Online Strive For Perfection Stresses Youngsters

The pressure of having a “perfect online life” breeds a “deeply unhappy” generation of young teenagers, a study has said.

16:45 11 January 2016

Charity ChildLine, which provides counselling sessions for children and young adults, have found that the pressure of having a “perfect online life” makes more and more teenagers deeply unhappy. The charity also found that youngsters are dealing with fears and worries that did not exist 30 years ago.

 

The charity revealed that in 2015, the biggest issues for young people included family relationships, confidence, unhappiness, bullying, and self-harm. 

 

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: "It is clear from the hundreds of thousands of calls ChildLine receives that we have a nation of deeply unhappy children.

 

"The pressure to keep up with friends and have the perfect life online is adding to the sadness that many young people feel on a daily basis."

 

One 13-year-old told a counsellor: "I hate myself. When I look at other girls online posting photos of themselves it makes me feel really worthless and ugly. I'm struggling to cope with these feelings and stay in my bedroom most of the time."

 

And a 12-year-old said: "I feel like crying all the time. I'm constantly worried about what other people are thinking of me and it's really getting me down.

 

"I use social media sometimes but that just makes me more depressed as I hardly have any friends online and no one likes my posts/photos."

Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of ChildLine, said: "I am shocked by the acute unhappiness and loneliness that afflicts so many young people which means that, for many, the only place they can find comfort and protection is from our helpline."