As the digital landscape continues to evolve at pace, young people are growing up in a world unrecognisable compared to 10 years ago.
Being able to instantly connect with peers, expressing creativity, and accessing entertainment and information in an instant, are just a few of the many positives the online world presents. (We’ve also heard there are some amazing mental health apps out there 👀).
Yet for every positive there is a negative, and the online world poses many hidden and overt harms that young people didn’t have to face ten years ago. In a stem4 survey of 1,025 young people, nine in ten (93%) said they had been scared by content online. They were worried about disinformation, misinformation and fake news (59%) followed by online scams and fraud (58%), online bullying (52%) and sharing of sexual images (39%). What’s more (58%) said they would avoid using search engines or apps if they knew they had the potential to cause them harm.
Instead of forcing big tech and app developers to clean up their acts, governments often favour banning smartphones as the main solution to keeping young people safe online.
It is a bit more complicated than that…
We believe that young people deserve to be given the opportunity to speak openly about their online lives, with parents, teachers, or other trusted adults, and to be empowered to develop skills that will equip them to have healthy lives on and offline.
At our stem4 student conferences, we ask groups of students if social media has an impact on their mental health.
👉Around 85%-90% agree that their mood is negatively impacted by their digital habits but none of them want to or feel able to stop scrolling.
👉However, these young people want to know more about how to best take control of their online lives, rather than face bans.
#stem4YMHD 2024
In response to this, stem4 has chosen to dedicate Youth Mental Health Day 2024 to the theme #ControlYourScroll, so that we can equip young people with the simple digital hacks and mental health strategies needed for a positive and safe online experience.
On September 19th, let’s champion #stem4YMHD. Join us in spreading the #ControlYourScroll message, so that young people can thrive both on and offline.
Find out more about stem4 YMHD HERE
