YouthNet blog
An insight into youth issues, volunteering trends, charity life and more from the UK charity YouthNet
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Monday Jun 02, 2008
Are the Emo kids on to something?
If I’d had nothing better to do on Saturday then I might have wandered down to Marble Arch to see a peculiar sight. Over 100 teenagers, fans of the band My Chemical Romance, turned up to hold a demonstration against the Daily Mail newspaper for what they feel is the unfaith portrayal of them and their “emo” subculture: particularly in relation to a recent suicide by a 13-year-old girl that the paper linked to the band.
Despite some, well, frankly schoolboy errors with the protest (the one day a week daily newspapers don’t work on is a Saturday and Northcliffe House, where the Mail is based, it down a side-street so they had to move the protest over a mile away) I genuinely was excited to see the protest taking place. Because it’s a sign that teenagers are getting restless, and the oft-reported apathy that young people are purported to have, is wearing thin.
I hope the protest galvanises the young people involved, and others, to up the ante when it comes to the fair representation of young people in the media. That 100 young people can generate a good deal of publicity probably comes down to the novelty of it and Saturday being a slow news day; but even if the Mail says it won’t change its stance protesting has made their readers more aware of the issue.
YouthNet and the BYC run the Respect campaign to try and ensure young people can respond to the negative portrayal of themselves in the media. Let’s hope this is a summer of fun…
Posted by Olly Benson ( 9:00 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Feb 15, 2008
Life to the Max
When Max Gogarty, 19, set out on his blogging adventure in The Guardian travel section whether or not at the behest of a parent, it's doubtful he expected to be greeted by such a torrent of commenting. After 475 comments were notched up on Max's blogging entrance of all blogging entrances, The Guardian had had enough and pulled the plug on the commentators.
Today, they axed the accompanying photo of Max Gogetter. Andy Pietrasik, The Guardian's Travel Editor, posted his response:
"So, Max is 19 and off on his own for the first time to travel around India and Thailand. You can bet he's feeling a lot older and more worldly-wise this morning.
I take on board many of the criticisms that you levelled at me and Max yesterday, and can see where they came from."
Meanwhile, on TheSite.org it made us think of our own travel section and this gem, a rant from a few years ago by Tom Allebone-Webb who had another take on the joys of setting out into the big wide world. It's a great antidote to the head of steam that Max's writing has helped build up amongst the Guardian readership.
"What's that? You've been "travelling"? Oooh, how pleasant. Got lots of exciting photos of you bungee jumping, you with a snake, you getting pissed up in a sarong? Really? I'd love to see - but wait, haven't I seen these before?
Of course I fucking have, everyone has. You go away to your middle-class Ibizas (generally somewhere in South East Asia), have your yearlong holidays and do exactly the same things as everybody else. You spend ages "finding yourself" only to realise you're exactly like every other numpty who ever went travelling. Then you come back, feeling all enlightened and insist upon regaling everyone with stories of your daring exploits going shopping in a local market or on a brief guided tour around a little bit of jungle. I'm sorry Indiana, I think you may have mistaken me for someone who cares."
It takes all sorts. There's room for everyone in our view, whether you're Max, Tom or whoever, we want to hear from you. You can read other young people's blogs on their experiences volunteering overseas on do-it.org.uk.
Posted by Patrick Daniels ( 4:10 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Jan 31, 2008
Big Mac with a diploma to go
Monday's news that McDonalds (as well as FlyBe and Network Rail) have been given awarding body status by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority was met with a fairly predictable initial response.
The day after, The Independent reported that teachers were "furious", as well as featuring a slightly patronising comment piece (a quick summary: vocational qualifications are jolly good, as long as they don't really count for much).
However, now everyone's had the chance to calm down a bit there are some signs of growing support (see here and here). Quite right too I say.
Before anyone blows their lid about McDonalds rivalling the beloved institution that they studied in, they should be sure that in another breath they don't complain about the lack of basic numeracy skills in the UK.
Equally, why is it that when you're going for your first job, everyone talks about the value of "life experience", but then kicks up a fuss when you quantify and accredit that experience? In terms of the A-Level that McDonalds are offering, let's get some perspective – it's an A-Level in Shift Management, not English Lit.
I'd have thought that McDonalds would be a useful place to study shift management, as it's an integral part of their business. As Mr Burns (no, not the one from the Simpsons) points out, this could also transfer very easily into a career in the NHS, for example.
