P wegot99 insights

PROJECT 99: INSIGHTS KEY INSIGHTS THAT EMERGED THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT AND CO-DESIGN SESSIONS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.

SNOOK

OUR APPROACH TO SHARING THE PROJECT 99 REPORT MATERIALS: Open Access, Some Rights Reserved The outputs of the Project 99 exploration of internet-based approaches to support youth mental health have emerged through a coproduction approach, involving Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS (GGCNHS) as commissioning body, a three agency consortium (consisting of Mental Health Foundation, Snook and Young Scot) and young people, all supported by a multi-agency steering group. In turn, this project is an agreed action within the Board’s Strategic Framework for Child and Youth Mental Health Improvement, ratified by the Child and Maternal Health Strategy Group in June 2012.

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INSIGHTS THROUGH YOUTH ENGAGEMENT This chapter details key insights derived from the five initial engagement sessions. They are presented in the following three broad categories, with some overlap: 3.1. Insights relating to digital media use in young people.

3.2. Insights relating to youth mental health and attitudes.

3.3. Insights relating to digital media use by young people specifically in relation to mental health.

They are supported by the case study interview findings and the reader will notice considerable overlap.

All quotations in this section are from engagement group participants and have been kept anonymous.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: DIGITAL MEDIA USE IN YOUNG PEOPLE 3.1.1 Perceived importance of digital & social media and frequency of use.

Digital and social media use is pervasive and a central part of the daily lives of the majority of young people. Most can’t imagine life without their mobile phone and internet access in general. The loss or breakage of a mobile phone creates frustration and disruption to the smooth running of their family and social life.

Social media sites - Facebook in particular - are so integrated into the fabric of a young person’s social life that they are not really regarded as being separate from their offline world. Many young people claimed to be permanently connected to sites such as Facebook and Twitter through their smart phones even whilst in school. They would not always be actively engaged, but would be ready to check their accounts immediately upon receiving notifications and messages.

Facebook in particular is used not only as a social space in its own right, but as a means to organise offline events, parties, meet ups and even phone calls. Social media use plays an important part in the actualisation of a young person’s identity. The contents of their Facebook wall, their choice of ‘profile picture’, comments and posts made to others and (crucially for some young people, despite not always wanting to admit that this is the case) the number of ‘friends’ they have, plays a part in the way in which they are perceived, also in an offline context. A few young people even admitted to writing ‘fake posts’, claiming to be socialising when they weren’t in order to “seem more interesting”. Whilst young people seemed to view their digital and perhaps more controlled representation of identity as one and the same as their ‘offline self’, on reflection some could identify points of difference which could create slight friction or new dynamics in friendships.

In regards to Facbook in particular, the main reason for having an account seemed to be the fact that everyone else did; the fear of missing out is a key motivating factor. Of all the young people we spoke to, only one individual did not have a Facebook account. This was viewed by others in

the group as unusual, and they attempted to encourage him to get one without having clear positive reasons for doing so beyond ‘well, why not?’

His reason for not having an account was also vague, but he put it down to the fact that he had had never one when he was younger, so had simply “not got into the habit” and didn’t feel that he was missing anything.

“MY FRIEND WENT ON HOLIDAY UP NORTH FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND DIDN’T HAVE ANY INTERNET. WAS LIKE HE HAD DISAPPEARED OFF THE EARTH. HE GOT SO BORED BY THE END HE STARTED CALLING US.” Social and digital media use makes up for a large part of a young person’s leisure time. Entire evenings will often be spent gaming, watching videos on YouTube and downloading or streaming films (often in place of watching television), or simply ‘being on Facebook’, chatting and browsing. Even whilst engaging in offline social activities, most young people will remain connected to social media sites through their mobile phone. It is very common to simultaneously publicise any offline activity they may be engaged in through photos, posts and videos.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL & DIGITAL MEDIA The young people we worked with named social media sites as their main source of news; both in terms of world affairs, ‘celebrity gossip’ and social updates from friends, acquaintances and even family. The internet also seemed to provide their main access to the arts, through the streaming and downloading of films, music, comics and visual art.

TEXTING, HOWEVER, REMAINS IMPORTANT TO YOUNG PEOPLE AS A MEANS OF DIRECT, IMMEDIATE, ONE-TO-ONE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN FRIENDS AND PARENTS ESPECIALLY. The young people we spoke to still used text messaging on a frequent basis. Texts were mostly used to ask specific questions and carry out more personal communications.

Photo by J Devaun under a Creative Commons License

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3.1. INSIGHTS: EXCESSIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA 3.1.2 Excessive use of social media.

