Helping youth find where they belong
Coming out of COVID someone said to me the next pandemic is already clear and it’s already here. It’s loneliness. According to Psychology Today (1), Gen Z are the loneliest generation. 73% of today’s youth report feeling alone some or all of the time - the highest of any generation. Only 45 percent of Gen Z report “excellent” or “very good” mental health, - the lowest of any generation.
Now, of course, COVID exacerbated the problem but it goes well beyond COVID. Our busy way of life leaves less time and energy for bonding with others. The facade of happy people with perfect lives on social media eats away at our self worth. The proliferation of information everywhere means we don’t go to each other, we go to Google. And the vast majority of modern day social interaction amongst youth is object-centric not human-centric - think playing a video game vs hanging out at the mall.
Educating students on the human experience and raising relational awareness would go a long way to combating this very big problem for the next generation.
Imagine if youth understood that what they were feeling is what everyone else is feeling.
What if youth learned how they are both unique and the same as everyone else?
What if they discovered that life isn’t supposed to be good all the time and that negative emotions are just as much a part of the human experience as positive ones?
What if they were guided to get to know themselves - to discover what they personally care deeply about, so they can then find other people that care deeply about those same things?
What if we brought understanding the human experience into schools as a part of school culture or student life? Or dare I say, as a subject alongside math, english and science? Every single youth grows up to be a human being after all.
If you’re connecting with this and would like to hear more and learn more about our school programs that guide youth to connect with their humanness and that of others, join our webinar on May 22 1-2pm ET. Register here.
Photo Credit: Scott Webb
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