Is portraying oneself as mentally unstable a trend among some subcultures in the US?

Hello Reddit, I have been living and studying in the US for a couple of years now and, among many instances of culturally contrasting wonders, I have noticed that a lot of young people actively portray themselves in social media as victims of various mental illnesses. Depression, BPD, OCD, etc. In my observations, however, these young people tend to cling in particular subcultural groups and share numerous other characteristics in addition to their alleged mental suffering: style of clothing, hairstyles, music preference, artistic inclinations, left-wing/social justice political affiliations, and so on. I don't mean to be insensitive and undermine anyone's experience, however, coming from a country where people are actually faced with significant struggle for a comfortable life on a day-to-day basis, a lot of the complaints of these young people seem to me shallow and particularly narcissistic. In my anecdotal observations, these are white middle class kids that generally come from safe and relatively affluent family environments. In addition to the other subcultural trends they share in the presentation of their public personas, I can't help but skeptically ask: Is their experience of mental illness authentic, or is it a cry for attention? Is it just another product of the self-absorbed culture that is prevalent among some aspects of contemporary American society?

I'd like to hear your perspective on this issue so I can try to figure out if there's any rational basis for my observations or is it just the cultural difference talking.

Thank you.