Many of the young people we spoke to admitted to checking their social media accounts and phones compulsively and placed a sense of reliance on being able to do so. For some, this was carried out with such regularity that they would experience withdrawal like symptoms and mild anxiety when they become unable to do so, even for very short periods of time.

Some said that they found the experience of being without social media quite freeing or at best managable after the initial withdrawal; others maintained a sense of anxiety or frustration.

WHEN ASKED IF THEY FELT THAT THEY SPENT TOO MUCH TIME ENGAGING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, MANY YOUNG PEOPLE DEMONSTRATED A CONTRADICTORY STANCE, INITIALLY DENYING OVERUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT ON FURTHER QUESTIONING SHOWING VAGUE FEELINGS OF GUILT FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT “WASTED”.

Photo by Rachel Johnson under a Creative Commons License

Some social media interactions are designed to encourage extended periods of screen time. Constantly updating newsfeeds and comment streams, ‘infinite scrolling’ functions and hyperlinks to related content encourage prolonged and quite passive consumption of information.

The simple sense of satisfaction derived from receiving notifications and messages provides reward for compulsive account checks.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: POPULAR DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA 3.1.3 Most popular social media sites

Photograoh by Jason A. Howie, under the creative commons license

Facebook and YouTube were by far most popular social networking sites amongst the young people attending our engagement sessions. As such, they were far more interested and engaged in conversations about Facebook and YouTube than any other social networking sites mentioned.

Twitter and Tumblr were also well known, but used by less. Many commented that they ‘didn’t see the point’ of Twitter.

MOST OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE PROFESSED TO USING FACEBOOK VERY HEAVILY. DESPITE THIS, THEY HAD FAR MORE NEGATIVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT IT. IMPORTANTLY, MOST SEEMED TO ENJOY COMPLAINING ABOUT IT AND THE PERCEIVED NEGATIVES DID NOT DISSUADE THEM FROM USING THE SITE. In comparision Youtube had far less complaints. The biggest downside was seen as the amount of ‘trolling’ that could occur in comment streams.

However, this abuse was seen as easier to deal with than if it had occurred on Facebook, as it was deemed less personal and targeted. Many in fact found arguments within YouTube comment streams entertaining.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: POPULAR DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA 3.1.4 New and trending social and digital media Besides Facebook and Youtube, there were two other forms of social media that sparked interest and lively discussion in particular; namely the site ‘AskFm’ and the app ‘Snapchat’. Interest came largely due to their respective notoriety (AskFm in particular) and novelty.

AskFm is a social media site allowing users to pose any question they choose and to receive answers from other users, all done anonymously.

It had achieved notoriety amongst the young people due to the rifeness of abuse found within the answers and escalation of ‘cyberbullying’ as a result. Opinion on the site was mixed. Most young people seemed either appalled or dismissive of the site, not able to understand why others continued to use it. All said however, that had friends that continued to use

the site, but would complain about it; demonstrating a fascination with the site despite - or perhaps because of - the risk of abuse.

Snapchat is a mobile phone app that allows users to send images or videos with a text message if desired attached to others. The content will then disappear very quickly after being read or seen. Whilst also having an air of notoriety, the attraction to the app seemed to be largely positive and due to the novelty of this interaction, and the potential of this as a means to share jokes with friends. However, it must be considered that due to the nature of the group sessions, it is unlikely that topics such as ‘sexting’ for which Snapchat has recently earned this notoriety would have been discussed openly.

“I HAD AN ASKFM ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT A WEEK BECAUSE EVERYONE AT SCHOOL HAD ONE, BUT I DELETED IT. I DIDN’T REALLY GET IT AND IT WAS JUST FULL OF ABUSE. SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN MY CLASS STILL HAVE IT, BUT I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY. THEY’RE ALWAYS JUST COMPLAINING LOADS ON FACEBOOK ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID TO THEM ON IT.”

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3.1. INSIGHTS: SOCIAL MEDIA USE PATTERNS 3.1.5 Identifying social media use patterns The young people involved in the engagement groups often talked about social media use as generally falling into two camps, with users being described as either ‘a talker or a stalker’. ‘Talkers’ are active users, who generate and disseminate a lot of content. ‘Stalkers’ are passive users, consuming content created by the ‘talkers’ and generating far less of their own. Individuals fit the categories to varying extent and may shift between them.

Use patterns are of course far more complex and nuanced than this and different social media sites afford different behaviours. Individuals will not always have a consistent pattern of use and may go through ‘phases’, which can be telling as to a change in state of mind. This recognition ie. that a change in a young person’s use pattern may indicate a shift in mental state and wellbeing - is perhaps more pertinent to this report than to attempt to categorise and investigate specific patterns of use, especially as social media sites - and the interactions and functions they afford - are constantly changing and being updated.