The same applies to volunteering – it won't be long before you can gain nationally recognised qualifications through voluntary work, and why not? Rather than being a footnote at the end of your CV, the skills and experience you've gained in the "real world" will get the accreditation they deserve.
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 10:01 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Tuesday Jan 22, 2008
We love Jamie Oliver
Well, we love what he's doing with young people, anyway.
TheSite.org has interviewed a young guy called Daryl about his brilliant experience apprenticing at Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 5:24 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Jan 03, 2008
Teenagers participate; parents worry - welcome to 2008
What will 2008 bring for young people and their use of technology?Answer: more of it and more often.
You only need to peak at the new US report into teens and social media to know that the intertwining of online and offline is well and truly here for young people.
The PEW report, while focused on American teens, is likely to be reflected in trends here too. Here are some of their findings which I think are most interesting and valid for 2008:
Young internet users expect to participate
64% of 12-17 year old internet users in the US have created online content. That is a massive level of engagement and much bigger than I expected. Media, as predicted has been turned on its head.
But they do it more safely than you would think
Contrary to tabloid hysteria and to what most people would guess, young people are savvier about what they post online than older people. They don't post pictures widely or give out lots of personal information.
Parents still worry
Despite what I've just written above, parents are still worried about their children's online behaviour. This is unlikely to go away. It is their job.
Online activity doesn't replace offline activity
The teenagers that are active online are also active offline. As Danah Boyd points out, there's not necessarily a causal link here but the view that kids who sit at their computers never go outside is obviously untrue.
Email is dead. What about chat and instant messaging?
Communication tools change quickly and social networking has replaced the more traditional online tools for young people. Perhaps micro-blogging will really break out in 2008?
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 11:51 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Wednesday Oct 10, 2007
Public funded pornography
Heard about the latest internet filth?
"This film is degrading to women and encourages casual sex and normalises certain kinds of sexual behaviour" says the guy from MediaWatch.
'I'm no Mary Whitehouse but this is just disgusting" says the woman from the National Confederation of Parent Teachers Associations.
To tell the truth, getting these guys to bite must have been like shooting fish in a barrel – a bit like having Family and Youth Concern comment on our smutty website TheSite.org.
But what, pray tell, has got their goat?
You can see for yourself below.
It's a viral campaign to promote awareness of HIV and Aids among young people, put together by the BBC and the Terrence Higgins Trust. It's trying to counter some alarming statistics – 41% of 16-24 year olds believe they are at 'no risk' from HIV, despite a consistent increase in cases over the past 10 years.
We're promoting the campaign on TheSite.org. Some people might find it a bit lowbrow; others might think it's funny. It's hardly disgusting.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 3:23 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Aug 16, 2007
It's rose tinted spectacle season
A-Level results are out today, and its open season for student bashers everywhere. The Telegraph reports that a quarter of all results will be "A's", prompting the annual avalanche of scorn on our educational system, and the young people that pass through it.
Journalists must love this time of year – just open the article they wrote last year, change the date, increase the percentage of grade A's, and away you go.
For students it doesn't get much easier once they've done their A-Levels, because apparently degrees are much easier now as well. In fact, they're not just easier, most of them cover pointless subjects that bear no relevance to the "real world" and are no use to man nor beast.
Not only that – according to some, this increase in "soft A-Levels" is also undermining the economy. I'm not necessarily arguing the facts on this on this one. What does appal me though is the level of negativity about young people that's packaged up at the same time.
So, just in case anyone missed the message, if you believe everything you read, young people are a bunch of ASBO-ridden, disrespectful, poorly qualified wasters.
The weight of implied criticism of young people is immense in this country, and it will surely have a detrimental effect. Imagine if parents told their kids that, despite doing all they can to achieve excellent results in their exams, it was only because "exams are easy now".
So how do young people gain the respect of their elders? Join the army and fight an unpopular war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Excel at sport and join the ranks of the over-paid, over-privileged footballers?
I'm reminded sometimes of one of the classic sports clichés – you can only beat what's in front of you, and what we seem to be creating is a society where young people have no perceived value, and very little to aspire to.
Rant over – I just think endlessly telling people they're useless and they offer nothing of value is no way to nurture, encourage and inspire a generation.Posted by Sam Thomas ( 8:49 AM ) Link to this post Comments[4]
Thursday Jul 26, 2007
Girl Guides Move With The Times
The Guardian featured a great bit of news yesterday about The Girl Guides – after surveying 1,000 Guides, they plan to include lessons on managing money, assembling flat pack furniture and practising safe sex.
Reading the article, it's hard to believe some of the badges that used to be awarded many moons ago – anyone up for the "Homemaker" badge for example?
