A study of 4,767,840 pediatric hospitalizations by researchers at Dartmouth reveals a substantial increase in children hospitalized due to suicidal or self-harming behavior between 2009 and 2019. Mental health hospitalizations rose by 25.8%, costing $1.37 billion, with suicidal behavior accounting for 64.2% of pediatric mental health hospitalizations in 2019, up from 30.7% in 2009. The study highlights the inadequacies in the US healthcare system for addressing this issue, with clinicians, crisis interventions, and insurers falling short. Factors contributing to these trends include growing social media use among children and adolescents, which has been linked to increased depression symptoms. Experts call for more mental health care services in schools and community settings to reduce hospitalizations and address the central role hospitals now play as mental health providers....