3.1.6 New behaviours and social etiquettes created by digital media interactions Every new form of digital and social media can be seen to create a slightly different set behaviours and social norms. Most social media sites and forms of digital media - both in terms of hardware and software - are constantly being altered and re-designed, and at an ever increasing pace. Even the smallest changes in interaction can cause subtle shifts in behaviour and new sets of social pressures.

One example that came up repeatedly in discussions with young people was a recent change made by Facebook in the nature of their private messaging function. It is now possible to see the exact time at which a message you have sent has been opened by the receiver. This small change has created a new set of anxieties for young people. They feel pressured to reply immediately, often feeling guilty if they do not do so. Equally, they worry if they see that the message has been received but not replied to, beginning to second guess reasons for this.

CHANGES IN A YOUNG PERSON’S PATTERNS OF USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INDICATE CHANGES IN MENTAL STATE AND WELLBEING.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA SITES 3.1.7 Positive vs negative experiences of social media sites

Perceived positive aspects of Facebook:

As mentioned previously, discussions of social media centred on Facebook almost without fail, and the young people seemed to enjoy complaining about it in particular. Internet trends are fast moving and coming years may well see a shift away from such heavy use of Facebook, but for the young people in our engagement sessions it remained the most important and most used form of social media. As such, this section will concentrate primarily on the young people’s experiences of Facebook use.

It constitutes a rapid source of news for young people. The majority of young people claimed that they “find out what is going on in the world” through the statuses and posted links of others within their network. They also greatly enjoyed the possibility of keeping track of gossip, sometimes in relation to celebrities, but primarily to friends and acquaintances.

“FACEBOOK IS GREAT! YOU CAN BE REALLY NOSEY WITHOUT OTHERS KNOWING.” It provides a positive way to keep up with friends not seen for a while or talked to on a daily basis. Many said that they wouldn’t be likely to contact such friends without the prompt that Facebook provides. Long distance friendships can also be maintained in more active and frequent ways; friends living in different places can see each others lives unfold in a way, talk to multiple people simultaneously and engage in the same games. They are, in this way, sharing the same space despite distance, especially given the amount of time young people are present online.

It allows young people to converse with and befriend people on the basis of shared interests and views rather than geographical circumstance.

Valuable and interesting information and links can be shared with people they are unlikely to ever meet, creating a positive sense of a wider, global community.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA SITES Perceived negative aspects of Facebook: Interestingly, perhaps the most common phrase across all the engagement sessions was: “People ruin Facebook”. It was generally agreed that there is nothing really wrong with the site itself - “it is what it is” - but rather in the way in which it is used. The idea that it may afford negative behaviour was not considered by young people.

Targeted advertising was a cause for annoyance and was even mentioned as potentially dangerous in regards to young people suffering from eating disorders, due to prevalence of dieting and exercise adverts. Spam notifications and posts that appear on the home page stream where regarded in similar fashion.

There was an interesting contradiction at the heart of the young people’s Facebook use. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing (or “spying”, or “creeping” as it was referred to most frequently) what was going on in the lives of their Facebook ‘friends’. This obviously relies on people sharing details of what they were doing and how they were feeling. However, there was a consensus that many people ‘overshare’ or become overly ‘comfortable’ on Facebook, posting material they deemed inappropriate. In particular, those who posted a lot about their feelings (negative feelings especially) were seen as ‘attention seekers’. The threshold for was difficult to define.

Excessive use of social media was a cause for concern to some upon reflection. As discussed previously, the vast majority of the young people in our engagement sessions said that found it very difficult to go without checking Facebook - and without access to the internet in general - for any length of time. Some recognised their dependance on Facebook and the internet in general was cause for concern, and that spending hours at a time online was something to feel guilty about due to the notion that it was a ‘waste of time’.

The practice of ‘fraping’ (gaining access to another’s account and posting or carrying out other interactions in their name without their knowledge) whilst sometimes viewed as entertaining, was largely regarded as becoming “annoying”. There were also stories of difficult situations and arguments caused as a result of malicious ‘frapes’. Such casual adoption of language of sexual violence in this phrase was not raised as a point of discussion by the young people and they seemed to use it without second thought.

