On Wednesday, yet another fascinating edition of the Moral Maze aired, this week discussing the mental health of young people. All the time, we are inundated with facts and reports saying how things have never been worse for the young, with self-harm and mental health issues on the rise. Questions were raised over the best methods to deal with the issue: talking about it (as I favour), overmedicalizing normal anxiety, or conversely whether, as a society, we should return to mantra of a stiff upper lip.
It is undoubtedly the case that young people’s lives have been transformed in the 21st century. One of the reasons cited was often the stress of education, something which I dispute. We should aspire for education to be a form of beneficial, necessary stress, because people care about wanting to do well. Indeed, the reasons why people may find exams harder is because we have created exam factories which, unlike grammar schools, teach precisely to the test and don’t give the broader tools, knowledge and understanding of a discipline meaning, guess what, people struggle in the exams. The true revolutionary change taking place has been the internet and its influence. This has led to widespread communication through social media, gaming and a constant flood of celebrity culture (Yes, I’m looking at you Mail Online). While I am all for championing the benefits of online availability, there can be no doubt that supposedly social media can make individuals feel, well, lonelier. If all our time is spent comparing ourselves to the supposedly amazing filtered lives of others, then we are inevitably going to feel dissatisfied with our lives, such is the potential self-fulfilling prophecy of mental illness. This was one of the many reasons why I was so pleased to see an article arguing that children shouldn’t use their phones at mealtimes or in their bedrooms. According to the Guardian, Britain’s chief medical officers believe more time should be spent off technology. At mealtimes, this should be a given. It is a time for individuals to come together and discuss issues amid hectic, chaotic lives. Enjoying a meal should be the opportunity to escape from the technological world and improve our language – either in celebration or despair of the food we are consuming. Constantly looking at a screen does remove an element of appreciation. By staring into the screen, we fail to properly celebrate the world around us, how it came to be as a result of hard work and dedication by people constructing architecture and wishing to enhance society. Of course, Google Maps can reveal images of places people not otherwise have the chance to visit, but there is nothing like witnessing a location with your own eyes. However much it tries to do so, and no doubt the technology enhancement will only improve, the screen can never, and should never, properly reflect reality. By always being on technology, we also fail to properly appreciate the great elements that technology itself brings. Think about how revolutionary Steve Jobs’ original iPhone was upon its initial creation in 2007. It was simply amazing, the technology and ability to properly engage with a screen mind-blowing. Now, we simply dismiss every update of the iPhone, myself certainly not properly appreciating the potential benefits of a larger screen or more storage. If we are constantly looking within the phone, then external admiration for of technology is diminished. Of course, having read some other articles, there is a suggestion that, it is not the amount of time that is spent on the technology but how it is used that matters. Presumably doing an educational exercise, like learning Duolingo, as I attempt to do in vain, is more productive and better for the brain than simply playing Temple Run again and again. But, even if educational activities are being indulged late at night, that is hardly going to help sleep patterns. Especially if, as surveys show, getting up earlier is good for you. The time of day technology is used can clearly have an impact on memory, levels of sleep and the ability of individuals to properly cope in society. Clearly, phones and technology have multiple benefits. People can become hooked up to others, remain in greater touch with members of their extended family – who would be seen otherwise only at funerals and weddings – and learn lots. Within fitness, an area I pride myself on having expertise on (!), people are constantly glancing at their fitbits and trying to improve their daily step count. Yet, we as individuals should at least try to strike some form of balance, both for individual pleasure, allowing proper exploration of the world, and altruistically, to allow more time for a face-to-face, proper conversation with someone who may well be suffering from mental health issue. That person who desires a friendly face could, at some point, even be you.
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Author:Noah enjoys writing a blog and drinking tea Archives
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