Tallinn student urges adults to better understand young people
Klaara Kollist, a high school student from Tallinn, Estonia, called on adults in a column on young people's mental health to listen more attentively to teenagers, understand their experiences and give them more freedom in education. She wrote that in conversations with her peers, she saw a significant difference between the outward impression of well-being and young people's personal experiences, including suicidal thoughts.
As ERR News reports, the student believes that young people often seek support primarily from friends their own age, although adults should play a more active role in such situations. In her view, it can be difficult for the older generation to put themselves in teenagers' shoes, as they live under the constant influence of social media and digital technologies.
Social media pressure
Kollist noted that social media creates broad opportunities for comparing oneself with others and displays idealized images of life and success. At the same time, it is difficult for young people to abandon such platforms because important communication, including school-related communication, takes place through them.
The author presents as her own assessment claims that Meta and TikTok platforms deliberately promote content that heightens vulnerability, anxiety, depressive thoughts and addiction. She stresses that young people's realities should not be dismissed simply because such challenges did not exist before.
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School and freedom of choice
Among the factors that, in the student's opinion, may worsen mental health, she named excessive academic workload, constant comparison of students and a feeling of being trapped. Kollist pointed out that school curricula are being supplemented with new topics, including information technology, artificial intelligence, digital media, cybersecurity and climate change, while old material is not being reduced.
She also described her experience of studying in England for half of an academic year. There, students could choose three subjects for in-depth study and had two compulsory periods of independent work every day. In her view, high school students should be given more opportunities to determine their own educational path, while adults should emphasize the importance of education rather than merely compulsory attendance at school.
In conclusion, the author stressed that understanding, support and countering social pressure and bullying can help prevent depression and suicide.