Fair play to Girlguiding UK though, listening to the needs of your audience is central to the success of any advice giving service.
The "top skills that every modern girl should have under her belt" for 16-25 year old Guides were:
- Money management (93%);
- Performing CPR (85%);
- Speaking confidently in public (84%);
- Practising safer sex (80%).
Not surprisingly, money worries and safe sex come pretty high on the list of priorities for users of www.TheSite.org as well – the Sex thread on our discussion boards is always well populated, and the same goes to a lesser extent with Home, Law & Money.
I'm really surprised at the middle two though, and would be really interested to get anyone's thoughts on why they feature so highly.
Is speaking confidently in public really more important than learning to drive, for example?
Does this list reflect the demands placed on girls growing up in the Noughties?
Answers on a postcard please.
Thursday Apr 19, 2007
Are they on drugs? (Or am I?)
A new report published yesterday has poured scorn on all aspects of government drugs policy.
On drugs education:
"There is little international or UK evidence to suggest that drug education and prevention have had any significant impact on drug use. The international literature consistently indicates that most school-based prevention efforts do little to reduce initiation. Even those programmes that are delivered effectively seem to have very little impact on future drug use."
On tougher enforcement:
"The courts handed out nearly three times as much prison time in 2004 as they did 10 years earlier...[and yet the] prices of the principal drugs in Britain have declined for most of the last ten years and there is no indication that tougher enforcement has succeeded in making drugs less accessible."
In conclusion:
"There is little evidence from the UK, or any other country, that drug policy influences either the number of drug users or the share of users who are dependent. There are numerous other cultural and social factors that appear to be more important. It is notable that two European countries that are often used as contrasting examples of tough or liberal drug policies, Sweden and the Netherlands, both have lower rates of overall and problematic drug use than the UK."
In other words, not only have the specifics of drug policy failed, the whole idea of a drugs policy is flawed. And who do you think came up with this damning conclusions? Why, the newly formed UK Drug Policy Commission, of course - the quotes above are from the summary of their launch report (pdf).
While it's difficult to challenge any of their conclusions it does seem hard to see where it leaves them. A Drug Policy Commission that is sceptical about the very idea of drug policies? Maybe this is just the kind of inspired logic required to get to grips with an apparently intractable problem. Or maybe someone put something in my tea.
Posted by Tom Green ( 9:23 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Apr 13, 2007
Vote youth
The forthcoming local elections next month will be the first since the law was changed to allow 18 year-olds to stand.
As has been mentioned here before, we have crazily inconsistent minimum age laws in this country (at 16 you can get married but can't watch porn or vote), but this reform is certainly progress.
Apparently there are 18-21 year-old candidates standing for election in Manchester, Stratford upon Avon, Waveney, Poole, Barrow, Southampton, Oldham, Lancaster, West Oxfordshire, Runnymede, Flyde, Harlow, Bournemouth.
Among the youngest is Sarah Wilson in Poole who, judging by the level of debate in the comments to a story about the elections in her local paper, will have her work cut out.
Now, how about reducing the minimum voting age to 16?
Posted by Tom Green ( 11:12 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Monday Feb 26, 2007
Young Guns (Go for it)
At a time when young people are increasingly stigmatised, demonised and patronised by the media, let’s hear it for Arsenal’s Young Guns who, with an average age of just over 20, came within a whisker of beating Chelsea in yesterday’s Carling Cup final.
Admittedly their manager is French and few of the players are British, but we live in a multinational society. Better the sublime skills of the Spanish Cesc Fabregas (19) than some yeoman clogger with a British bulldog tattooed on his chest.
What the likes of Theo Walcott (17) and Armand Traore (17) should remind us is that young people can handle responsibility and pressure. Yes, they are only playing a game. But it is in front of 70,000 people and a TV audience of millions. And they have to live and work with self-discipline and supreme dedication.
Watching my own team, Charlton, thrash West Ham 4-0 at the weekend, it was impossible not to be struck by the composure and maturity of midfielder Alexandre Song (19) – loaned, inevitably, from Arsenal. A true role model.
Footballers tend to make the headlines for their occasional bad behaviour. But, when they perform like Arsenal’s youngsters, it’s a chance to celebrate youth rather than castigate it.
Posted by Tom Green ( 4:44 PM ) Link to this post Comments[3]
Wednesday Feb 07, 2007
Young, dumb and full of debt
Yesterday the Financial Times reported that Education Secretary Alan Johnson has decreed that lessons in financial literacy will remain part of the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) part of the curriculum – which is completely voluntary in schools.
