Soffia Farmer

Topic Research – ‘are there more pressures on teenagers now than there used to be?’

According to the metro online newspaper, the main areas that teenagers have pressures from are:

Huge expectations Hormones and puberty Bullying Parents Love Independence and privacy Proms Identity Being tarred with the same brush

http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/11/being-a-teenager-is-the-worst-time-of-your-life-and-heres-why-5290970/

From this source, we can identify the main issues that teenagers face. From this, we can understand the issues that we can explore in our documentary alongside the daily stresses. Some of these were surprising as it is not one that we thought was a main area, including ‘being tarred with the same brush’. We intend to explore the huge expectations that teenagers face as this is one of the biggest main issues. The metro is a newspaper that is free newspaper in a tabloid format that gets distributed in the United Kingdom and therefore is a reliable source but is also not a fact, and we have to take this into consideration. We will be able to use this information, but as it is not a fact we can say ‘according to the Metro online’ for example.

In 2014, figures were published suggesting a 70% increase in 10-14 year olds attending A&E for self-harm related reasons over the preceding 2 years.

https://www.selfharm.co.uk/get/facts/self-harm_statistics

This figure is from the self-harm website, I thought this was a good fact to use as it shows the changes that have occurred over the two years in teenagers self-harming. From this we can understand that teenagers are getting unhappier throughout time and this therefore leads to the increase in hospital A&E trips. We may decide to use this in our documentary to show how the stresses and pressures that teenagers are under can lead to devastating consequences. This, however may be a bit bold and harsh for our documentary aimed at teenagers, but this would show the true reality of life for some teenagers. Also, a 70% increase in 10-14 year olds suggests that life has gotten harder over the last 2 years, this may be due to the increase in social media.

There has been a big increase in the number of young people being admitted to hospital because of self harm. Over the last ten years this figure has increased by 68% (3)

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http://www.youngminds.org.uk/training_services/policy/mental_health_statistics

I have added another source which tells us roughly the same information. From this, we can gather that the information written is correct, as it has come from two different sources. In our documentary, we only want to use correct information in order for us to portray the right message. The facts and figures that we use will have to be accurate as this is what a real documentary would have to research and figure out. This statistic is from the young minds organisation, so therefore this is quite a reliable source.

Eating disorders affect about 12 per cent; there’s been a 68 per cent increase in self-harm in the past ten years — and girls are now drinking more than boys. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2293348/Teenage-girls-heading-emotional-meltdown-pressure-sexually-active-excel-academically.html#ixzz4Ko5eHynW

This source identifies the other issues that can affect teenager’s metal issues. Here we can see that eating disorders affect around 12% of teenagers. This is a huge amount of people who suffer with this disorder, this may be due to the increase in social media popularity. This source also confirms that there is a 70% increase in the past 10 years however in the second source we used, this says it will be a 70% increase in the next 2 years. However, we can still use this as it suggests that there is still an increase. However, this is from an article on the Daily Mail, it is not a proper website, but we can see that they would be unable to produce facts in their article that were not the truth. Therefore, this helps us to make sure that our information is correct.

According to the telegraph online newspaper, the number of 15 year old suffering with anxiety and depression has increased by 70% since the mid 1980’s.

Experts say the rise in anxiety levels, and a decline in mental health, cannot be explained by soaring divorce rates because comparable increases were found in all types of family and across social classes.

The research was conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and the University of Manchester and looked at three generations of 15-year-olds, in 1974, 1986 and 1999, based on their parents' assessments.It does not provide answers but suggests that the transition to secondary school might be becoming more demanding while expectations of academic achievement had risen.It also points to the imbalance in time spent on school work compared to leisure activities, with many children having few out-of-school pursuits. Family members also spend little time together, while drugs and alcohol are increasingly available to today's adolescents.