“I HAD TO GET MY DAD TO DISCONNECT THE WI-FI WHEN I WAS REVISING FOR MY HIGHERS. I KEPT PROCRASTINATING ON FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE, I WASN’T GETTING ANY WORK DONE.” 57

3.1. INSIGHTS: EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA SITES Perceived negative aspects of Facebook (continued): ‘Unfriending’ someone is perceived as something of huge significance and as difficult to deal with (especially in relation to ex boyfriends or girlfriends). Where as offline it is often possible to simply avoid someone you wish to stop seeing for whatever reason, it is more difficult on Facebook. The same applied to accepting or making friends requests (again, most often in relation to romantic interest).

‘Friend collecting’ (the practice of becoming Facebook friends with as many people as possible, despite hardly knowing many of them, in order to “seem popular”) was seen as very common, but regarded in a negative light. None of the young people admitted to exhibiting this behaviour themselves, but could name friends that they regarded as being guilty of this.

Cyberbullying was named as a major downside and seen as quite common.

As with ‘offline’ bullying it takes many different forms. We heard examples of continued abusive comments being made publically or in private message form. One young person also feared that a bully used Facebook as a means of finding out her whereabouts at a given time.

“THERE WAS THIS HORRIBLE VIDEO GOING ROUND FACEBOOK OF A MAN IN MEXICO BEING BEHEADED. THE LINK THAT PEOPLE WERE POSTING HAD A DIFFERENT THUMBNAIL IMAGE AND TITLE, SO YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT STRAIGHT AWAY. I CLICKED ON IT, AND IT WAS JUST TRAUMATISING. I WISH I HADN’T SEEN IT. I WOULD NEVER HAVE LOOKED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.” The accidental exposure to videos/images/links of a disturbing nature was a cause for concern. Many said they had clicked on a seemingly innocuous link that appeared in their stream only to find it took them to something “horrible” and inappropriate that wouldn’t have actively searched for.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: SOCIAL CAPITAL & GENDER 3.1.8 Social capital and inclusion in relation to social media sites

5.1.9 Gender differences in digital & social media use

Social networks can be seen to contain key social influencers. These users will be vocal, have a large amount of ‘followers’ or ‘friends’ and will therefore have the widest reach in anything they post or share.

Differences in male and female interactions with social and digital media, and in communicating in general were noted by the young people. For our engagement group participants, young women are seemingly more able to discuss and express their emotions and admit distress; both to each other, and to male friends on an individual basis. They would often be seen to use Facebook in order to do so. They were more likely to use lengthy private messages in order to do this, or to send text messages. Young men were seen as less able to, or unwilling to, express themselves as easily and freely and peer support amongst young men takes a different form.

They are often aware of each others problems, but their main supportive interactions tend to centre around jokes, making light of the situation and shared deferral activities. Initially, many discussions on gender differences would begin with the assertion from many that young men are simply not as emotional as young women, and that expressing emotion freely was a sign of weakness and lack of masculinity. When caused to reflect on this, however, most would begin to question the truth of this.

When discussing with young people the often very regimented social structure within schools, we did see some difference in this online. We were told stories of young people deemed to have less social capital having the confidence to speak to groups or individuals outside of their normal social group online, in a way that wouldn’t happen school. However, this online confidence was not generally seen to subsequently translate back into the school environment.

It is difficult to conclude much in terms of social isolation as it was not something that the young people taking part in the engagement groups felt applied to them (or were willing to admit was the case.) There was one sensitive discussion, however, with an individual who considered himself quite socially isolated. He didn’t view Facebook (the only networking site he used) as aiding his social life in this respect, as he only really used it to talk to cousins living abroad and to read updates from others without engaging. Instead, he received support through an after school group made up of students from mixtures of years and classes.

Of course, this is not always the case and gender cannot be defined in such simple terms. Crucially though, this is the way in which most young people themselves perceive gender differences in communication, and hence this fuels the enactment of these roles.

“THIS BOY I NEVER SPEAK TO AT SCHOOL ADDED ME ON FACEBOOK AND STARTED COMMENTING ON MY POSTS AND ‘LIKING’ STUFF. BUT HE STILL DOESN’T SPEAK TO ME AT SCHOOL, HE JUST KIND OF LOOKS DOWN WHEN I WALK PAST.” 59

3.1. INSIGHTS: GAMING 3.1.10 Gaming Photograoh by ‘The World According to Marty’, under the creative commons license

Digital gaming was seen as a key leisure activity, particularly by young men. There were distinctions made between social and individual gaming.

Many young men would spend long hours playing together, either in the same room or in an online space, utilising networked consoles (X-box Live was the key example.) Individual gaming was generally discussed in terms of addiction or ‘procrastination’. The game ‘Candy Crush’ (a multiple level, sweet themed logic game) was mentioned frequently in this respect, described as being annoyingly addictive; many said that they or their friends would often disengage from conversations and social situations in order to play the game on their phone.

