The Good Childhood Report by the Children's Society found that 10 to 12 year olds in England ranked 14th out of 15 nations for happiness, behind Germany, Spain and South Africa; the UK has also come far down similar global lists drawn up by UNICEF. Modern stress could be to blame for increasing child depression in the the UK; more teenagers are now turning to counselling to help them cope with the pressures of social media - research has also linked Facebook with depression in young adults and children. Bullying, including cyber-bullying and self harm, was reported as the main issues of concern by ChildLine last year. Overall, 35,244 of the counselling sessions held by the service in 2014/15 were related to low self-esteem and unhappiness.
Prof. Mark Williams at Oxford University, confirmed that "technostress" was growing. "Every generation thinks it is more stressed than the last. It's usually not true but this time it looks [as if] it is. That's because this is the first generation that is constantly flitting between the actual, real world and the virtual world of the internet. It's not multitasking, it's multi-switching - and there are switching costs, mainly distraction, exhaustion, irritability and mood swings."
British nine and ten-year-olds are also getting the least sleep, the main reason appearing to be the use of electronic devices in the bedroom. This was found to be a common phenomenon in affluent countries, where we are more likely to buy children electronic devices and allow them in their bedrooms. Today, children are likely to own more toys and gadgets than ever before, yet the Unicef global report on child well-being found that children are not getting happier the more they own, instead, British parents could be trapping their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism". As children spend more time online, social media addiction is also becoming a problem - this website offers advice to parents on how to protect their children.
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