Holy smoke! The teens sent to a convent to cure their bad habits
With a rise in binge-drinking, sexual partners and consumerism, are today’s young women getting into…
Many young women in Britain are said to be embracing a culture of drink, casual sex and self-obsession, with recent statistics* revealing that the number of sexual partners women have has increased over the past 10 years.
So, have we lost our sense of morality? And could a course of quiet spiritual contemplation, while giving up the trappings of modern life, make a difference?
That’s the question that Channel 5’s new four-part series, Bad Habits, Holy
Orders, investigates. The programme introduces us to five young women who are used to a life of partying, drinking, consumerism and, in some cases, varied sexual encounters. They’re constantly glued to their phones, live their lives through social media, barely help around the house and don’t take anything too seriously.
Rebecca and Sarah, both 19, plus Gabbi, 20, Tyla, 22, and Paige, 23, bravely let TV cameras follow them clubbing and drinking with their mates.
The girls then embark on a spiritual journey that, their families hope, will bring changes for the better. And, as the programme tells us, they represent a generation that’s in danger of losing its way.
The young women, who all agree there is something missing from their lives, are taken to The Convent of the Sacred Heart, a devout sisterhood of Catholic nuns based in the rural Norfolk town of Swaffham.
The sisters spend four to five hours a day praying, devoting themselves to God and helping others. ‘I have dedicated my life to God and I am the bride of Christ,’ Sister Linda says, earnestly.
But the nuns are much more relatable than you might imagine, joking about not having to worry about outfit choices, and describing their perfect man as a carpenter.
Gabbi, a lingerie model, openly admits that she gets her self-worth from Instagram. Sarah, a nightclub hostess, spends around 10 hours a day on her phone – depending on how many hours she’s awake for.
‘I feel sad when I see people not respecting themselves,’ says Sister Linda, something the nuns hope they can teach their young visitors.
When the girls arrive outside the convent, both they, and the nuns, are equally shocked. ‘Oh, my goodness,’ gasps Sister Francis, seeing their bare flesh and multiple suitcases. ‘It’s about not judging by appearance,’ Sister Michaela says quickly, having previously admitted that she remembers what it was like to be a lost teenager.
But a life of quiet reflection doesn’t come naturally to the party girls, who are presented with a set of rules to follow during their time at the convent, which include not swearing and keeping silent after 10pm.
They also have to sacrifice their beloved phones. ‘It’s going to be a time of building relationships without a machine in the middle,’ second-in-command Sister Francis explains.