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Young people feel misunderstood in the crisis

2020-05-14T10:11:52.445Z


High school exams or just average grades, open schools in the corona crisis or not? Young people suffer from being perceived only as students, according to a study. They have fears - and want one thing above all.


High school exams or just average grades, open schools in the corona crisis or not? Young people suffer from being perceived only as students, according to a study. They have fears - and want one thing above all.

Hildesheim (dpa) - According to a new study, adolescents feel too little attention in the corona crisis and too little perceived in their worries. Almost half of those questioned doubt that their concerns will be heard, according to the nationwide study "JuCo" by the University of Frankfurt and the University of Hildesheim.

The situation is paradoxical: On the one hand, schools have been closed for weeks and familiar everyday life has been turned upside down from one day to the next. On the other hand, young people would have the impression of being perceived only as pupils. They did not feel they were part of political decisions.

The concerns of young people are hardly noticed

Young people didn't just want to be reduced to their role in so-called "homeschooling", said Tanja Rusack from the research team. Her changed everyday life and her worries would hardly be noticed. Johanna Wilmes, who also works in the association, said: "The young people do not see that their concerns are heard, the participation formats of young people do not seem crisis-proof." Instead, there is the impression that currently adults alone decide how everyday life should be shaped in the crisis.

According to researchers, a total of more than 6,000 people took part. Over 5100 online questionnaires from people between the ages of 15 and 30 were evaluated, most of them between the ages of 15 and 21. The "JuCo" study is a result of the research association "Childhood - Youth - Family in the Corona Period", which consists of the Institute for Social and Organizational Pedagogy at the University of Hildesheim and the Institute for Social Pedagogy and Adult Education at the University of Frankfurt in cooperation with at Bielefeld University.

Another nationwide study is "KiCo", for which parents with children under the age of 15 were interviewed. Results should be published in the coming weeks.

Young people miss contact with friends

According to the study, young people are largely satisfied with the mood at home - more than 70 percent of those questioned stated that there was always someone there to take care of them. This is not the case for 4.8 percent. Satisfaction was much lower when it came to contacting friends. The young people also expressed themselves much more satisfied with the way they spent their time before the pandemic. And almost a quarter of the respondents (23.6 percent) stated that they did not have the impression that their own worries were heard. Another 22 percent "tend to disagree" with the thesis that their concerns are heard.

The researchers said the young people used the survey to draw attention to their situation. "We can also see this from how many young people have filled in the free text fields that are also available in the questionnaire," said employee Anna Lips. "This shows how great the need is to be heard." For example, one of the interviewees wrote: "We young people are only seen as schoolchildren. We should learn and learn and learn. Why is it discussed to shorten the summer vacation? Politicians think like capitalists."

There is no clear perspective

Another wrote: "From now on, not being allowed to go out anymore and not being able to see your friends is an impertinence! You really get lonely, even though the family is there." A third young person, who missed swimming and competitions, wrote: "I have the feeling that my fears are not understood. I have no plan as to how to proceed for me and my wishes." Networks such as sports clubs and friendship networks have largely disappeared from now on, the researchers judged. The digital variant of cultivating friendships is often perceived as insufficient.

Because: According to the researchers, young people spend a lot of time with the media. But above all, they wanted to organize their friendship relationships - and not just to maintain them through it.

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-05-14

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