Last month, Common Sense released research about the pressures teens feel to achieve and be exceptional.
- Game Plan: 56% of American teens feel pressure to have their future life path figured out (e.g., college, career, relationships).
- Achievement: 53% of teens feel pressure to be exceptional and impressive through their achievements (e.g., honors classes, good grades, jobs).
- Appearance: 51% of teens feel pressure to look their best or present themselves in a certain way (e.g., following trends, having a certain body type).
- Social Life: 44% feel pressure related to having an active and visible social life (e.g., hanging out with friends, going to social events).
- Friendship: 41% feel pressure to stay available and be supportive to friends (e.g., responding to texts and social media from friends right away).
- Activism: 32% feel pressure to do good for their community or the world, or to be informed about different issues (e.g. , supporting or giving money to causes, keeping up with the news).
The Role of Social Media in Grind Culture: 48% of teens who feel appearance pressure point to social media as worsening this pressure, while 7% say social media decreases this pressure, and 31% say the influence is a mix of both.
The Role of Gaming as a Release: Of the almost 80% of teens who report playing social games, one in four said gaming is an important release valve. However, some youth noted that it can just serve as a temporary distraction that delays awareness of pressure.
How to Deal with Grind Culture: Healthy daily practices are the key.
- At least 7 hours of nightly sleep
- 1 hour of daily exercise
- “Deep and meaningful” relationships with friends and family
- Daily time outdoors in nature