This is what Alan Johnson had to say about the importance of financial literacy for young people:
"It's more important than ever that today's school pupils understand how to manage the benefits, responsibilities and risks of making, borrowing and spending money."
From that quote you'd be forgiven for questioning why on earth it's still voluntary – given the pressure on resources in schools is it ever likely to be taught?
From our experience on TheSite.org, we're finding that this is increasingly an area that young people are concerned about. From threads on our discussion boards, to money questions on askTheSite, to the content on our "Money" section, it's definitely something that's relevant and worrying for young people and we're continually looking to develop how we support them with money worries.
Given that we're now over a trillion pounds in debt in this country isn't this something that should be a serious priority for both the Government and the private sector?
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 5:36 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Friday Feb 02, 2007
New on TheSite.org
New Content on TheSite.org
The first-year student diary: Boredom rules
Updated content
askTheSite archive questions
Friday Jan 26, 2007
Young Skins
I didn't see Channel 4's new "youth drama" Skins last night, so I don't know if it was worth watching or irritating. But I do know that lead writer Brian Elsley, who's in his forties, had a lot of help.
Elsley...set up a talented young writers' group with 16 members, all in their teens and early twenties. "The rule is that everyone gets paid for their ideas and writing in the group, but all the material discussed or written at the meeting can be used by the designated writer of the episode."
In this series, five episodes were written by Elsley and four by the twentysomething writers, including his son. "We have a mentoring system where the more experienced writers, the 23-year-olds, help the 17- and 18-year-olds. The 17-year-olds have written six-minute spin-off films for the website, but if we get a second series we want them to write their own episodes supported by the group."
Most of TheSite.org Discussion board users seemed to like it.
I'm into it... I watched the previews on myspace and tnight's episode.... not bad. And Nicholas Hoult. I WOULD.
Posted by Tom Green ( 1:49 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Jan 12, 2007
School's In, Forever!
Last week's news that cigarettes were being put on the top shelf, out of reach from those pesky under-18s has been followed by an even bigger policy decision which effects the lives of young people. As of 2013, students in England will be forced to stay in school until they turn 18, up from the current leaving age of 16.The users of TheSite.org discussion boards seem warm to the idea. The general view seems to be that as long as it's coupled with proper vocational training then it should work. Although there are opposing voices. Says one user:
"Great, 2 more years of brainwashing....I didn't start learning the really useful things in life 'til I left school....stunted development to the age of 16 is bad enough thanks."
But as Tom pointed out in an an earlier post, there's major confusion about age in the UK, particularly in how society treats the transition from childhood to adulthood. In Japan, they have a special coming out day where all those who have turned 20 in the past year dress up and celebrate. It's tied to Japan's laws on voting and drinking, which both kick in at 20.
This idea of somehow signalling this transition (and the rights and responsibilities that come with it) is one David Cameron picked up on last year (although not perhaps in a way everyone liked). But as this article on TheSite.org shows, there's a lot of work to do before we get to that point. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 4:39 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Friday Jan 05, 2007
Much too young?
As people struggle to give up smoking for the New Year, the government has given young people a helping hand with the announcement that under-18s will be banned from buying cigarettes in England and Wales from 1 October 2007.
The news created very few waves (partly because it came on New Years Day), although there is an interesting debate on TheSite.org's discussion boards.
Perhaps most people are simply perplexed about what you can and can't do at certain ages. At the age of 17, for example, you can drive or get a pilot's licence. But you won't, after October, be able to buy cigarettes. At 16 you can get married but you can't watch porn. Or vote.
The anomalies are well known but nothing seems to be done about them. Wouldn't it be easier, and more honest, to set a single age where a child, in the eyes of the law, becomes an adult?
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:55 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Dec 15, 2006
New content on TheSite.org
Wednesday Dec 06, 2006
Many hands, not pixels, make light work
Alex Tew has done it again - he's captured our imagination. The million dollar money spinner has something about him. Is it his seemingly miraculous ability of conjuring the jackpot from within his computer? Is it the sight of someone so young thumbing his nose to all those oldies who say they know better? Is it the quaintness of hiring his Mum as his personal secretary? Whatever it is- there's something that we find irresistible about this Tew story.
"Alex your tea's on the table... and I've got the world's press on line two shall I tell them to hold?" Visions of turned tables in the Tew household aside, the one enduring vision here is of an inventor's dream: the internet truly is the home of supreme creativity. Not for a generation, has a medium got the grey matter going as has ye olde webbe.
