Research from Dr. Claudia Lambert, a senior research at Leibniz Institute for Media Research at the Hans-Bredow-Institut, shows the most common reasons adolescents do not seek help when faced with difficult situations, both online and offline:
- Problems with articulating their own feelings
- Afraid their situation will be disclosed to others
- Fear of punishment/retribution
- Feeling parents cannot help due to lack of knowledge about the digital platform and risks
- Concerns their problems will be minimized or exaggerated
- Lack of awareness of institutional services available
We can proactively address these problems by discussing common scenarios with adolescents:
- What will they do, or who will they go to if they are in a toxic group text?
- If someone is using false or private information to get them to pay money or carry out acts unwillingly?
- If they are receiving racially or sexually charged messages?
- If they encounter conversations that attack religious or cultural identities?
When we talk about these situations before they happen, we can build trust with adolescents so they know who, how, and when to ask for help.