Anxiety levels among young women rising
A third of all young women are suffering from anxiety and depression, as experts blamed the “24/7 nature of social media”. The Office for National Statistics released data yesterday measuring the personal well-being of young people. In young British women aged 16-24, 31 per cent reported suffering from depression or anxiety in 2017 to 2018. It marked an increase from the previous year and the same period five years earlier, both of which had rates of 26 per cent.
A THIRD of all young women are suffering from anxiety and depression, government figures suggest, as experts blamed the “24/7 nature of social media”.
The Office for National Statistics released data yesterday measuring the personal well-being of young people.
In young UK women aged 16-24, nearly one-third (31 per cent) reported suffering from depression or anxiety in 2017 to 2018. It marked an increase from the previous year and the same period five years earlier, both of which had rates reported at 26 per cent.
The data come after The Daily Telegraph’s Duty of Care campaign, which called for tech giants to adopt a statutory duty of care to safeguard social media users.
Last year The Children’s Society warned that children were the unhappiest they had been for almost 25 years, due to “excessive social media use”, increasing loneliness and turbulent friendships. Almost a quarter of a mill i on children i n the UK – around 219,000 – reported being unhappy with their lives as a whole, the charity found.
Eleanor Rees, the head of the ONS social well- being team, said: “The research we have published today gives a pre-pandemic perspective, making it a useful starting point to understand what has changed since. What we noted in particular were adverse effects on well-being and anxiety for women aged 20 to 24 years compared to five years ago.”
Experts warned that mental health and well-being levels would continue to decline as the pandemic continued.
Louise Clarkson, the head of children and young people at Mind, the mental health charity, said: “It’s very concerning to see a stark decline in young people’s well-being over the past five years, particularly among young women.
“Academic stress, an uncertain jobs market, and pressures on appearances can have a real effect on mental health, and for some young people that’s compounded by a rise in online bullying and the 24/7 nature of social media.
“We know many young people are struggling to access children and adolescent mental health services, and provision is uneven across England and Wales. This situation is not improving. What’s also troubling is that these statistics date from before the pandemic.”
According to Mind research, people aged 18- 24 reported worse mental health and well-being during lockdown than all other age groups. The ONS also found several measures of personal well-being of young women aged 20-24 had declined in March 2020 from five years previously, with a fall in the percentage of young women reporting very high life satisfaction and happiness, and very low anxiety.