Girls face more pressure to be a perfect teenager

Teenage girls get less sleep and exercise than boys, and are three times more likely to report problems with their mental health, a study suggests.

Those are some of the findings drawn from the experiences of nearly 40,000 teenagers in Greater Manchester.

The young people worked with academics to design a questionnaire for the BeeWell research project.

It is believed to be the largest attempt to analyze the well-being of young people in a region and has a duration of three years.

Saint, one of the Year 10 respondents, was not surprised that early results revealed some stark differences between the experiences of girls and boys.

Girls were three times more likely (22%) to report serious emotional difficulties than boys (7%).

Saint, who wants to be a scientist, gave up soccer because she was sick of feeling unwelcome as the only girl.

She said: “I think a lot of it today is about looking good for other people, being who other people expect you to be: the perfect girl. Especially today when a lot of people are questioning who they are and their identity.”

He said there was pressure to build a life that seemed busy, even if you didn’t have people you could adequately talk to in reality.

Social media use was higher among girls, an average of 4.8 hours a day, and 46% reported not getting enough sleep.

The teens I spoke with said that social media could be a source of support, but it also increased pressures on girls around body image.

Across town, Ruby, another Year 10, said trust was an issue.

“I think it’s clear, it’s more up to women to fight more. In my opinion, boys can be arrogant about the things they know and that brings other people down.”

So, do children feel that they have more freedom?

Two Year 8 boys told me they thought that was true, especially in sport because the options for boys are wider.

Saad said he thought children had much more room to be “naughty” and fool around.

Overall, a third of teens reported being active for an hour a day, including walking, but for girls, that dropped to just 26%.

The researchers believe there may also be less room for children to express their vulnerability.

Ahmed, who doesn’t actually use social media, said: “As children, we express our emotions less, we are expected to be stoic.”

The research will be analyzed to show the differences in well-being between the different neighborhoods of the city region.

That could be revealing in the contrast between the richest and most deprived areas, but also the many different communities in a large urban area.

Year 8 Maria, tugging shyly at her headscarf, told me that she was allowed to go alone to shops and to friends, but many other girls were not.

Generational change in issues related to identity and gender is also evident in the study, with 2.7% identifying as gay or lesbian and another 7.7% as bisexual or pansexual.

Said Saint, “I don’t think I’m really surprised at all. As celebrities, for example, have decided who they are, it’s become easier for young people to look at people they admire and think it’s okay to express themselves.”

“Now it’s more common for people to wonder who they think they are at a younger age.”

Findings from this research suggest that teens who identify as gay or lesbian are twice as likely to be bullied in some way.

Ahmed said, “If you’re LGBT, you might be harassed. I think identity plays a very important role in society.”

Professor Neil Humphrey, from the University of Manchester, said what made BeeWell different was the involvement of 150 teenagers in designing the research questions.

The ideas have already been confidentially passed on to all participating high schools to inform their wellness policies.

A breakdown of the data by neighborhoods will be used to select some for future pilot projects in which young people will have a budget to improve local well-being.

“We’re about immediate impact and understanding of the lives of young people,” he said.