Financial Times Data Reporter John Burn-Murdoch to Host Interintellect Salons on Teen Mental Health and Global Fertility Decline

London, UK – John Burn-Murdoch, the acclaimed chief data reporter for the Financial Times, is set to host two public online salons with Interintellect, a platform dedicated to fostering in-depth intellectual discussions. The events, announced by Interintellect founder Anna Gát, will delve into critical societal issues, specifically the teen mental health crisis and the global fertility decline, leveraging Burn-Murdoch's extensive data-driven insights.

The first salon will focus on "measuring progress" through the lens of the escalating teen mental health crisis. Burn-Murdoch has extensively reported on this issue, highlighting a significant rise in mental health challenges among adolescents, particularly linked to ubiquitous smartphone use and social media engagement. His analysis often points to a stark increase in reported anxiety and depression, with data indicating that the more time teenagers, especially girls, spend on social media platforms, the worse their mental well-being. He has previously noted that while social media participation may seem voluntary, its pervasive nature makes it almost inescapable, contributing to increased isolation and decreased life satisfaction among young adults.

The second discussion, centered on "communicating data," will examine the global fertility crisis. Burn-Murdoch has frequently explored the plummeting birth rates worldwide, a phenomenon he and other experts, such as Dr. Alice Evans, attribute to a complex interplay of economic factors, cultural shifts, and the rise of single individuals. His work reveals that declining fertility poses significant economic challenges, including shrinking workforces, increased dependency ratios, and strain on public finances for pensions and healthcare. He has emphasized that while economic incentives like "baby bonuses" are often proposed, they are largely ineffective in reversing these deep-seated demographic trends, which are more fundamentally driven by changes in relationship formation and societal priorities.

Interintellect, founded by Anna Gát, aims to reinvent the traditional salon for the digital age, providing spaces for nuanced conversations on complex topics. Gát, a poet and entrepreneur, has built Interintellect as a community for intellectual engagement, emphasizing dialogue free from the polarization often found on mainstream social media. The upcoming salons with John Burn-Murdoch underscore Interintellect's commitment to addressing pressing global challenges through informed, data-driven discourse. The first part of the online and public series is scheduled for October 8.