How teens think we should run the country and why they’re stressed

Excess screen time and a lack of sleep are severely impacting Aussie teens. And a big issue is fuelling their anxiety.

Aussie teens are glued to their screens for up to nine hours a day, are not doing even an hour of exercise daily and are getting less than six hours’ sleep.

And more than one in three report being unfairly treated in the past year because of their gender, sexual identity or race, Mission Australia’s latest Youth Survey Report has revealed.

More than 20,000 young people aged 15-19 were surveyed by the charity between April and August this year, with more than four in 10 revealing they are extremely or very concerned about mental health.

Asked to nominate the key issues Australia must address not surprisingly nearly half (45.7 per cent) nominated Covid-19 but nearly as many – four in 10 – said the environment.

“One quarter of young people were also personally concerned about Covid-19, saying it adversely impacted on their ability to participate in activities, their mental and physical health, as well as their families and friendships,” Mission Australia CEO James Toomey said.

The research found pandemic lockdowns and restrictions had a negative effect on young people’s health, wellbeing and education, impacting on their ability to participate in activities (68.3 per cent), their education (62.3 per cent) and it affected the mental health of half the young people surveyed.

“My anxiety has been heightened by a constant state of the unknown and that everything can change so quickly. Not knowing when I will see family and friends next, being isolated, feeling insecure in my job,” one young person said.

Climate change and the environment are also taxing the mental health of young people.

“I’ve felt very depressed about the future of the Earth. I have lost a lot of faith in humanity, and feel like nothing is being done (or very little, very slowly) to reduce the effect of climate change,” one 15-year-old girl from Queensland said.

A youth survey has uncovered the main concerns of teens. Picture News Corp

Despite the trials of Covid, the majority of young people were happy with their lives (53.4 per cent) and just over half (51.6 per cent) reported feeling positive or very positive about the future.

However, these figures have decreased since 2020 by 5.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.

The exercise, screen and sleep habits of adolescents are a major concern with the survey revealing most do not meet the Australian physical activity and exercise guidelines.

Two in three do less than the recommended seven hours of exercise weekly.

Around three quarters (77 per cent) use computer or TV screens more than five hours a day when guidelines suggest no more than two hours.

Disturbingly, over a third (35.7 per cent) spend more than nine hours a day looking at computer or TV screens.

Teens need 10 hours’ sleep a night but one in five get six hours or less.

Teens are missing out on four hours’ sleep a night. Picture supplied.

Chronic sleep deprivation can affect concentration and memory, attention span and lead to poor decision-making and impact on mood.

The survey reported a concerning rise in the number of young people who said they had been treated unfairly (34.2 per cent), up from 27 per cent the year before.

This treatment was most commonly due to their gender (37.3 per cent) – with far more gender diverse young people, and more young females than males citing this.

More than one in four experienced discrimination because of their mental health (27.6 per cent), another one in four because of their race or cultural background (27.6 per cent).

“Gender and racial discrimination very much exist in our country in the eyes and through the experiences of young people, and our Youth Survey tells us that young people in Australia want it brought out of the shadows and into the light,” Mr Toomey said.

A smaller proportion of young people were studying full-time in 2021 (84.5 per cent) than in 2020 (86.6 per cent), and many young people reported their mental health, academic ability and COVID-19 were the main barriers standing between them and their work and study goals.

Mr Toomey said young people are showing they’re aware of – and care about – social and personal issues affecting themselves, their peers and their country.

“Now is a critical time to make sure young people are heard. Young people can and should create and advise on solutions that will address issues that affect them, other young people, and Australia,” he said.

Mission Australia CEO James Toomey says Covid-19 has had a huge impact on young people. Picture: Luke Bowden

QUEENSLAND IN FOCUS

Profile of respondents

4652 young people surveyed.

Nearly half (49.4 per cent) were female, 45.3 per cent were male, 3.9 per cent were gender diverse and 1.4 per cent preferred not to say.

Cultural background

683 (14.8 per cent) stated they were born overseas and 710 (15.4 per cent) reported speaking a language other than English at home.

