindfully—for educational groups, mental health awareness, or peer support—it can be a powerful tool. The challenge is striking a balance between connection and control, especially for impressionable youth navigating both online and academic pressures.

The Mental Health Crisis – From Stigma to Support

Anxiety, Depression, and Isolation in Student Life

In 2025, anxiety and depression are alarmingly common among Pakistani students—yet still rarely talked about openly. Academic overload, social expectations, and the relentless digital environment converge to create overwhelming stress. Many students report symptoms of chronic fatigue, irritability, panic attacks, and feelings of worthlessness, often without even realizing they are dealing with mental health disorders.

Sadly, the stigma around mental health in Pakistan persists. Emotional distress is frequently dismissed as laziness or over-sensitivity, especially among boys, due to harmful notions of masculinity. This cultural silence forces many to suffer in isolation, afraid to confide in teachers, parents, or even friends.

Mental Health Services in Schools and Universities (or Lack Thereof)

Despite growing awareness, the infrastructure to support student mental health remains critically underdeveloped. Very few schools and universities have trained counselors, wellness programs, or mental health education embedded in their curriculum. Where services do exist, they’re often underutilized due to mistrust, poor awareness, or fear of judgment.

Public institutions are particularly unequipped, lacking both budget and trained personnel. Most mental health support is outsourced, inconsistent, or reactive rather than preventive. Without a supportive environment, students are left to navigate their emotional struggles alone, often turning to unverified online advice or unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Positive Practices – Mindfulness, Digital Detox, Campus Counseling

There is hope, however. A growing number of private universities and youth NGOs are introducing mindfulness workshops, peer support groups, and digital detox challenges. These initiatives encourage students to unplug, reflect, and re-center—building emotional intelligence alongside academic skills.

Campus counseling centers, where available, are beginning to offer confidential, student-focused services. Apps like Calm, Headspace, and even local tools like Marham are also gaining popularity for their easy, stigma-free access to emotional support.

What’s needed now is systemic change: schools integrating mental health awareness into the syllabus, government funding for university counselors, and national campaigns to de-stigmatize therapy. Because without mental well-being, academic success is incomplete.

Conclusion

As Pakistani students navigate 2025, they find themselves balancing a complex trio of pressures: the intense demands of academic achievement, the psychological grip of social media, and the growing but under-addressed burden of anxiety and emotional fatigue. This convergence isn’t just a personal challenge—it’s a public health and education crisis that requires urgent attention.

Academic pressure is ingrained in our culture, often celebrated as ambition and discipline. But when it becomes overwhelming, it can strip students of joy, self-worth, and curiosity. Similarly, while social media has opened doors for connection and creativity, its darker side—comparison, cyberbullying, and constant distraction—is quietly corroding the mental resilience of an entire generation.

The result? Rising rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout among students—many of whom lack access to mental health support or feel too ashamed to seek it. And yet, the problem is not insurmountable.

This is a call to action—for parents to offer empathy over expectations, for educators to prioritize well-being alongside grades, and for policymakers to integrate mental health into the fabric of education. Students too must be encouraged to unplug, speak up, and seek help when needed.

Because a nation cannot thrive when its youth are struggling silently. The future of education in Pakistan must not only produce scholars—it must nurture humans who are mentally strong, emotionally aware, and holistically healthy.