I'm not sure, but as a 16 year old this sounded a lot like myself when I first started having depression around 12 or 13. I don't want to start a panic, but perhaps like the one above me has said try some online tests, research a little about teen depression:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm and see if you can set him up with a counselor to combat it.
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