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Ann Hagell, editor of the Journal of Adolescence, said anticipation of the future was distressing for many teenagers. "Add to that the reduction of employment levels of graduates, and at 15 or 16 there's a real struggle ahead for five years over debt," she said. "We have high expectations of independence for our teenagers without giving them the means to achieve that."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1471689/How-the-pressure-to-succeed-is-creating-a-generation-of-unruly-depressed-teenagers.html

This source tells us that the amount of 15 years olds suffering with anxiety and depression has increased by 70% since the mid 1980’s, so for around approximately 25/26 years. This helps us to answer the question that our documentary is on. From this, we can identify the key reasons as to why today’s teenagers are the most stressed generation. Over the past 25 years, so from around the age that our parents were teenagers. This links us directly to our title of our documentary and this will be a vital figure that we can use as a statistic. This is from an online newspaper

Students are stressing out more than ever over their education.  The competition to get into college has significantly intensified over the years.  Students will put themselves through countless hours of extra-curricular activities and studying for Advanced Placement and honors classes to ensure a jumpstart for their futures.  According to Center on the Developing Child, stress and sleep-deprivation disrupt the development of the brain and cause cognitive impairment, which will ultimately impact adulthood.

http://chscourier.com/opinions/2014/03/06/pressures-to-be-succeed-are-far-greater-for-teens-today-than-they-were-for-past-generations/

This source shows the implications education can have on teenagers, this also tells us that students will put themselves through more things now, which will then benefit them further along the line in their careers. If ore students are doing this now, then there will be more competition, leading to further stress. Stresses as a teenager will lead to problems in adulthood, which isn’t good for any person.

Rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70 per cent in the past 25 years. The number of children and young people turning up in A&E with a psychiatric condition has more than doubled since 2009 and, in the past three years, hospital admissions for teenagers with eating disorders have also almost doubled. In a 2016 survey for Parent Zone, 93 per cent of teachers reported seeing increased rates of mental illness among children and teenagers and 90 per cent thought the issues were getting more severe, with 62 per cent dealing with a pupil's mental-health problem at least once a month and an additional 20 per cent doing so on a weekly or even daily basis.

We are educating young people for a world that is unlikely to exist in 20 years' time and, arguably, not equipping them with the skills they need for the one that will. And then there's the internet, which has grown up at the same time as the

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explosion in teen mental illness, and is often seen as part of the problem, with cyberbullying and worries about body image (created partly by selfie culture) often cited as triggers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/teenage-mental-health-crisis-rates-of-depression-have-soared-in-the-past-25-years-a6894676.html

This source also confirms the 70% increase in rates of depression and anxiety amongst teenagers. As so many sources are saying this, it is a reliable fact that we will definitely try to use in our documentary. Things are becoming so bad for some people that teenagers are noticing changes within students regarding mental health. Students won’t even be able to prepare for stresses to come as they are so focused on now, and won’t have the skills to help them in the future. This is also from the independent online newspaper so this is more of an article style text.

It is estimated that more than 230,000 students will miss out on university this year as the rush to escape the higher tuition fees generates record demand for places. In 2010/2011 YoungMinds received 6332 calls to the helpline, 884 calls were about 16-17 year olds and, of those, 39% were about school problems including exam stress.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8720513/GCSEs-Pressure-of-exams-leaves-teens-suffering-from-mental-illness.html

We can see from this that the tuition fees rising will lead to more people applying to university, but also more people missing out on university, which would affect their career choices and what they are going to do without going to university to get a degree.

Among 10 to 15-year-old girls, the charity's report says 14% are unhappy with their lives as a whole, and 34% with their appearance.Researchers were told of girls feeling ugly or worthless.The figures for England, Wales and Scotland for 2013-14 represent a sharp rise in unhappiness on five years before.By contrast the study found that boys' sense of happiness remained stable.

