Internet and Mental Health
6 April 2016
Research states 28% of young people think the internet is bad for their mental health, compared to 44% of teachers.
At a time when children’s mental health has been described as a ‘time bomb,' Parent Zone’s latest research looks at the effects of the online world. We spoke to school staff and young people aged 13-20 to find out what they think about the relationship between the internet and mental health.
Our findings show a generation of young people with mixed views about the internet. Three-quarters of young people say going online makes them happy, but roughly 70% would tell a friend who was upset to avoid one or more online services. More than a third would say to avoid Facebook.
Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of Parent Zone, says “the internet has destroyed any notions we might have had about keeping some things away from children until they were ‘old enough to cope,’” and this was reflected in our youth survey. Over half of our youth respondents said they had seen someone discussing suicide on the internet. 61% had seen someone talk about hurting themselves.
The findings from schools are especially worrying. Over 90% of teachers think mental health issues among their pupils are getting more frequent. Anxiety, depression and self-harm are among the most common issues. While the majority of our school respondents are dealing with pupil mental health issues at least monthly, 84% say they do not have the resources to cope. And nearly three-quarters had dealt with a mental health issue that they think was made worse by something the pupil saw or did online.
The gap between young people’s and teachers’ perceptions was especially interesting. Just over a quarter of young people think the internet is bad for their mental health, as opposed to 44% of teachers. Teachers also seemed to overestimate young people’s willingness to seek help online – most of our youth respondents would go to a parent, carer or someone else they trust first if they had a problem.
You can read the full report, including our recommendations, here.
Quotes from the research
From young people
‘There’s enough good to counter out the bad, but one bad website could have the effects of 100 good ones. Same with comments – 100 people could be saying something good about you but if one person says something bad you’ll remember the bad one.’
‘I don’t think the internet makes mental health problems, I think people make people have mental health problems. The internet puts up a wall between you and the other person – it makes you feel safer saying things, but if you were on the other end of it you might feel victimised.’
From schools
‘This generation more so than others are expected to be the perfect generation. That goes back to what we said about social media, every mistake is on there forever. Even their photos are fake, and it’s how many likes do you get on your selfie. It’s just bonkers.’
‘Young people have always had to deal with issues such as body image, anxiety, depression etc. However, the prolific use of social media amongst our young people means that they never switch off from thinking about the issues and pressures they are under to look and behave a certain way.’
About the research
This research was conducted via anonymous online surveys and questionnaires distributed in schools around the UK between December 2015 and the end of February 2016, with responses from 220 young people and 119 teachers.
In addition, Parent Zone carried out two depth interviews in schools, and three youth focus groups, speaking to an additional six members of school staff and 40 young people.
If you’re looking for more information and support on young people’s mental health, you can visit YoungMinds or Mind.