Why then has Tew provoked as much criticism as plaudits? How could we let - dare I say it - envy get the better of us and criticise him? After all, he's achieved a level of financial security in his youth that many of us would find hard to argue with. And the best bit - he's done it using an ordinary computer with an ordinary internet connection (well maybe he had extraordinarily generous friends and family when it came to start up cash). Surely, the message of the Tew story is that there's hope for us all.
Yeh but... let's face it Tew's story's not the real internet miracle- it's the exception and not the rule. The miracle is not that the online world can make one or two of us fabulously rich. The real rule to watch is that the internet is at its most miraculous when money is not even mentioned. Open source software, creative commons and collaborative online ventures have allowed thousands and thousands of people to work together and complement each other. This is the real conjuring trick we should be getting excited about. Early prominent examples such as Wikipedia and Mozilla have shown us the true power of the internet. Here at YouthNet we're pretty taken with how thousands of young people have built and contributed to the archive of information readily available in our discussion boards and askTheSite Q&As.
Information is how the net makes most of us richer and wealthier. Auctioned pixels are for dummies- unless you want to show your mum who's boss.
Friday Nov 24, 2006
New content and bad beards
Our latest batch of TheSite.org goodness - check out the 'tasches
From the boards
Find out why half the guys at YouthNet look so scruffy by checking out our Movember update –
http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showthread.php?t=107482
New on TheSite.org
Work Xmas party survival
askTheSite Q&As
Eating aid
Unfit for purpose
No-sex STIs
On the ball
Legal to move out?
Top five stupidest ways to deal with errant youth
In the name of blog research, we come across some particularly crazy media stories about how local governments, police forces and others in authority try to deal with wayward young people. Some have been mentioned here before but it's time to announce the Official 2006 Five Stupidest Ways to Deal with Errant Youth. And the winners are:5. Post pictures of local teenagers with ASBOS on the internet
A website in south west London seems to think that the best way to combat local crime and anti-social behaviour is to create an online hall of shame. It provides names, photos and ASBO conditions for dozens of local people, including a 15 year old. Not sure how this is going to reduce crime, but if ASBOS are really a badge of honour for some young people, featuring on this site must make you feel like you've struck gold.
4. Play a high-frequency noise to disperse young people from city centres
The 'mosquito' is a high-frequency noise that can reportedly only be heard by young people (dubious claim in itself). Cunning shopkeepers and local council braniacs all over the country forked out cash to install these devices in the hope that the youth would cover their ears and run for the hills. As it turned out, the mosquito sound quickly became a ringtone which enabled young people to use their mobiles in class. Result!
3. Display banners of 'trouble maker' young people on buses or in town centres
A bit like no.5 but more old-school. In this version, the pictures of young offenders are blown up and pasted over city centre walls or on city buses. What a great way to get famous. Who needs MySpace when the local council or cops will get you out there for free!
2. Nab young people for swearing
No, not swearing at strangers, but swearing in private conversations with their friends. And once we've rid them of foul language we can give them lessons in walking with a straight back and table manners.
1. Install special lighting to 'shame' antisocial young people by showing up their acne
If you thought the mosquito was bonkers, then you aint seen nothing yet: the powers that be in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire have come up with another semi-scientific solution to shame young people into... going somewhere else. This time it's pink fluorescent lighting that does the damage. And what is the damage? It shows up your acne. Yup, pimples. The Scunthorpe authorities reckon the young riff-raff will be so ashamed of their spots that they'll run home to do their homework, never to harass an elderly person again. Well done Scunthorpe, this is the best idea of the year.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 11:42 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Nov 17, 2006
New this week on do-it.org.uk and TheSite.org
New on TheSite.orgContent with audio:
The 'ex' factor
Idolising idiots
Hurrah! The tuk-tuk girls have finally made it home:
Exit Russia
Only potatoes
Leopard print love
European girls
Home straight
From TheSite.org's discussion boards
"TheSite.org has taken over Google..." (on how people are finding TheSite.org)
nicx1811: "I always search here before google anyway now because whatever I want to know, someones bound to have had a debate over before!"
Ashlee: "and people are replying about real life here not some professor from america talking about bananas lol"
New on do-it.org.uk
Christmas volunteering
askTheSite Q&As
Mum's lump op
Rental agreement disaster
Booze or baby?