“A COUPLE OF MY FRIENDS ARE JUST OBSESSED WITH CANDY CRUSH. WE’LL BE SITTING HAVING A CONVERSATION AND THEY’LL JUST BE LOOKING DOWN AT THEIR PHONE ALL THE TIME PLAYING IT. THEY GET REALLY ANNOYED WHEN THEY CAN’T COMPLETE A LEVEL TOO.”

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3.1. INSIGHTS: ONLINE RISK MANAGEMENT 3.1.11 Attitudes to privacy in relation to social media use There were mixed reactions to the theme of online privacy. It was important to some to ensure that their social media use could only be seen by those within their network, but more or less irrelevant to others. Each seemed to have their own self constructed boundaries, choosing on a largely subconscious level what they were willing to post and to whom.

Deliberate choices were made to communicate with friends through private messaging services or text messages when wishing to discuss more personal information. Annoyance was expressed at those who didn’t seem to have any boundaries (although this is unlikely) as to what they would post; it was seen inappropriate and ‘attention seeking’ to share absolutely everything in a public digital space.

“I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE SHARE EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR LIVES ON FACEBOOK. SOME PEOPLE JUST DON’T SEEM TO KNOW WHAT IS TOO MUCH INFORMATION: I DON’T CARE WHAT THEY ATE FOR BREAKFAST OR HOW MUCH THEY LOVE THEIR BOYFRIEND FOR LIKE THE FIFTIETH TIME.”

“YEAH, YOU GET SOME CREEPS ONLINE THAT TRY TO TALK TO YOU AND FRIEND YOU. ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS SEEMS TO BE A MAGNET FOR IT. BUT ITS EASY TO DEAL WITH, YOU JUST BLOCK THEM.” 3.1.12 Self regulation and management of risk by young people The young people demonstrated an ability to deal with negative internet use and safeguard against risk. They discussed tactics for spotting ‘creeps’, as they were referred to, and how to “deal with them”. Many looked out for their friends in this regard. Some also had techniques in place for ignoring or shaming bullies, and some of those with mental health problems made use of means by which to avoid triggering content.

Having techniques in place did not necessarily mean, however, that they would always be employed. Vulnerable individuals can be seen to lapse on self managing behaviours and cyberbullying and online abuse was considered difficult to deal with.

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3.1. INSIGHTS: BARRIERS TO MEDIA USE / BLURRING OF SOCIAL SPACES 3.1.13 Technical/physical barriers to digital and social media use

3.1.14 Blurring of social spaces through social and digital media

Although everyone we spoke to possessed their own mobile phone, not everyone had smart phones. Those that did would often not be able to afford large amounts of roaming time and would have a low download limit, reducing the extent to which they would access the internet on their phones, beyond the ubiquitous use of the Facebook (and sometimes also Twitter) app.

Through Facebook in particular, the different components of a young person’s social network that would normally remain more or less separate are becoming increasingly mixed. In a single digital space, young people will be communicating publically (either directly or indirectly) and simultaneously with: family members; school, college or university friends and acquaintances of different ages and social circles; work colleague; friends from different cultural, sporting and shared interest groups; neighbours; friends of friends; parents of friends; and complete strangers.

The impact this has on identity creation and self realisation needs further examining.

Due to slow buffering, it is not always possible for young people with smart phones to watch videos online and many websites are not in a phone friendly format. There was a considerable number of young people - particularly amongst those still within high school - without their own laptop or tablet computers.

Within schools, many forms of social media, including YouTube and Facebook, are blocked. Other online content is subject to strict controls.

Young people with 3G coverage on their smart phones are able to get round this. We even heard stories of teachers specifically asking young people to ‘google’ information or watch videos on YouTube for educational purposes during lessons.

Learning difficulties can also create barriers to use, especially for text heavy content, although were not seen to prevent enjoyment of Facebook and YouTube in particular amongst the young people with learning difficulties that took part in our engagement sessions.

“MOST OF MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS ARE FROM SCHOOL, BUT I’VE GOT THE LADS FROM THE FOOTBALL TEAM AS WELL AND PEOPLE ON MY STREET AND AROUND. MY MUM IS ON FACEBOOK AND MY UNCLES, BUT MY DAD HATES IT. SOME OF MY FRIENDS’ MUMS HAVE ADDED ME TOO.”

