According to a study recently conducted in Britain, one in four teenagers are depressed.
So why are these kids unhappy?
The Children’s Society, who conducted the poll, said the teenagers are feeling down because of pressures at home and school.
Many of the subjects said they were subjected to academic stress at school, peer group pressure from classmates and high expectations within the family. Being bullied was also a cause. 
There were others that said they were obsessed with their appearance because of the pressure to look good. Seven out of ten teens said they dieted some or all of the time.
One girl said, “At school you are under pressure to be pretty, wear make-up and have the right figure. If not, you don’t fit in. I don’t like the way I look because I am not skinny or tall.” (Read other comments here)
Luckily I was never bullied as a child, but I was teased. Classmates would make fun of the shape of my eyes, which have a slant, calling me names like “Shelby Woo” and “Ms. Swan.” However, there were other kids that were tortured just because they couldn’t afford name-brand clothes or the newest pair of Air Jordans.
Depression is real and bullying is a serious problem affecting youth not just in Britain, but everywhere. Just a few weeks ago, a girl was beat up by a group of girls because of something she said on her MySpace page. The victim was beat until she became unconscious. Not too long before that, a girl committed suicide because of a MySpace hoax.
The suicide victim, Megan, thought she made a friend when a guy named “Josh” reached out to her on MySpace. Megan, 13, who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, communicated with Josh for more than a month until her one day ended their friendship. Josh said he heard Megan was cruel, which is why he couldn’t be friends with her anymore. The next day, Megan committed suicide. (Read the story)
It must be stressed to children that everyone is different. So you don’t look like Halle Berry and or have the body of Jessica Alba. Who cares? And you don’t have the IQ of Einstein or the athletic ability of Lebron. So freaking what!
Kids torment other kids because they are insecure with themselves and make themselves feel better by putting other people down. Be happy with who and what you are. Enjoy your childhood. Save the worrying for when you have to work three jobs just to fill your gas tank. Until then, breathe easy.
1 response so far ↓
Brittany // April 27, 2008 at 5:35 pm |
Alexia, I can certainly relate to this story because I was one of these teens. I spent the majority of my sophomore year in high school in a state of depression. I even contemplated suicide on several occasions during this time. The academic and social pressure that I faced was more than I could handle. Academically, because I went to a college preparatory school and my need to be on top, I felt that I needed to be the smartest kid and the one with the best grades. Sometimes no matter how hard I studied and tried, I couldn’t achieve this feat. Eventually I became sad and tired of trying and just really didn’t care anymore. Socially I had a complex. I was not one of the smallest or the prettiest girls in school-these are the girls that the guys paid attention to. I didn’t understand why I didn’t get attention. Was it because I wasn’t a size 2 or is it because I couldn’t afford to wear the latest Baby Phat outfit? I look back now and see that these things are trivial but as a teenager, these are the things that seemed most important. The bottom line is teenagers can be cruel and unfortunately I don’t think this is going to change until society changes. Until our society puts more emphasis on the inner beauty and the intellect that one possesses, the stories that other teenagers I share will continue to grow. Hopefully this day will come soon because nobody deserves to feels like they aren’t important.