Unbelievable but true, a fourth high school student from my community has committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. That’s four teenage suicides (plus one thwarted attempt) since May.
I live in one of the most intellectual, technology-oriented communities in the world, but sometimes I think people here lack basic communication skills. Adults and adolescents are constantly texting, emailing, “Facebooking” and twittering, but are they really talking to one another? More importantly, are they really listening to one another? Furthermore, are parents too busy checking their I-Phones and blackberries or yakking on their cellphones to really find out what’s going on in their kids’ lives?
I went to the same high school as these teens and, although it was more than 25 years ago, I don’t think kids are under any more pressure to succeed today than we were then. The difference is that teenagers today mostly communicate electronically verses face-to-face. We didn’t have cellphones or even personal computers. We may have only had 10 friends as opposed to 100 Facebook “friends”, but they were 10 real friends we could really count on.
In addressing parents at a special PTA-sponsored forum last week, Philippe Rey, executive director of Adolescent Counseling Service expressed his concerns, ”Technology has been isolating our kids. Kids today spend a lot of time being hooked up to technology and unfortunately parents do that too. What we hear from them is they feel isolated. “
There are resources out there for teens who are struggling with stress, anxiety and depression and for parents there are warning signs that a teen may be contemplating suicide. Most experts agree that the best thing parents can do is talk frankly with their teens and confront the issue of suicide head-on.
For those in the Bay Area, here are some additional local resources. Keep talking (face-to-face) and, most of all, keep listening.
Be Well,
Carolyn
Unbelievable but true, a fourth high school student from my community has committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. That’s four teenage suicides (plus one thwarted attempt) since May.
I live in one of the most intellectual, technology-oriented communities in the world, but sometimes I think people here lack basic communication skills. Adults and adolescents are constantly texting, emailing, “Facebooking” and twittering, but are they really talking to one another? More importantly, are they really listening to one another? Furthermore, are parents too busy checking their I-Phones and blackberries or yakking on their cellphones to really find out what’s going on in their kids’ lives?
I went to the same high school as these teens and, although it was more than 25 years ago, I don’t think kids are under any more pressure to succeed today than we were then. The difference is that teenagers today mostly communicate electronically verses face-to-face. We didn’t have cellphones or even personal computers. We may have only had 10 friends as opposed to 100 Facebook “friends”, but they were 10 real friends we could really count on.
In addressing parents at a special PTA-sponsored forum last week, Philippe Rey, executive director of Adolescent Counseling Service expressed his concerns, ”Technology has been isolating our kids. Kids today spend a lot of time being hooked up to technology and unfortunately parents do that too. What we hear from them is they feel isolated. “
There are resources out there for teens who are struggling with stress, anxiety and depression and for parents there are warning signs that a teen may be contemplating suicide. Most experts agree that the best thing parents can do is talk frankly with their teens and confront the issue of suicide head-on.
For those in the Bay Area, here are some additional local resources. Keep talking (face-to-face) and, most of all, keep listening.
Be Well,
Carolyn