More and more teenagers are struggling with anxiety and stress, a malaise often caused by "having to prove something" to others. In fact, over 6 out of 10 young people claim to suffer from some form of discomfort due to the context in which they live. From which then arise panic attacks, alteration of eating habits and sleep-wake rhythm, difficulty concentrating in the study and so on. A fertile ground on which restlessness, loneliness, anger towards oneself or towards others proliferate, with the consequent need to "anesthetize" oneself so as not to think: escape into digital - between video games, films, TV series and social media - but also extreme gestures and recourse to anything that allows you to switch off at least for a while.
To launch the alarm is a research conducted by Skuola.net together with the team of psychologists and psychotherapists of the National Association Di.Te. (Technological addictions, GAP, Cyberbullying), on a sample of 3,062 girls and boys between 11 and 19 years old. The most complicated moment, the one in which anxiety comes out into the open, is quite obvious: it is the one in which one must compare oneself with others.
The survey: the numbers of discomfort
More than half of respondents (57%), when having to attend social situations with many people admit to feeling often, if not always, a sense of upset. Even worse if you are called to participate actively: in this case the figure rises to 61%. This is why almost all those who perceive this type of discomfort (50% of the total sample) end up punctually avoiding participating in "collective" moments.
Obviously, the school, the place of confrontation par excellence for adolescents, is no exception. As many as 56% say they are worried or fearful when they are the center of attention of classmates or teachers, such as in the case of questions and debates in class. Even more (67%) experience particularly badly the fact of having to measure themselves with grades and judgments. For this reason, about a third (34%), when he is at school most of the time would like to run away; For 1 in 10 this feeling is constant. For almost 2 out of 5 respondents, then, the malaise transfers from the mental to the physical plane. Because today's young people, perhaps more than those who preceded them, instead of "unloading on the ground" all this load of anxiety and externalizing it, somatize a lot. 3 out of 4 teenagers often or always feel very angry with themselves, 57% feel very angry with others. 63% of adolescents, on the other hand, are frequently prey to loneliness, the same percentage (63%) is often gripped by sadness. While 55% admit to feeling a sense of restlessness often or always. A whirlwind of negative emotions that, in the most serious cases, turns into real panic attacks: 52% said they had at least one; 39% happened to him while he was at school or on the way to school; to 31% just before participating in a social situation. But the sense of discomfort also has negative effects on daily habits. Over 6 out of 10, among the interviewees, said that they often struggle to fall asleep at night. Or to feel very tired even when they sleep right. At 42%, on the other hand, it often happens (or always) to eat very little or not to be hungry. 50%, on the contrary, tend to take refuge in food without perceiving the sense of satiety. Again, school commitments are not exempt. Indeed, on those occasions the upheaval is amplified.
The "escape into the digital"
82% of adolescents reached by the survey said that they often or always cannot concentrate properly in the study and, for this reason, that they cannot complete the tasks assigned to them. On the other hand, 84% have the feeling that the time available to them to study is most often insufficient. One of the consequences of such an approach is that 70% very often or even always prefer to give up studying altogether to devote themselves to virtual activities. The "escape into the digital" is, in fact, a device widely adopted by adolescents to distance themselves from a reality that causes discomfort. Not only if it is a matter of having to study. 64% often or always immerse themselves in video games, social networks or TV series to "not hear" and "not think. Once again - underlines Giuseppe Lavenia, psychologist and psychotherapist, President of the National Association of Technological Addictions, GAP and Cyberbullying "Di.Te" - the data tell us how much the mental health of young people is in a critical moment. And the school context, which should be an environment of learning and growth, unfortunately seems to contribute to this malaise. It is essential to adopt an approach that promotes inclusion and resilience, avoiding using assessment systems that challenge students' self-esteem. It is necessary to provide constructive and non-destructive feedback, which can help adolescents develop a balanced view of themselves and their abilities." It is clear that it is essential to intervene at various levels to address this situation. Teens need emotional support, opportunities to express their emotions, and safe spaces where they can address societal challenges.
School as a space for cognitive and emotional growth
It is critical to engage mental health and education professionals to create an environment that fosters both cognitive and emotional growth. The school is not only teaching and learning but first and foremost a relational space. "To make - reiterates Daniele Grassucci, director of Skuola.net - the school increasingly inclusive, even in the face of growing family interference, we have made the student evaluation system absolutely schizophrenic: from the "we love each other" in elementary school to the "massacre of the insufficient" in high school. If, for example, we look at the data on rejections, it seems that the system tries to bring as many students as possible towards the goal of compulsory schooling of 16 years, without however bothering to accustom them, progressively, to a serious reflection of the level of growth ".