Life online is a choking, oppressive smog. Teenagers need a place they can breathe
A new study shows more than half of teens spend their free time in their bedroom. But we are offering them nothing away from their screens
O n the rack of magazines by the supermarket tills, I’m always brought up short by Teen Breathe magazine. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great – well-designed and full of positive, interesting features. But I’m always momentarily incredulous: teenagers need to be reminded to breathe, spend time in nature, journal or mindfully colour mandalas? How did we get here – shouldn’t they be getting their heads stuck in swings or setting fire to bins?
It’s stupid, because of course teenagers need all the help they can get. We are, as a data-heavy transatlantic dossier in the Financial Times explored recently, in a teen mental health crisis. The report highlighted a marked rise in depressive symptoms, worry, negative feelings about life and poor self-image. Meanwhile, a UK report last week showed a 22% increase in self-harm hospital admissions in 8- to 17-year-olds.
The decline in teen mental health dates from 2010-12, when smartphones and social media became broadly ubiquitous, so is it that simple? For a thoughtful, expert look at how far correlation is likely to mean causation, I read psychologist Jacqueline Nesi, who has researched the topic extensively. Nesi does believe social media is likely to be a significant factor, but points out both how varied social media use is (it’s the place you find support and connection, too, after all) and how multifaceted any explanation of this kind of large-scale crisis needs to be.