Of the 78 languages other than English spoken at home, the most common were (in order of frequency) Chinese, Afrikaans, Mandarin and Spanish.

769 (16.7 per cent) reported a particular cultural or ethnic group with which they identified strongly. Of the more than 100 cultural or ethnic groups identified, the most common were (in order of frequency) Greek, Filipino, Chinese, Italian, Australian Aboriginal and Maori.

1787 (38.8 per cent) stated one or both of their parents were born overseas.

Education and employment

Are young people studying?

81.9 per cent were studying full-time. A higher proportion of males reported studying part-time (10.9 per cent) compared with females (6.2 per cent).

What are young people’s plans after school?

Nearly two thirds (65.1 per cent) planned to go to university after school. Close to one in 10 (9 per cent) reported travel/gap year plans after school, and one in 13 (7.5 per cent) indicated plans to get a job.

What are the barriers to achieving study or work goals?

More than four in 10 (43.6 per cent) felt there were barriers that impacted on their achievement of their study or work goals./ Mental health (50.2 per cent), academic ability (45.2 per cent) and Covid-19 (25.1 per cent) were the top three.

Are young people employed?

Close to half (47.6 per cent) reported they were employed part-time. More than half (51.7 per cent) indicated they were not in paid employment of any kind. 34.3 per cent stated they were looking for work, while 17.4 per cent were neither working nor looking for work.

Values and concerns

What do young people value?

Friendships (other than family), family relationships and school or study satisfaction.

More than eight in 10 (81.8 per cent) saw friendships (other than family) as extremely or very important.

Three quarters (75.5 per cent) saw family relationships as extremely or very important.

What issues are of personal concern to young people?

The top three issues of personal concern were coping with stress (41.7 per cent), mental health (37.8 per cent) and school or study problems (32.2 per cent).

More than three in 10 (31 per cent) were extremely or very concerned about body image.

Close to one quarter (24 per cent) were extremely or very concerned about physical health.

Covid-19

The top three areas Queensland young people identified as being negatively impacted by Covid-19 were participation in activities (62.6 per cent), education (52.9 per cent) and mental health (39.8 per cent),

Unfair treatment

Have young people been treated unfairly?

More than one third (35.4 per cent) reported they had been treated unfairly in the past year.

Engagement in activities

Sports as a participant (69.6 per cent), sports as a spectator (65.1 per cent) and arts/cultural/music activities (46.0 per cent). More than four in 10 (43.9 per cent) reported they had participated in volunteer work in the past year.

A huge number of young people feel stressed either all of the time or most of the time.

Mental health and wellbeing

How stressed are young people?

More than four in 10 (43.0 per cent) felt stressed either all of the time or most of the time in the past four weeks.

How much control do young people feel they have over their life?

More than half (53.7 per cent) felt they had control over their life, 8.6 per cent reported having complete control and 45.1 per cent felt mostly in control. Close to one in 10 (9.8 per cent) reported they had almost no control over their life, and 2.7 per cent had no control.

How much time do young people spend on screens?

More than a third (34.8 per cent) spent 9 hours or more on screens as day. Close to half (45.9 per cent) spent 1-2 hours on screens connecting with others. More than four in 10 (43.0 per cent) spent 1-2 hours on screens for entertainment. Three in 10 (30.7 per cent) spent 5-6 hours on screens for learning.

How much time do young people spend sleeping?

More than half (53.1 per cent) reported sleeping on average between 7 and 8 hours a night.

How much time do young people spend exercising?

A quarter (24.7 per cent) reported exercising on average 1-2 hours a week

Most important issues in Australia and the future

What issues do young people think are the most important in Australia today?

Young people reported that the top three issues in Australia were Covid-19 (42.4 per cent), equity and discrimination (34.8 per cent) and mental health.

How do young people feel about the future?

More than half (53.6 per cent) felt either very positive or positive about the future. However, one in seven (14.1 per cent) indicated they felt negative or very negative about the future.

Originally published as How teens think we should run the country and why they’re stressed