Aside from my day job, I’ve spent a wonderful decade volunteering with the Scouts. Helping young people develop confidence and a sense of belonging is rewarding and much needed. Youth organisations like the Scouts, cadet programmes, sports teams, and mentoring initiatives provide essential support systems. Yet outside these spaces, many young people turn to social media for guidance.
Netflix’s Adolescence dragged this issue into the public awareness with a powerful portrayal of how social media can shape young people’s lives with devastating consequences. The show’s popularity highlights concern that disengaged young people are retreating into online spaces with their own hierarchies and behavioural codes. Adolescence explores this to its most extreme and tragic conclusion. But why are young people going online in the first place?
A lack of positive role models
Sir Gareth Southgate is a rare example of a leader who has redefined masculinity through empathy and teamwork. He recently stressed that young boys especially need to learn that it’s ok to fail. He warns: “Callous, manipulative, and toxic influencers willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance, that strength means never showing emotion, and that the world, including women, is against them.”
It’s easy, and perhaps more palatable, to blame social media and push for smartphone bans. This might play a role. But any long-term solution must also involve listening to young people to understand the problem’s root causes.
Another part of the puzzle: Youth voice
Too often in education, adults make decisions in policymaking echo chambers with little input from young people. Young Lives, Young Futures, a six-year ESRC-funded study led by King’s College London and Edge, aims to change that by putting youth voice first.
In our 2023 report, ’Schools for All?’, we examined young people’s experiences of alienation in the English secondary school system. Research revealed that nearly half of young people 15-16 found school neither enjoyable nor meaningful but something to be endured, with pastoral care taking a backseat to exam results. Most concerning was that young people from low-income and minority ethnic backgrounds, those identifying as LGBTQ+, those with SEND, and those reporting poor mental health felt the least seen by teachers.
More recently, Young Lives Young Futures focused on the under-researched ‘missing middle’ – the 40 per cent of young people who are neither pursuing university routes nor classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training). This group faces unique challenges, typically leaving school at 16 to enter the workforce or take up apprenticeships. Unfortunately, the research again highlights issues at the intersections of class, SEND status, academic attainment, and geographic location and how these shape access to vocational education and employment. Young people who grew up in extreme poverty, act as carers, or have been involved with the criminal justice system often describe being written off as “the troubled kid who can’t be helped.”
If you faced all these barriers to success, wouldn’t you feel lost, angry, and alienated? It’s hardly surprising that online influencers resonate with young people by voicing their frustrations and offering easy solutions.
Shared responsibility – it goes beyond formal education
Young Lives, Young Futures focuses on areas like education, employment and access to opportunities. But the principle behind it – listening to young people – is relevant everywhere. Today’s young people face challenges greater than any in living memory. The legacy of COVID lockdowns, a highly volatile job market, and the most uncertain global outlook since WWII are creating huge disillusionment. Factor in the complexities of social media, and there are no easy solutions.
Crucially, our research shows that more affluent young people have better access to support. It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that social media is filling some of the gap for disadvantaged groups that lack consistent external support systems. In this sense, the problem of social media and the so-called ‘manosphere’ is fast becoming a class issue.
The education system needs change. But with influencers taking the lead online, that’s not enough on its own. Southgate uses his platform to push for healthier role models. I want to do the same in all aspects of my work. But to ensure young people – regardless of background – have equal support, we need teachers, youth workers, coaches, parents and mentors actively helping however they can.
It’s time to start listening – really listening – to young people’s lived experiences instead of assuming we have all the answers. We must also look at how our education system can better support them emotionally and socially. Finally, through mentoring and positive role modelling, we must help them feel valued, empowered and able to succeed. None of this is easy. But as Adolescence shows, the alternative is not an option.
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