Blacklisted home
Pregnant loving
Monday Nov 13, 2006
David Cameron is a girl
It has been said for some time that politics is a race to the centre, with both main parties desperate to cuddle up to middle-of-the-road, middle England; the political equivalent of Milton Keynes. But now it seems that the Tories and Labour have decided to go one further, replacing each other's original territory - at least in terms of rhetoric, if not policy.
Just recently we've had David Cameron, the leader of the Tories talking about a softer, more balanced approach to youth crime, focusing on rehabilitation and trying to understand why these kids are in trouble in the first place. You what? The Tories saying this?
Now enter John Reid, always the hard man of Labour's front bench and potential (gasp) candidate for leader of the party, who has basically said that Cameron is soft. And weak. And a girl.
"David Cameron's 'All You Need is Love' approach is not only wrong. It can be downright dangerous."
Then he really got stuck in and had a dig at Cameron's... postcode.
"With respect to David's Notting Hill set, I think I know who is in more tune with the vast majority of the British people."
If the vast majority of British people (or even Labour voters) are like John Reid, then the Labour Party may as well re-brand once and for all as the Tories. And for those of us who are keen to know who has the best interests of young people at heart, the goalposts aint where they used to be. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 4:47 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Nov 03, 2006
Revolting youth: Part 2
As Tom rightly points out below, the UK's youth are a revolting bunch of thugs, bullies and alcoholics. So all praise to the police of Bridlington who have come up with a novel way of dealing with these troublemakers. I'll let local newspaper Bridlington Today take up the story:
Posters of people with Anti-Social Behaviour Orders will be displayed in the town centre in what is the first scheme of its kind in the country. The posters will feature pictures of the troublemakers, information about their ASBOs and what to do if people see them causing a nuisance. They will be put on one of the town's public information pillars and are intended as a deterrent to yobbish behaviour and to help enforce ASBO bans.
What a great idea. Although deep down, i know we're all pining for the grand old days of public lynchings. But well done Bridlington, this is a great start.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 12:54 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Thursday Nov 02, 2006
Revolting youth
Oh dear. The kids really are not all right.
Britain's youth are among the most badly behaved in Europe, a study by a think-tank has suggested.On every indicator of bad behaviour - drugs, drink, violence, promiscuity - the UK was at or near the top.... Measured against German, French and Italian youngsters, British 15-year-olds are drunk more often and involved in more fights, and a higher proportion have had sex.
As BBC News reports, the study, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, looks at research into teenage behaviour across Europe and concludes that at at the root of the UK youth's chart-topping riotousness is the breakdown of family life.
Nick Pearce, from IPPR, said these figures pointed to an "increasing disconnect" between children and adults. He said youngsters were learning how to behave from one another instead of from adults. "Because they don't have that structured interaction with adults, it damages their life chances...They are not learning how to behave - how to get on in life - as they need to." The researchers concluded that the lack of adult interaction has left British teenagers increasingly vulnerable to failure
Quite how you overcome such deep-rooted problems is something that neither commentators nor politicians seem very sure about. What does seem clear is that David Cameron's latest suggestions probably aren't the answer.
Speaking at the launch of the Conservative backed Young Adult Trust, Cameron suggested a new approach to citizenship.
"The idea is that you can achieve "early adult status" if you have shown, through completing a programme like the Young Adult Trust, that you're a responsible adult citizen."
While this might sound appealing in theory, can you imagine what it would mean in practice? As Marcel Berlins says:
His vision is that, armed with a YAT-pass, teenage members of the R [for Responsible] -Team could, for instance, swagger into a pub and demand to get smashed. If refused service, no doubt, they could brandish their responsibly acquired guns. Their irresponsible non-YAT friends would have to wait soberly outside, for a year or two more.
Happily, the last word went to one of the (officially) rudest youth in Europe.
Cameron was interrupted in his speech by a Brixton teenager, who argued: "You do not know your arse from your elbow, you bastard." I'm afraid that may have ruined his chances for a YAT-pass.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:16 AM ) Link to this post Comments[2]
Tuesday Sep 26, 2006
Youth tax
A new report (PDF file or read the press release) from Reform, a think-tank, has claimed that young people (21-35 year-olds) face an effective tax rate of 50% over the next decade thanks to a combination of rising taxes, student debt repayments and pensions contributions.
Andrew Haldenby, Reform's Director, said: "Young people are in danger of drowning under a sea of rising taxes and new compulsory payments. They are in desperate need of a lifebelt, in the form of a long term commitment to public spending discipline and tax reductions. If politicians want to re-engage with young people, they will find great value in this agenda."
