UNICEF Ireland today launched the first in a series of four reports that present the findings of primary research carried out among Irish teenagers in late 2010. The series of reports entitled “Change the Future” will be released periodically by UNICEF Ireland in 2011 and will come together to paint a holistic picture on teenage well-being in Ireland, in the words of young people themselves.
The First Report focuses on ‘happiness’ and explores general themes around teenage well-being throughout the country. Some of the principal findings from the first report include:
- Close to 1 in 5 young Irish people report being unhappy to some degree;
- More than half of young people in Ireland report that they have been bullied;
- While the vast majority of young people who report being bullied; report being bullied with words, a large proportion also claim that the bullying involves actions.
- Significant proportions (28 per cent) of young Irish people are teased to the extent that they describe being isolated and miserable.
- 95 per cent of young people who report being bullied identify the bully as another student from school.
- The overwhelming majority of young people in Ireland report direct effects at home due to the recession.
- Only 37 per cent of Irish youth expect money issues to improve over the next two years.
The majority of young people living in Ireland report that they are happy. “However, with almost one fifth of young people reporting being unhappy to some degree, we believe it is important for us to acknowledge this significant number of young people for whom being young in Ireland is significantly more challenging, and less positive an experience” said UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Melanie Verwoerd.
It is clear from young peoples’ responses that the factors that affect their happiness most directly are those related to the interpersonal relationships that they form throughout their childhood and adolescence. Relationships that develop between peers, friends and family members are evidently the principal influences in young peoples’ happiness. “It is therefore crucial that we continue to create safe and accessible spaces in which these relationships can flourish, and that we make every effort to protect these crucial environments in which young people can express themselves and develop into confident, fulfilled and happy young adults” continued Ms. Verwoerd.
Worryingly, it seems that the issue of bullying is alarmingly prevalent amongst young people living in Ireland, and is playing a very significant role in defining the difficult transition from youth into adulthood. Cyber-bullying is taking place amongst young people in Ireland but it is only affecting one-in-five young people who report that they have been bullied. In reality, the vast majority of bullying is adopting more traditional forms – words and actions. Cyber-bullying is important, and equally damaging to young people than these other forms, but we must keep it within the overall context and not allow cyber-bullying to become the only focus of our attention as we address this most harmful and hurtful practice.
Disturbingly, the great majority of young people who report that they have been bullied, irrespective of the form that bullying has taken, associate it with schoolmates. The report stresses the need to acknowledge that bullying amongst young people in Ireland’s schools is immensely prevalent, and is adopting conventional forms such as teasing, jeering, isolation and physical assault, as well as newer forms facilitated by young people’s widespread access to new forms of communication technology. The report also highlights the need to acknowledge the role that gender is playing in terms of bullying. 62 per cent of boys report that they have been accused of bullying, while only 38 per cent of girls report the same, whilst a more significant proportion of boys report being bullied by words, actions and cyberbullying than do girls. In terms of cyber-bullying, four times more girls report that they have had text messages shared about them than boys.
“The ways in which we seek to address bullying, and its’ effects, must take these gender disparities into account if they are to prove successful and significant. To ignore the role that gender plays in bullying will seriously jeopardise our collective efforts to overcome it” continued Ms. Verwoerd.
“We need to be increasingly aware of the extent of the problem, and the very serious effect that it is having on thousands of young people. Bullying is stunting the emotional, physical and mental development of many young people all across Ireland and we must find additional and inventive ways and means to prevent it, and to support the young people who are being subjected to it.” Ms. Verwoerd said.
“I’m unhappy about the current economic state of the country! – and don’t know if I will ever get a job!!”
Youth Research Participant
While almost all of the participants are aware of the economic recession, they are unsure as to the effects that it will have on them in the future, uncertainty which compounds an already difficult part of their lives. 93 per cent of children reported less money around at home and 25 per cent reported a family member losing their job. Only 37% of Irish youth surveyed expect money issues to improve over the next two years.
The report highlights the need to take notice of young people’s valid concerns about the future, but also the fact young people are already reporting the direct effects of the recession on their lives today. The way that the recession is being framed in public life and media is undoubtedly feeding into these concerns over the future. The report calls on all figures in public life to reflect about the discourse in which they engage, and the manner in which that discourse comes to bear on young people’s hopes and fears for the future.
“At an economically turbulent time in Ireland it is crucial for any government to remember that how they treat children, the most vulnerable part of society, is how they will be remembered in history. It’s time we all started listening to young people. ‘Changing the future’ is about young people having their say” continued Ms. Verwoerd.
Over the coming months, UNICEF Ireland will release three further reports that will offer a unique insight into the views of young people living in Ireland and the diverse issues that affect them. By contributing to Changing the Future Project, young people throughout Ireland partook in their right to participation – a right that UNICEF will continue to promote, in Ireland and throughout the world. “The responsibility now passes from them to the rest of society – to listen to these views and make sure that we use them – to make Ireland a better place to be young, and to make being young in Ireland better” concluded Ms. Verwoerd.
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For reference:
Kieran O’Brien, UNICEF Ireland. Tel. 087 758 7203 and Kieran@unicef.ie
Julianne Savage, UNICEF Ireland. Tel. 087 669 4510 and julianne@unicef.ie