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3.2. INSIGHTS: YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH & ATTITUDES 3.2.1 Young people’s perceptions and understanding of mental health The young people’s understanding of mental health was quite clearly illness focused. When asked to brainstorm what mental health meant to them, the first point of discussion always centred around various conditions and the use of slang and derrogatory terms such as “crazy”, “nuts” etc. This illness weighted understanding may have a lot to do with the way mental health is discussed within the school curriculum, with some of the young people speculating as much. Mental health was framed negatively, initially seen by most as something to worry about if you became ill, but not as something that would require positive, daily maintenance in the same way as physical health. This tended not to be the case though amongst young people suffering from a diagnosed mental health problem themselves, or providing official care for someone else. It was common for these young people to demonstrate a high level of knowledge about (and interest in) the symptoms and definitions of various mental illnesses, medications and other treatments, and politically correct terms.

However, sometimes with prompting, sometimes through self direction, all the young people we worked with proved able to discuss mental health with great maturity and in wider terms, talking of emotional wellbeing, difficulties and literacy. Most conversations were insightful, with some individuals displaying very impressive levels of emotional intelligence.

Many demonstrated an intuitive ability to look after and manage their own mental health, without thinking about it in particularly conscious manner or in these terms. Techniques for coping with emotional difficulty were discussed and all were aware of the importance of expressing emotions and sharing problems and fears (whether on not they felt able to do so effectively or not.) After initially struggling to think of ways in which positive mental health could be achieved and maintained, an array of practical steps emerged.

“AT SCHOOL WE JUST LEARN A BIT ABOUT WHAT DIFFERENT MENTAL ILLNESSES THERE. WE DON’T EVER REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW TO BE HEALTHY, OR DEALING WITH YOUR EMOTIONS, STUFF LIKE THAT. ”

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3.2. INSIGHTS: WHO YOUNG PEOPLE TRUST FOR ADVICE 3.2.2 Who young people trust for advice about mental health related issues Who young people turn to for information and support with mental health issues varies on an individual basis. There was much discussion of parents in this respect. Some claimed to feel comfortable speaking to their parents, or one parent in particular, about any difficulties they faced. This was not dependent on the young person having a positive, supportive relationship with their parents; many who claimed to have otherwise mainly positive and supportive relationships with their parents felt unable to discuss their own mental health issues with them for a variety of reasons. Often cited was a fear of disappointing or worrying parents unduly, and of not wanting to cause them to feel a sense of guilt or parental failure. Some felt that it was simply better to discuss such matters with friends, as they would be better placed to understand and empathise with their problems, and less likely to want to take some form of control of the situation. However, despite the feeling that peers often made for good, sympathetic listeners, there was an awareness that they may not always be best placed to provide sound, experienced advice.

Grandparents and older siblings were also mentioned by some as reliable sources of support and advice. Teachers and other such official authority figures were not really mentioned, GPs being the exception. Again, opinion was mixed; whilst some relied on their GP as a key (if sporadic rather than sustained) source of advice and had had positive experiences, others found the idea of visiting a doctor intimidating. A few young people who had seen a doctor for advice had felt patronised and that their concerns were not taken seriously enough. In comparision to physical health, there was less confidence in the ability of a GP to provide effective mental health care. Some young people also mentioned seeking advice through digital assets, including forums and NHS websites, as a less intimidating alternative to medical support.

The idea of self help where possible was viewed favourably. Some young people suggested that the reactions of others to disclosed problems can

sometimes make them seem worse than they had done previously, and that the feeling that you are being helped can in itself trigger negative emotions and reactions.

The young people who seemed the most self confident and capable of managing difficult emotional situations were those who had a variety of people to whom they could go for advice and support; some of these would be adults and, specifically, a parental figure. A parental figure doesn’t necessarily have to be a parent specifically, and indeed is beneficial to young people to have an adult that they trust outside of family circle and all the emotional barriers this can entail.

3.2.3 Perceived attitudes of adults to young people’s difficulties Some young people we spoke to felt misunderstood and sometimes even patronised by medical professionals and other adult figures of authority from whom they receive advice and support. This does not necessarily mean that they didn’t appreciate and take on board this advice, but can clearly have a negative impact on their response to offered support. Some young people had been upset by careless remarks made by adults that made light of their problems, along the lines of “you need to pull yourself together” or “its not that bad, other people are worse off.” Such negative associations made some reluctant to ask for help from more official sources, and to prefer instead to discuss their problems with peers.

Some young people had, however, very positive experiences in this regard.

Some had strong bonds with one parent in particular or a favoured teacher or youth group leader. Grandparents were viewed by some, despite the generation gap, as better than parents in being able to empathasise and really take time to listen.