One of the problems, as The Economist points out, is that young people are increasingly reluctant to vote. In 1964, 11% of those aged 18 to 24 claimed not to vote, according to the British Election Study. At the general election last year that figure rose to 55%.
The challenge is to make them feel that voting is worth the effort – and, The Economist says, the opposition parties are starting to sense an opportunity.
David Willetts, the Conservative shadow education secretary, said in a speech last year that the young "could be forgiven for believing that the way in which economic and social policy is now conducted is little less than a conspiracy by the middle-aged" against them. The Liberal Democrat commission on tax policy worried in August about inter-generational unfairness too.
There will be more of such talk. For the Tories, it offers a way to discuss reducing spending without sounding as if they are merely the mouthpiece of the wealthy. It gives Lib Dem leaders a way to argue activists out of promising to out-spend Labour. And it might even persuade some of those gloomy 25-year-olds to vote.
Posted by Tom Green ( 9:19 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Sep 15, 2006
Just say it's young people's fault
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the "independant (sic) expert body that advises Government on drug related issues in the UK" published Pathways To Problems, (pdf file) this week, arguing that:
The Government should do more to ensure that young people are aware of the real hazards of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, using a variety of routes including the media, the school system and higher education.
Other recommendations were for the drink-drive limit for young drivers to be reduced and for the legal age at which cigarettes can be bought to be increased from 16 to 18.
The Government has shown little willingness to accept the recommendations. Proper drugs education (i.e. something more enlightened than "Just Say No") is a political minefield unlikely to be approached, while a differential drink-drive limit just seems confusing.
On TheSite.org, discussion board users have been sharing their own experiences of the inadequacies of drugs education and complaining about the Advisory Council report's tone.
"...what I hate about virtually all the measures to cut under age drinking and drug use, [is that] they are largely just about criminalising the under 18's." (Buddha)
Posted by Tom Green ( 9:55 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Sep 07, 2006
Boys too hard to reach - so let's give up
It must be bloody hard being a young man growing up in 2006.For these boys' fathers, life was much more clear-cut and focused: finish school, go to university or straight into a job, get married, have children, work some more, retire, die. But not anymore. The world is changing rapidly. There are a million options in life, choice is seen as paramount, and although this flexibility brings benefits, it also brings anxiety and enormous pressure to succeed.
The media meanwhile, tells them that they're thugs or hoodies, they're lazy, and deserve to be locked up or sent to boot-camp. It tells them that girls are the ones succeeding – in exams and careers - and they'd better watch out else they'll be left behind.
Unlike girls, boys also usually deal with their issues alone. They don't generally talk to each other about their problems - or their parents, or anyone really. All this when they're going through the biggest physical and mental transitions of all: from child to adult. Is it then a surprise that depression, self harm and suicide amongst young men is on the rise?
Thankfully, there are plenty of services out there to help young men through this transition, right?
Well, not really.
Young, male and hard to reach
Let's look at this on a wider level first.
The teenage boy - as all media experts agree – is a difficult nut to crack. As magazines, websites and books aimed at young women propagate widely (and sometimes successfully), very few companies have managed to create propositions that work for boys aged 12-18.
Teen lifestyle magazines aimed at boys have never taken off – we're told they'll read about wrestling or football or music, but won't buy a magazine focused and marketed directly to boys. OK, so soft porn mags Zoo and Nuts have made some success of it recently but only by focusing on lowest common denominator stuff: tits and footballers. It's superficial and slightly depressing and doesn't offer young men much in the way of creative thought or useful experience.
Something useful
So what about the narrower world of advice provision? Plenty of people have tried to support young men, but often the reaction is that no matter what you say, they don't listen. They are, apparently, just too hard to reach.
In this sphere of IAG (information, advice and guidance provision – don't blame me, I didn't make it up), getting messages across to young men about safe sex, health issues, drugs awareness or relationships sometimes feels like banging your head against a wall: say whatever you like, but you just won't get through to young men. Often, they don't seek advice because it's not cool, or think it will make them look weak or pathetic.
But just because it's hard reaching young men, does it mean you should give up? As mentioned above, no other group of people is so desperately in need of support as teenage boys.
Not on the beeb
So it was a bit of a surprise to see that the BBC has removed its online advice site for boys. They have beefed up and re-branded the girls site, now called Slink, but given up providing any information for the boys.
I asked Sarah Dain, Senior Producer on Slink, to explain the decision – and it basically came down to resourcing. "We've got four staff and a small budget and the figures for the boys' site were low. We decided to focus on girls".
