Work and education pressures, isolation as a result of the rise of ‘always on’ social networking, and financial pressures as a consequence of growing financial inequality and rising tuition fees, are all likely to have contributed.
These findings ring true with July’s report from the Boston Consulting Group which revealed that the UK is lagging behind when it comes to translating economic growth to increased wellbeing.
Unfortunately, the UK’s performance has long been judged too heavily on economic outcomes, rather than good health and mental wellbeing; the country is better off financially than it has been in recent years, but this financial growth has simply not translated into better wellbeing as effectively as it should have.
Both sets of disappointing statistics come just months after the release of our World of Good report, which questioned over 1,6000 16 to 25-year-olds on the biggest issues facing them today. It revealed that a number of concerns relating to wellbeing are very present for today’s youngsters.
Ranked on an index out of 100, concerns relating to failing within the mainstream education system (92), body image (86), and lack of employment opportunities (100) came out as the three top concerns for young people, while issues relating to substance abuse (78) and family breakdown (81) also ranked highly.