Children's Society and University of York researchers examined responses on the wellbeing of 10 to 15-year-olds.They found that between 2009-10 and 2013-14 on average 11% of both boys and girls said they were unhappy.But the latest available figures, for 2013-14, showed the proportion of girls saying they were unhappy had risen to 14%.It follows research recently published by the Department for Education which showed the mental well-being of teenage girls in England has worsened, compared with their counterparts in 2005.The study highlighted the growing pressure of social media and suggested that a

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tough economic climate had created a more "serious" generation of young people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37223063

We can see from this source, that girls especially, are unhappy with their lives and that mental health of teenage girls in England has deteriorated. One of the points that is highlighted here is the tough economic climate and that teenagers are having to work harder for things than perhaps in previous generations. This source is from the BBC, meaning that it is impartial in terms of their opinion as that is part of who they are. From this, we can mostly gather facts about the well-being of children.

Then there are extra stresses that weren’t around years ago: social media issues, including online bullying, so that bullying is no longer confined to school, which was bad enough, but persists day and night and is horrifically more public; relentlessly repeated multi-media exposure to stories of tragedy and danger; greater availability of strong alcohol; more exams and greater perceived need to excel; greater pressure to conform to “perfect” body shapes, as prescribed by “celebrity” culture; pressure to go to university or be regarded as a lesser mortal; a highly materialistic and aspirational culture; real fears about the environment; and an extremely difficult economic climate which makes their futures very uncertain. The teenager who can rise above all this is remarkable indeed. And that’s before we even consider those with horrendously difficult home lives, often lacking support and hope.I’m not saying everything is harder today. Teenagers often have more money, more opportunities and more flexible ambitions than in previous generations. Many teenagers in previous generations had to earn their own living early and life was enormously hard for many - as for many today, who may be caring for a parent (there are an estimated 700,000 young carers in the UK, many of whom are at school) or dealing with a challenging home situation, or no home situation. Besides, we may not have called it “stress” but the condition or symptoms certainly existed. I don’t believe adolescence was a breeze for any generation. In the old days, stress was left to fester, or was medicated. That’s nothing to be proud of.I’m just saying: don’t ignore the stresses facing modern teenagers. Stress need not be a medical issue; it becomes one when we ignore symptoms, risking them developing into mental illness. Don’t indulge in the smug “I survived - so can you” approach. Not everyone does survive, actually.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nicola-morgan/teenage-stress-mental-health_b_3245464.html

From this, we can see that there are extra stresses and pressures on teenagers due to things that are around now that weren’t around before, such as social media, online bullying for example. The previous generation would not have had

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this issue and may not understand now. Education isn’t just the main stress amongst teenagers, there is also being a young carer, social media pressures, looking good, alcohol etc and this helps our argument that there are more stresses on teenagers now than before. This is from an article for the Huffington post, known to be an entertaining website.

In the UK, anxiety disorders are estimated to affect 5-19% of all children and adolescents

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anxiety-children/Pages/Introduction.aspx

This source tells us how stress can affect teenagers and children in other ways rather than mentally, it can also have effects on their eating and mentality towards food. This is from the NHS, therefore the sources will be reliable as it is a public health organisation and it deals with health of all ages and will have access to this information.

Anxiety problems affect some 300,000 children and adolescents in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29954970

This is a clear statistic that tells us the amount of children in the UK suffering from anxiety issues, this is also from the BBC and therefore will be a reliable source to use.

Among the girls, 37% reported feeling unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate, more than twice the percentage of boys reporting such feelings, a rise since a study in 2005, which was described by the researchers as “an important and significant trend”. The figure for the girls had risen by nearly four percentage points since 2005, while the figure for boys, 15%, had fallen slightly.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/22/third-teenage-girls-depression-anxiety-survey-trend-truant

This figure is from the guardian, so is likely to be reliable, also is shows the level of unhappiness that is affecting young girls everywhere. We can use this in our documentary and then demonstrate how education and social media etc. and add this to our argument of the documentary.

Among the girls, 37% reported feeling unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate, more than twice the percentage of boys reporting such feelings, a rise since a study in 2005, which was described by the researchers as “an important and significant trend”. The figure for the girls had risen by nearly four percentage points since 2005, while the figure for boys, 15%, had fallen slightly.This source has the exact same writing as the previous one as it is referencing the Guardian article on its own website, however through this, we can see that the statistic is more reliable as it is on more than one website.

