I was born in 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed, an event that was unimaginable until it suddenly happened. Change comes quickly and life comes at us fast.

My generation experienced one of the greatest periods of transition in human history with the rise of computer technology and the internet. I was, however, born just in time to experience life without the incredible inventions we now enjoy and had no mobile phone at all until I was a teenager. When I finally did get a mobile phone, it was the early Nokia model and playing the game Snake on it seemed like the coolest thing in the world.

I was lucky not to have social media until later on in life because it is now recognised what brain-altering and addictive effects it can have on younger children. We live in a world unlike anything my grandparents could have imagined, all of them able to remember life before World War II.

Studies today show the negative consequences of overcrowding on people’s mental health but the fact that Malta has become so suffocating over the past decade in particular is, of course, only one of many dramatic changes our island home is experiencing. Since independence, overdevelopment of our home has been constant and devastating for our heritage and our environment.

While corner shops and vegetable trucks have survived in an economy of supermarkets, it was recently announced that Italian discount giant Eurospin plans to open 12 new supermarkets in Malta. With foreign businesses experiencing a preferential tax rate, one wonders what the future holds for our smaller businesses and for our farmers.

Our rapidly-changing home is on course to being transformed entirely. I, therefore, wonder what is the effect on our mental health having to witness a country we love becoming unrecognisable?

People get value out of life from a sense of purpose and social connection. We create meaning for ourselves in relation to our context and our environment. Many of us feel a sense of purpose from our heritage, our culture and our traditions. What is the effect on our mental health when we feel that nothing of what we are, or who we are, is going to survive the pace of change hitting the world? Here I am not only referring to globalisation but also to the environmental devastation brought on by climate change and greed.

Our communities are disintegrating in favour of convenience

Many people across the Western world are deciding not to have any children at all, believing there is no future for their children in the world we are creatingfor ourselves.

One of the things which got us into this terrible, global mess is the blind faith in the idea of ‘progress’, rarely questioning what this actually means or where it is taking us.

Another pillar of the modern faith is the idea of endless ‘growth’, propped up by statistics, GDP and numbers in general, which, ultimately, do not always translate into a better quality of life. We may have more money in our pockets but the fruit and vegetables we buy are now contaminated with more pesticides and do not have the same quality taste. We do not buy them from farmers we know and our shops do not offer a personalised, friendly service.

Our communities are disintegrating in favour of convenience.

Although I accepted this direction of ‘progress’ as an unavoidable fact when I was younger, it was only because I did not know about the negative consequences I am only now becoming aware of.

What we are suffering is a global system that is proving to be fundamentally destructive because it has not grown in harmony with our natural environment. Our children are growing addicted to devices which our evolution has not prepared us for. Of course, we will adapt our societies and our habits to these new technologies and we will learn to adapt and use them responsibly and healthily. However, the problem is the pace of change.

I am not arguing against technology, progress or economic growth. I am saying the world has changed too quickly for us to keep up with it. We have not yet taught ourselves moderation and have not planned our economies or societies with wisdom. The ultimate evidence that this is a fundamental truth is the potential destruction of our natural environment.

We are objectively on course for a world which will not be able to sustain our current population figures. There is no argument or ideology that can hide us from the fact that our civilisation has become unsustainable. The longer we delay deep structural reform, the more costly it will be to save ourselves further down the line.

Generations ago, planning for climate change would have been cheap. As we continue to delay, the cost becomes ever greater. As always, the cost of doing nothing is far greater than making sacrifices now.

Yet, as individuals we were raised to understand that the world is difficult, that sacrifices are necessary and that we must maintain good relations with our neighbours and our families.

We need to tighten our belts, accept that economic growth cannot be an endless race and that our survival, quality of life and happiness cannot be measured by economic standards alone.

The alternative is staring us in the face and it is ugly. If humanity has been able to endure the hardships of disease and wars before, we can endure the difficulty of a diet now to prevent collapse later on.

Timothy Alden is deputy leader of the Democratic Party.