Academics
Teenagers spend up to 8+ hours daily in one place, schools. Spending 45 hours weekly in the same place, with the same people, taking the same classes, can be strenuous and rigorous routine for teenagers. Therefore, it isn’t surprising how schools are toxic to their mental health. Parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents of post-millennials today have experienced schooling, however, as society has developed, ways schools are pressurising has diversified. Bullying, cyber-bullying, workload stress and timings contribute to teenage mental illnesses.
Bullying has always been a part of academic environments as constantly interacting with the same people daily, it is expected that clashes occur. However, an aspect of bullying which is more modern is cyber-bullying, which ties in with social media and causes teenagers stress and anxiety leading to more mental illnesses. Cyber-bullying impacts mental health due to the harshness which bullies express online whilst hiding behind a screen, targetting one's self-esteem and confidence, causing anxiety, panic disorders, eating disorders etc.
Nearly 28% of students aged 13-18 face some extent of bullying in school situations. Which is detrimental to academics as a safe, healthy learning environment is associated with fear and negativity. Additionally, bullying causes stress and pressure to change themselves to escape the bullying which is a pressure that students have to carry constantly, which later causes anxiety, isolation, panic disorders and even suicide. Bullying sticks with a person through their adulthood, impacting their future. Moreover, bullying is a part of social interactions and makes it an unsafe idea for teenagers, causing isolation and loneliness.
Additionally, school workload and timings have impacts on the mental health of teenage students. Online surveys have shown that when asked how teenagers felt in a school day, 39% answered that they were tired or anxious. Waking up at 6 am, leaving for school and staying for extracurricular activities, dealing with stress, homework, and deadlines are tiring, to the point where this impacts mental health issues such as panic disorders, anxiety, depression and FOMO because of the lesser amount of sleep and increased stress levels from workloads. Fatigue decreases academic performance and continues in a domino effect, leading to other mental health disorders such as stress and panic anxiety due to ill performance in school.