Girls and young women are particularly distressed by the increased pressure on appearance and sexual harassment, according to a survey carried out in Britain.
In Britain, the happiness of girls and young women has decreased steadily for the past 15 years, according to the annual surveys conducted by the Girlguiding organization.
The organization published this week its most recent survey score. Less than a fifth of girls and young women between the ages of 7 and 21 described themselves as very happy. Even in 2009, 40 percent of people of the same age described themselves as very happy.
In the study, the lowest level of happiness was among 17-21 year olds, of whom only 8 percent answered that they were very happy.
The results of the survey have been widely quoted in the British media. Newspapers, among others, have reported on the matter Daily Mail, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Times and a news channel Sky News.
More than 2,600 girls and young women in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales answered the survey.
The Internet harasses young people
In the survey, two-thirds of respondents aged 11-21 said that they are sometimes ashamed of their appearance because they don’t look the same as girls and women in the media and on the internet.
Appearance pressures increase during the transition from childhood to adolescence. 77 percent of the 7-10 year olds answered that they were satisfied with their own appearance, while only 46 percent of the 17-21 year olds were satisfied with their appearance.
Two-thirds of 11-21-year-olds answered that they wanted to lose weight, and about half said they would skip meals. About a third said they were considering cosmetic surgery due to appearance pressure.
According to the survey, sexual harassment online has increased. About 60 percent of 13-21-year-olds answered that they had received sexist comments online, and about three-quarters said they had unintentionally received sexual images.
Almost half of the 7-10 year olds answered that strangers had sent them messages while they were playing online games. A quarter of the same age group answered that they have been bullied online.
About 40 percent of 11- to 21-year-olds said they often feel sad or depressed after spending time online and on social media.
About 80 percent of the respondents said that being outside in turn increases their happiness. However, only one third of the respondents said they spend time outside most days.
– It’s crushing that girls’ happiness has steadily decreased over the past 15 years. It is clear that girls feel pressure from many directions, the head of the Girlguiding organization Angela Salt comment on the survey results.