Sarah said that investing all their energy in the girls' site provided better value for money and that they were exploring ways to ensure the boys' needs were met elsewhere. Fair enough, and in time the BBC might be spending more in this area (the recent Creative Futures strategy document includes providing "a new teen brand" – not sure whether this will be just glossy entertainment or also include useful advice though).
But it still feels like the BBC is shirking their responsibilities to a group which needs help the most. YouthNet thinks you can reach young men; you just need to be a bit more creative about it. Interactive tools; games; content syndication and partnership agreements; "stealth advice provision"... it's not easy but it can work.
Another part of the new BBC strategy focuses on the corporation partnering more with other companies and agencies. This is a cultural shift for an organisation so used to doing everything itself but YouthNet, for one, would be more than happy to supply content to the BBC if it means more young people are supported. (In fact, we have already supplied a few pieces to Slink but it's a small drop in the ocean.)
It would be good to hear your views on reaching young men and boys and how successful you've been – or otherwise. Post your comments below. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 10:34 AM ) Link to this post Comments[2]
Tuesday Aug 08, 2006
What's your e-type?
Researchers from University College London have classified the UK's households according to their access to technology, and are inviting people to see if they agree with their "e-type" or not on their site.
If this is an accurate way to profile the UK in terms of access to technology, it could prove to be a really useful tool to map the 'digital divide' here in the UK.
Here at YouthNet we're in "Group C: Becoming Engaged." Although not many of us live here in N1, the last comment on our profile is a bit worrying for an online charity:
"Their use of the Internet at work may be a practice that their employers may be keen to control or reduce."
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 3:21 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Jul 13, 2006
A generation of bank slaves
A new survey tells us something most people under 30 know already: that most young people live in a permanent state of debt. Apparently three-quarters of 18-29 year-olds have an overdraft facility, averaging out at over £650 per person.
The banks are rightly being seen as part of the problem. The moment you reach 18 you are encouraged to take on overdrafts and credit cards; some banks even offer free gifts such as i-pods and music vouchers to hook in the new 'customers'. Meanwhile, financial literacy is at best patchy in most schools so you have a a generation of young people who are low on money skills being offered all kinds of opportunities to rack up debt.
The issue of debt comes up all the time on TheSite.org discussion boards. Credit cards, overdrafts and student loans all make it difficult for young people to make the starts they want to in their 'adult' lives. This is from one thread:
"I have roughly 2 grand on a credit card and a 500 quid overdraft. The interest is really starting to kick in on the credit card and all I want to do is get rid of the damned thing. Trouble is, no matter how much I wanna pay it off, something else always seems to get in the way of me paying off a great amount. Thing is, now I'm getting a bit older as well, I'm starting to become conscious of the fact that i've never saved a penny in my life and some day soon I'm gonna need money to set up with my own place and live my own life etc etc, but again, never seem to have any money left to save."
The survey also says that over half of young people have gone over their overdrafts and had to deal with the consequence of the outrageous penalties that the banks hand out. It's good to see some people fighting back by reclaiming charges from the banks. But what's really needed is a more responsible approach from banks in the first place in the way they offer services, particularly to those with no financial history or experience.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 1:55 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Thursday Jul 06, 2006
What does a self-harmer look like?
Black clothes? Tattoos? Dyed hair? Piercings?Think again.
I'm at a conference at the British Library on self harm, put on by the Camelot Foundation and the Mental Health Foundation. One of the speakers this morning was a young woman called Sian Davies who readily admitted she was a classic middle class girl: has a degree, father is a head teacher. She also isn't dressed in black. However, for the past seven years she has been self-harming. "You don't know what we look like" she told us.
The conference comes on the back of a report from the National Inquiry into Self-harm among Young People called Truth Hurts.
It's obviously a very detailed conference with practitioners, teachers and youth workers all here who work at the coalface, supporting young people who self-harm. But for us, who run a more generic, broader service on TheSite.org, many of the same messages are coming through when it comes to helping young people:
- Young people are often afraid to disclose their problems or behaviour because of fear of being ridiculed or told off
- Adults shouldn't focus on trying to stop young people from self-harming; success is subjective so for one young person, not self-harming for ten minutes might be a success
- Education is needed for all people, not just those working directly with young people; a better understanding in the wider world will help people feel less inhibited about talking through their issues
- Self harm needs to be treated holistically, alongside other issues
- Peer support is crucial and support mechanisms are needed for those young people who are helping their friends.
- Young men and boys are still reluctant to talk to anyone face-to-face or call helplines and may look to the internet instead
