Over half of kids are exposed to suicide online
A Tyneside mental health charity is calling for more support in schools as more kids are exposed to suicide and self-harm.
We can reveal that over half of teenagers have seen someone talking about self-harm or suicide online.
New research, from Parent Zone, shows 51% of 13-20 year olds have seen someone talk about suicide online and 61% have seen someone talk about self-harm.
It also shows that just under half of teachers think the internet is bad for young people's mental health, compared to 28% of young people.
Ninety-one per cent of teachers believe the frequency of mental health issues among pupils is increasing, but the majority (84%) of schools say they do not have adequate resources to deal with pupil’s mental health.
Tyneside Northumberland Mind has been working with ten schools in our region in a pilot project to get better mental health support in schools, but funding has run dry.
They think teachers must be taught about mental health and wellbeing as part of their teacher training.
CEO, Stuart Dexter, said: “Sometimes there are specific issues around something like self-harm. It’s like there’s a competition about who has the worst wounds. That can also trigger people to start to self-harm and deal with life’s problems. That can have a massive impact on young people’s mental health.”
“There’s budget pressures and other pressures in the education system have had a huge impact I believe health and wellbeing isn’t’# now isn’t part of teacher training so I don’t think teachers feel equipped or trained to deal with disclosures around self-harm or suicidal thoughts.”
Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of Parent Zone, says: “Family life is arguably more complex now than it has ever been. Children have access to information, views and opinions that adults cannot control.
"The internet has destroyed any notions we might have had about keeping some things away from children until they were ‘old enough to cope.
“This report offers a glimpse into their world. It does this by doing what parents around the country do when they are concerned about young people - talking to them, and the teachers who look after them.”
The full report will be live on the Parent Zone website at 9am: