London - Children in Britain are suffering from growing up in a “toxic climate” of stress and pressure at school and online, a damning new study has found.
Fear of failure, bullying, the burden of trying to be thin and attractive, and depression were among the multiple threats facing young people.
And almost a quarter of youngsters questioned said their relationships with their peers had been harmed after viewing online porn, according to the poll.
The alarming results, published recently, raise the bleak prospect of the country's young people sitting on a “mental health timebomb”, said campaigners.
The survey, commissioned by national charity YoungMinds, adds to a growing body of evidence that UK youngsters are among the unhappiest in the world.
The study, which questioned 2 000 children and young people aged 11 to 25, found:
* More than half of school pupils believe they will be a failure if they don't achieve good exam grades
* A staggering 50 percent of 11-14 year olds have viewed online porn - with four out of ten of these admitting it affected their relationships with their friends
* Half of youngsters have been bullied
* 40 percent 11-14 year olds skip meals to stay thin
* And one-third don't know where to turn to get help when they feel depressed or anxious.
Lucie Russell, YoungMinds campaigns director, said: “Every day we hear about the unprecedented toxic climate children and young people face in a 24/7 online culture where they can never switch off.
“Young people tell us they experience a continuous onslaught of stress at school, bullying, sexual pressures and bleak employment prospects.
“When this becomes too much for them they don’t know where to turn for help and when they do often the support just isn’t there for them. We are sitting on a mental health timebomb.”
The charity has now launched a new campaign - YoungMinds Vs - which will fight for improvements in the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.
It will focus on the key concerns identified in the survey: bullying, sexual pressures, school stress, unemployment and lack of access to help.
Frankie Sandford, of the pop group The Saturdays and who is backing the campaign, said: “I get to talk to a lot of young people and I know there are so many who are really suffering and struggling with life.
“This is raising awareness of the importance of young people having good mental health, and everything that can be done to make that happen, including getting access to help when they need it.”
The campaign launch, at the House of Lords, comes at a time of growing concern that young people are being placed under massive strain at school and online.
They are bombarded with sexualised images and the scourge of online porn. A survey in October last year found 60 percent had been asked to take an explicit self-portrait - a 'sext' - on their mobile phones.
In 2012 a group called the Save Childhood Movement, established by leading academics, found increasing numbers of children were failing to develop properly at a young age because of the pressures of modern life.
The powerful lobby of childcare experts said that many under-16s spent too much time sat unsupervised in front of televisions, games consoles and the internet.
Children were also among the most tested in the Western world and more likely to be exposed to junk food and poor diets. - Daily Mail