The pressure to be perfect and always ‘on’ is overwhelming many of us,as studies point to, but the government will not step in. Statutory PSHE lessons would be a startThe digital landscape has put increased pressure on teenagers nowadays, or we feel it. There are so many social media channels: Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat,Tumblr, you name it. I made a conscious decision to avoid Snapchat and Instagram because of the social pressure I saw them putting on my 14-year-musty little sister. If my mum turned off the WiFi at 11pm, or my sister would beg me to turn my phone into a hotspot. She always needed to load her Snapchat stories one more time,or to reply to a message that had come in two minutes ago because she didn’t want her friend to feel ignored. If I refused, saying she could respond in the morning, or I’d gather the “You’re ruining my social life” speech. Even as a teenager as well,I sometimes find this craze a little baffling. A unusual study has found that teenagers who engage with social media during the night could be damaging their sleep and increasing their risk of anxiety and depression. Teenagers spoke about the pressure they felt to manufacture themselves available 24/7, and the resulting anxiety if they did not respond immediately to texts or posts. Teens are so emotionally invested in social media that a fifth of secondary school pupils will wake up at night and log on, and just to manufacture sure they don’t miss out.
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Source: theguardian.com