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http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/news/2016/09/more-than-a-third-of-teenage-girls-in-england-suffer-depression-and-anxiety

Out of the girls surveyed, 37 per cent had three or more symptoms of psychological distress, for example feeling worthless or unable to concentrate, compared to 15 per cent of boys. In fact, depression and anxiety in boys had actually fallen since 2005.

This has the same percentage as the sources above and for this reason, it is more reliable, this is on the telegraph so it validates is further. The figure for boys having anxiety and depression has gone down, which was surprising for me to research about.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/health/why-are-so-many-of-britains-teen-girls-struggling-with-mental-he/

At any one time, one in five women (19.7%) and one in eight men (12.5%) are suffering from a common mental disorder (e.g. depression, anxiety, phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder and panic disorder). (Reference: C. Deverill and M. King (2009), ‘Common mental disorders’, in Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey) 

https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/key-data-mental-health

From this, we can see that one in 5 women and 1 in 8 men suffer from a mental disorder, this puts into perspective just how many people will have issues with their health.

At any one time it is believed that one in five women (19.7%) and one in eight men (12.5%) are diagnosed with a common mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder.1

http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/men-and-mental-health-stats.html

This source also helps us to confirm the source as true because it is on two different sites. We could use this in our documentary because it would be a good demonstration and a shocking fact.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31041413

The graph shows us the amount of people who have applied to go to university over the years, so from 1965 it was roughly 100,000 applications, we can see how it has risen to approximately 700,000 applications in 2010, this is a huge jump in numbers and we would be able to see why there’s more pressures on teenagers to go to university now. As there are more people applying, it is a tougher competition to get in.

Website The Student Room found 78% felt a “huge expectation” to do a degree.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teenagers-feel-pressured-apply-university-2158582

This stat from the student room is from an article on the mirror website, the student room is a website where people can ask questions, get advice and also access information. This fact may be a poll from this website.

Three quarters (78%) experience a huge expectation to attend University.

http://tsrmatters.com/options-2013-reveals-poor-careers-advice-pushy-teachers-and-parents-driving-students-to-university-without-knowing-all-the-options/

This is the same statistic from ‘the student room matters’ website. As this is a statistic from the student room, and is one that they have conducted, it was difficult to find the same statistic on a different website. However, I did find it on the mirror online newsletter article.

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http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/young-people-in-the-labour-market/2014/sty-education.html

This shows us the amount of people who have gone to university has doubled in the last 30 years. We may be able to use this image in the documentary if it fits and if to see if we need permission.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/uncategorised/summary/facts-about-young-people/sty-facts-about-young-people.html

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This confirms our statistic from above, it shows us that the amount of people has doubled and that we can see that there will obviously be more competition. We will be likely to use this fact in our documentary.

SummaryTo summarise, the statistics I have found out when searching for pressures on teenagers is the amount that suffer with mental health problems due to stress. For example, the rates of depression and anxiety amongst teenagers has risen by 70% in 25 years, this also leads to the question whether there are more pressures on teenagers now than there used to be and this proves that point. Another thing I found is that pressures on teens is heightened because now you have to pay for university, whereas in the past you didn’t. Another statistic I found was that 37% of girls feel unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate. This is a big percentage of people and this makes us think that there is too much pressure on teenagers that they are being more and more unhappy and suffering with mental health problems. In addition, not only is it us that get told that we have it easy in our generation, when in fact it is probably harder. Also I found statistics on the percentage of teenagers who went to university in 1984 and the percentage that did a few years ago. This is useful for us to see how many more people are going to university, compared to then and this leads us to our question about whether there is more pressure now for teens than there has been before as more at applying for places. Therefore, there is more competition and consequently more pressure on teenagers to succeed at their a-levels to accomplish this grade. The pressure is then heightened by the fact that 78% of people felt a huge expectation to do a degree. I have got facts from different websites and tried to get 2 different websites to validate my fact source further and ensure my information is accurate as well as our audience research and research into existing products, this will help us create our documentary.