The mental well-being of youth requires that they have early and continuing exposure to individuals (adults and peers) who recognize the empty attractions of self-indulgence and portray the attitudes and values of ethical, dependable interactions with others that foster their well-being and happiness. It is instinctive for humans to want to feel good and avoid pain and suffering. Cultures offer various roadmaps to happiness to which youth are exposed through families, peers, media (television, movies, celebrity lifestyles, commercials, etc.), and education. The most persuasive pathways to happiness for youth tend to foster self-indulgence through the pursuit of buying power, physical attractiveness, skills that draw applause and adulation, and positions of power and influence. Of less appeal is a roadmap to happiness that involves interaction with others in accordance with values that help individuals in need and build a community whose conditions foster the well-being of all its members. Self-indulgence leads to a pursuit of happiness that fractures community, fosters social isolation, and ultimately undermines the basic human need for commitment to and from others in a life of mutually beneficial social interaction. 28 references