The BBC are saying it too.
In ‘You told us what it’s like being 15 in 2015’ the BBC echoes many of the issues we have noticed through our own research. We already know, for example, that young people in our area struggle with friendship issues. It’s not good, exactly, to hear that the BBC’s findings are similar to our own, but it’s encouraging to hear another voice speaking up for young people.
In a recent study of 120,000 15 year olds in the UK over half said they had been bullied recently, according to the BBC. That’s a lot. But it fits with our own findings. We also noticed this year that relationship issues were high up on the list of young people’s worries.
‘Afraid of being on the edge or alone.’
Our findings showed us that young people talk about falling in and out of friendships. They worry that friends are laughing at them, or talking about them behind their back. They feel a strong need to fit in and they are afraid of being on the edge or alone. But young people are resilient and inspirational – and our findings also show that they recognise the difficulties of trying to fit in. They regret mistakes they make and are often looking for the chance to start again. They want to be accepted for who they are and they want to be in positive, loving relationships. Young people are clearly capable of looking for the right things.
Young people seek positive, loving relationships.
Other issues mentioned by the BBC include body image, drinking, smoking, school work stress and the confusion of being neither adult nor child.
We hear similar anxieties from young people in our area about issues they struggle with. This is why Soulscape are always looking for opportunities to give young people space to explore issues and to imagine how things could be different in the future.
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