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3.2. INSIGHTS: SUPPORTING OTHERS EMOTIONALLY 3.2.4 Difficulties involved in providing emotional support for others Most young people we spoke to - who may not be experiencing mental health problems of their own - are acting in some way or another as a means of support for those who are, often without fully realising that this is what they are doing. Many feel at a loss at what best to do and say in order to help, and few seek any kind of formal advice in this regard. Issues of trust may mean that these young people feel obliged to keep friend’s problems secret, despite this perhaps not be in their best interest.

Providing emotional support to others can be detrimental to the young person’s own mental health if they take on too much of the emotional burden and don’t receive support for doing so. Even when doing so in an official capacity - one young man had acted as a designated ‘mentor’ to younger pupils within school - having the responsibility of caring for others can be emotionally draining and upsetting. As one young person concisely put it: “you are never prepared enough for when something really bad happens.”

“I LIKE HELPING MY LITTLE SISTER OUT, I WANT TO LOOK AFTER HER ...

ITS ALWAYS GOOD TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE. BUT YEAH, SOMETIMES ITS REALLY DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHAT TO SAY OR WHAT TO DO WHEN SOMEONE COMES TO YOU. YOU ARE NEVER PREPARED ENOUGH FOR WHEN SOMETHING REALLY BAD HAPPENS.” 3.2.5 ‘Helper Theory’ In contrast to the previous point, however, for those receiving a lot of support for in particular, being able to help others in return seems important for their own wellbeing. It creates a sense of balance, helps prevent the young person from becoming a passive ‘victim’ and allows them to actualise (and better understand through sharing) some of the advise they have received themselves. The benefits of helping is not, however, restricted to those young people living with recognised mental health difficulties, and was seen by the young people to have a positive effect on wellbeing.

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3.2. INSIGHTS: EMOTIONAL LITERACY / THE THIRD SPACE 3.2.6 Emotional Literacy Ideas on emotional literacy were discussed in various guises during the engagement sessions. Suggestions were made for specialist teachers to give lessons at schools and colleges in how to deal effectively with emotions and care for and manage your mental health. The possibility of parents and other family members also attending was raised. It was generally agreed that the effective expression of emotions and sharing of problems in a constructive manner was key to long term mental wellbeing.

Creativity was mentioned as a means of creating a positive emotional outlet. Education in this way, and also about the day to day realities of living with mental illness, was discussed as a means to fight stigma.

The concept of greater openness and honesty within close social networks was seen as important: “Its all about being honest. Being honest with yourself about how you feel, as well as being honest with other people.”

For some, it was only through hearing a confession from a friend that they were able to find the courage or push they need in order to voice their own difficulties. There was an awareness that all kinds of emotional barriers and a sense of stigma prevented this from often being the case.

The encouragement of self realisation and the building of self confidence and esteem was also seen as vital by many of the young people. It was felt that schools, families and beyond should encourage a sense of individual self and celebrate achievements and individual strengths in everyone, irrespective of academic or sporting prowess. One young person even quoted Einstein in getting this point across: “if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll spend its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

The tendency towards self depreciation was also discussed as negative in regards to self esteem and well being; this was even seen as culturally indemic: “its just part of British society, we’re all really self-depreciating.”

3.2.7 The importance of the ‘third space’ (in terms of social spaces) for mental wellbeing Having a ‘third social space’, a chosen space of shared interest, with friends and peers other than those from the ‘first space’ that is home and the ‘second space’ of school or college, is important for wellbeing. The third social space helps a young person to define who they are and who they wish to be, and to meet other people who have also chosen that particular space for the same purposes.

“WE SHOULD BE TAUGHT ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH OUR EMOTIONS AT SCHOOL. YOU DON’T GET TAUGHT THIS STUFF, BUT YOU COULD BE. YOU JUST GET LEFT TO FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN. WE SHOULD HAVE EMOTIONAL EXPERTS OR PYSCHOLOGIST TEACHING SOME LESSONS.”

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3.2. INSIGHTS: THE GENDER DIVIDE 3.2.8 The gender divide Photo by ‘Alexph’ under a Creative Commons License

As discussed in the previous section, the idea that young men were generally less likely to discuss their emotions and admit difficulties was persistent in our engagement sessions. Whilst initially insisting that this was because “men aren’t as emotional as women”, on further discussion it became apparent that few actually believed this; rather that some men were less likely to share problems, for fear of seem weak and displaying vulnerability.

The young men that came across as the most articulate and comfortable in openly expressing emotions and opinions on mental health were those within the Erskine Media Music Group. This may be down to various factors; they were a close knit group of friends for one, but also had a creative and socially acceptable outlet for their emotions in music and songwriting.

