Written by Amy O’Donnell, Senior Programme Manager at Nominet and Youth Group Leader. Today is World Mental Health Day – a global moment to pause and rekindle efforts to prioritise wellbeing and mental health.
Anxiety and depressive disorders affected more than 25% of us during the first year of the pandemic. For many, our mental health was under pressure by health concerns, lockdown isolation and delays in getting support. The dust from all of this had hardly settled before the UK launched into a cost-of-living crisis bringing new pressures and money worries. Experts are now warning mental health faces a threat of pandemic proportions.
Meanwhile, charities and support organisations are feeling the pressure of higher demand. Charities have written an open letter to illustrate: “In July alone Samaritans received 12,000 emotional support contacts mentioning finance or unemployment concerns and Mind’s Infoline has seen a 30% rise compared to last year in calls related to finances. YoungMinds also tracks young people’s experiences of mental health and, for the first time, ‘worries about money’ was found to be the top concern and negative influence on their mental health…. a squeeze on living standards, unmanageable debt and economic recessions cause a rise in mental health problems and demand for services.”
Experiences of mental health are further impacted by new realities in our increasingly digital world. Last year (2021), our Nominet Digital Youth Index revealed, 32% of 17-19-year-olds said the internet had a negative impact on their mental health. Our research in 2021 highlighted inequalities young people who are LGBTQ+ or BAME are more likely to be exposed to negative content online, yet more likely to search the internet for support with mental health issues.
On the other hand, we see a change in communications preferences of young people through programmes such as #RESET involving eight UK mental health charities working on digital transformation. Some organisations have seen email, online or instant chat beginning to overtake phone calls as the most popular main point of contact. Online spaces can be important for young people to feel connected, communicate, access resources and seek help.
Our digital world is complicating young people’s relationships, how they see themselves and how they communicate. Especially now we all have digital footprints and exposure to more content than ever before. What remains clear is we need to listen to young people to understand this new reality in their own words. What do they see as the priorities for mental health in an increasingly digital world? What does wellbeing and balance in your online life look like?
2022 Digital Youth Index Year Launch Event
For those interested in the intersection of mental health and digital for young people, we invite you to join us online next Monday 17th October at 9.30 am for the 2022 Digital Youth Index Year launch event to check in on the latest insights around digital wellbeing, safety and access.
The Nominet Digital Youth Index is free-to-use national, annual benchmarking and barometer research identifying and monitoring the key drivers, issues and opportunities in young people’s relationship with digital technology across the UK.
Now in its second year, the Index is the first holistic nationwide survey of its kind and has been used widely by policy makers and civil society organisations. Research from 4,000 8 – 25-year-olds in the UK is complemented with insights from social workers, youth workers, parents and carers and the data visualisation tool allows you to drill into the findings and create your own customised insights. This year we have enlisted a Youth Panel and doubled our sample size to ensure we give you a more holistic view. Taking onboard user feedback and now with two years’ worth of rich data, we can compare datasets and identify emerging trends and themes.
This year’s event will be chaired by BBC Senior Tech Reporter, Shiona McCallum. Shiona covers everything tech related online and on-air and was previously a multimedia reporter and producer at Newsbeat on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra and The Asian Network.
We are also thrilled to announce the following speakers will be in attendance:
Register for this year’s event
This World Mental Health Day we come together to celebrate achievements and prioritise action to ensure Mental Health & Well-Being becomes a Global Priority for all, with discussion continuing throughout October.
Whatever you’re going through, there is someone there to listen. There is hope. Here are two great places to start:
Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen
Mental Health Support Network provided by Chasing the Stigma | Hub of hope
20 March 2024
Whilst reviewing and compiling the questions for the 2023 Digital Youth Index in spring last year, we were shocked at the lack of youth voice in the heightened AI debate. So, we added some questions about AI to our research, and our findings show a strong sense of curiosity amongst young people.
Read this article
30 November 2023
If you missed the event or would like a reminder of all of the great discussions from our youth panel and expert speakers on the day, the 2023 launch event recording is now available on-demand.
Read this article
21 November 2023
The Digital Youth Index provides some interesting insights into the different lived experiences of young people in the digital world and the impact on various aspects of their wellbeing. Most gamers think their use of digital technology has either no impact or a positive impact on their wellbeing.
Read this articleDive into the Index data and dig out the insights most valuable to you by filtering for age, location or topic.
