Q5- ‘The young people in developed, Western countries are the unhappiest in the world’

WHY ARE BRITISH YOUNG PEOPLE SO UNHAPPY?

Young people that seemingly have everything that their counterparts in developing countries
could only dream of, a free education system, quality family time and more, yet according to
The Children’s Society Report, which checked out 15 diverse countries, ranked England 14th for
life satisfaction of its young people before South Korea.
So, what is going wrong?
Firstly, let us take a close look at the ‘renowned’ education system, the problem with the system
is that it has become fixated on competition and success, which the previous education secretary,
who implemented this system, Michael Gove epitomises. The damaging consequences of this
ideology are evident as early as primary school with 9- and 10-year-olds getting scores grading
them as average or below average, pushing the narrative that they are ‘no good’ or ‘count for
nothing’ compared to a small percentage of their peers who score above average. This system
continues into secondary education but presents itself in a more toxic, corrosive way, since the
2017 change in the GCSE system where teenagers are now subjected to (on average) 18 exams,
this excessive testing regime has many children experiencing “severe exam anxiety” and
depression as a result of academic pressures, which in some cases is turning into dark thoughts
about self-harm and suicidal thoughts. With the bar of these qualifications being raised so high,
it has become inaccessible to many students.
Social media can affect teenagers in both positive and negative ways. It can have a negative
impact on self-esteem and can make bullying and teenage pressures worse. Unlike adults, young
people’s identities are still evolving, they are still in the process of finding out who they are as
people, hence why they are easily influenced by what they see on social media. A lot of the
images or messages that they receive on social media enter their psyche subconsciously, and
when they are bombarded by the content of ‘beautiful models with “perfect bodies” and “perfect
skin”’ it's going to affect their mentality and the way they view themselves. This type of content
is setting the beauty standard and young people are left with the idea that if they don’t look a
certain way, they are not beautiful enough, which is wholly untrue and as we all know
‘comparison is the thief of joy’
Now that we've become aware of some of the problems causing young people’s unhappiness,
there is no reason why we can’t find a solution. We live in a winners and losers’ culture, and the
effect of this is evident through the unhappiness of young people. Unless we urgently start
attending to the well-being of young people and tackle the ever-growing problems with their
mental health, this generation of young people may not be intuitive or stable enough to keep our
nation together in the future. So, we must stand in solidarity and be a part of the solution.
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