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3.3. INSIGHTS: DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIFICALLY IN RELATION TO MENTAL HEALTH 3.3.1 Ways in which young people feel their social media use relates to their mental health

3.3.2 Ways in which young people seek support for mental health related issues through digital & social media

For most young people, the link between digital and social media was not immediately obvious. Those that were most able to draw direct connections between the two were the young people living with recognised and diagnosed mental health conditions; as such, mental health was closer to the forefront of their minds in all aspects of their lives. Some of these young people had actively sought support through social media and were aware of triggers that they may be subject to through their use social media sites.

Again, the only young people who admitted to having actively sought support for mental wellbeing through digital media were those living with recognised mental health difficulties. Amongst those that had, the Butterfly Project in particular was well known (see pg 22 of the mapping document).

A group of young women enjoyed practising the coping mechanism promoted on the site; namely drawing butterflies on to your own skin, or on that of a friend as a visible means of support. This simple and beautiful message of hope was very much appreciated, with one young woman even having had a butterfly tattoo in celebration of the campaign. The stories shared on the site were also appreciated, but seemed secondary in importance to the campaign’s motif and visual symbol of solidarity.

However, once prompted to further discussion of what mental health entails, the young people were able to identify instances online that affected their mental wellbeing. Bullying and abuse were key concerns, and arguments started on networking sites were also a hot topic. One young person suggested that: “all arguments seem to start on Facebook.”

They expanded up on this, citing the fact that the increasing exposure of personal information to wider social networks, and the fact that conversations perhaps best suited to being held privately were instead carried out in a public digital space. The lack of face to face contact was also seen to sometime lower barriers of self control when angry or upset.

There was also a consensus that ‘attention seeking’ behaviour on social networking sites, Facebook in particular, would often denote underlying emotional difficulties. However, few pitied those ‘attention seeking’ users, believing that they were more than likely exaggerating these difficulties and enjoying doing so.

A few young people said that they were members of mental health communities on Tumblr. They appreciated the feeling of connection to others in similar situations, and of being able to compare experiences, to find that “some people have it so much worse”. They were aware of the existence of negative pro-self harm and pro-anorexia Tumblr streams and professed to avoid them, although the difficulty of stumbling across such communities (or even deliberately seeking them out) when in a vulnerable mental state was discussed. Forums were also used for similar reasons, but also as a means to self diagnosis.

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3.3. INSIGHTS: DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIFICALLY IN RELATION TO MENTAL HEALTH 3.3.3 Comparision of different social media sites in relation to mental health related issues and communities Most young people agreed that they were unlikely to discuss serious mental health related issues on Facebook, except perhaps through a private message to a trusted individual. Whilst it was common to complain of problems or express fleeting emotions, deeper distress is less likely to be disclosed publically. In contrast, a few young people said they had shared difficulties on Tumblr, due to the anonymity it offered and the fact that the stream was dedicated to the discussion of mental health.

Grief was an interesting exception to this. Anniversaries of the death of loved ones are often announced through simple, heartfelt public messages posted to Facebook, and not only by young users. The sheer volume of supportive comments and ‘likes’ received aid consulation. Young people discussed having seen similar posts left on YouTube comment streams, often in connection to a significant song.

3.3.4 Self Management of Mental Health and Social Media A few young people in particular, (again, those already diagnosed and living with mental illness) were very active and mature in their approach, utilising trigger filters when using mental health related Tumblr streams, setting conversation parameters when talking to other users of mental health forums and avoiding sites known to have a negative approach.

Amongst the young people not diagnosed with a mental health problem, many also demonstrated intuitive risk management, as was discussed in section 5.1.

3.3.5 Cyberbullying and ‘Trolling’ Trolling was a great topic of discussion amongst the young people and of course it was something that was viewed as negative and that needed to be prevented. As none of the young people admitted to being an internet ‘troll’, it is difficult to draw any first hand conclusions about this behaviour.

However, one young person insightfully remarked that the ‘trolls’ were likely to need as much support as regards mental health as those that they abused, but that they would likely be unable to admit to any problems.

There seemed to be a very fine line between what was classed as jokes and ‘banter’ shared online between young men of high school age particularly and bullying behaviour.

“ITS THE PEOPLE DOING THE TROLLING THAT PROBABLY NEED THE MOST HELP. TROLLS TROLL BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN ISSUES, BUT THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE THE LEAST LIKELY TO ASK FOR HELP OR THINK THAT THEY NEED IT.”

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