My name's Louise Cooney. I'm office manager at The Prince's Trust and in Merseyside.
Now I believe the Prince's Trust is doing a special focus on online content at the moment . Can you explain a bit more of what you're doing .
So the Prince's Trust ... runs a youth index every year looks at the views of young people across the country and they hear the kind of things that Prince interested eBay use index looks at young people happiness the confidence level across a range of areas from their work and life their physical health . This year however we've also looked at and the perception that young people have around social media and the prices that young people feel that they experience around that . Peer comparison online and through a social media channel . So one of the things that the trust is looking to do is through all of our programs and the support that we offer young people is to help them to develop that confidence and resilience to use social media as a positive influence and not be naive necessarily to the issues that some young people have around but also to help young people to develop their skills so that they can use social media to help propel them forward and not necessarily be in the negative aspects that people see so much as well .
Now Prince's Trust is famous for helping small businesses start or get youth into running businesses . Is this part of the focus as well . Or is it just an additional part of the Prince's Trust ? So the Prince's Trust .
Have so many aspects of the support . Yes originally kind of one of the things that were most well-known for its support around young people looking to go into self employment . But that's only one part of the support that we offer . I mean the Trust works with young people from the ages of 11 to 30 now . So we're in a really great position to help young people on one of our key aims that we're looking to develop going forward to give all young people the will to live learn and that can be for those young people to go into health and play them .
But it could also be that the skills that young people need to go into employment to develop the skills have more self-confidence and boost their self-esteem . But it could also be in the support of those young people to re-engage back in education and that the Youth Index that we've we've worked with is to look at all of the issues that young people and so we are in a position that we can help to support these young people into the best possible pathways for their futures whether that be self employment or another option as well .
Social media though is dominating everything now from personal life suits business slow . How important do you think regulation is after year after seeing your results . Do you think it's very important for the UK to regulate or do world to regulate .
I think social media has been kind of coming out of the outbreak Maccabees . You know there's been a huge change to the way that people communicate and the generation that we are currently working with the first generation that have ever had this form of communication thrust upon them . So I think we have been slow necessarily to look at how that regulation develops , but I think all of society has an obligation to make sure that young people are supported . Whether that be through regulation through education through working with schools through working with young people as we do to help make sure that young people have the skills to be able to deal with social media it's not going to go away .
So it's about making sure that those young people have those skills to work to use it positively .
What was the biggest surprise when you did the survey with the results you've got . Was it what you expected or was it worse or better .
I think one of the key aspects that's been quite concern and is the impact on young people's mental health that young people's overall wellbeing score is at its lowest level since the study was originally launched 10 years ago and is a half of young people's experience of 25 year olds in Merseyside feel that their lives when they use social media when they compare their lives to this it makes them feel inadequate and I think actually the impact that has on young people's mental health is really something that's quite that we need to address and we need to look at and to ensure that those skills are those young people are supported to develop that resilience and that self-confidence and that self-esteem .
So for me I think it is something that actually we need to look at put in something in place sooner rather than later so that those that score that wellbeing school actually doesn't stagnate or decrease any further as well .
Do you think too much emphasis is being placed on social media and on the negatives at the moment or do you think there should be more emphasis placed on the positives as well of social media .
I think there is a real balance for both . I mean social media is having a hugely positive aspect to it . You know it really does . I think there is a real focus at that negative GC kind of some of the recent events that have taken place in the last year around social media and I think that there is we should look at the benefits and actually using smartphone technology social media to highlight those benefits because for every every negative aspect of social media there are there are several positives as well . So I think actually we need to look at that as a in a holistic way to actually to identify what those and what these positives and how actually and we develop that that resilience confidence and actually use those young people and to use it as a positive voice for their generation to influence positive change .
I think at the Prince's Trust we absolutely believe that young people can influence that change . And social media can be a really positive way of doing that .
Now I see myself as the tech savvy and today and knowledgeable but even I have been caught out by some of the social media stuff . When I was looking into it recently I've been looking at it from several points of view one of which is I do a lot of work with St John Ambulance and one of the biggest problems we've noticed is the increasing amounts of people taking photographs of accidents and posting all the photographs trying to actually boost following by doing that type of thing . Do you think the needs to be some type of social media etiquette taught in schools or something like that that could actually be useful or do you think it's charities like yourselves that are responsible to actually help young kids find the way ? I think everybody has a responsibility to support and it's a positive use of social media that's absolutely within schools as in charities it's within traditional media and parents .
I think that there's a real need for everybody it's not only one education providers responsibility to give young people these skills to actually understand that what they put out through social media doesn't necessarily mean it's gone forever but that information is out there forever . I think the whole of society has a real responsibility to look after that .
Do you think there's an age gap though because a lot of focus is on things like Facebook and Twitter . Myself for example I focus a lot on Facebook and a loss on Twitter . But then you've got Instagram you've got all the other different ones and there's so few of us that have suddenly just popped up out the blue , which voice orientated message boards and now how . How can society react to these at the moment . How do you think people should react to this on the changes of youth.
On the way they actually interact with themselves online I think that there are is is an ever growing picture it comes so quickly and changes and and the trends and then social media are instantaneous kind of you know one day there is another social media platform is out there . I don't think there are any much cancers . I think it is a case of continuing to look at . I think we at The Prince's Trust are in a really good position that we can influence some of those conversations we can speak to governments around some of that support that is in place .
But I do think that society's responsibility as well to support that .
How much do you think you feel negatively impacted at the moment . Because you're saying the figures also low at the moment . Do you think it is still slow or do you think it's the environment as a whole . That is very negative against young people .
I think that before social media came in the challenges that young people have had historically that young people are or we can be disadvantaged there . Some of the issues that we've often had youth unemployment Under Educate and educational underachievement impact on young people throw into that . On top of that social media I think and know that pressure is another aspect that young people have to have to have apply pressure and stress . And isn't that an avenue that young people are are impacted by . And so I think actually it's in addition to what has always been some of the demographic of working with young people 16 to 25 has always is an area that are they have additional barriers to overcome .
Couple that with social media it's just an extra thing on top that young people have to worry about and find that pressure as well and can't handle that pressure as well .
Do you think it's just kids sort of affected do you think the adults are affected as well . And do you think that also passes down to the kids .
Yeah , I think I think social media is a new generation . It is a new medium for every generation and as as you said you know keeping up to date is is a really difficult thing when it happened so quickly . I think actually support for parents around access and how they can support their children and families to look at it is really important . And I think it's not exclusively for this you know age range 16 to 25 . I think it impacts on everybody . I think actually young people who are within that age they have the first generation of have grown up with social media in their lives .
So they are probably impacted on it more so than others . But I don't think it's exclusive to that age range .
Do you think there's enough support for young entrepreneurs at the moment though within social media and getting them into this field this new developing field . Do you think the UK is lagging behind because when you look at it it also tends to be driven from America and other countries UK doesn't seem to actually make a dent .
I think when you look at within across Merseyside we see one of the key growth areas within within our region is around that digital and creative media and and supporting young people to develop those skills . And I think that's something that within Merseyside we're really keen to do . We recognise that actually the future of young people the jobs in the future are going to be very much around that tech based and kind of areas sectors and so we we feel that that's a real key area that we are looking at growing and young people's education and skills within that whether that be within our schools programs but also within our delivery programs that we are working with whether that young people self in self employment but also young people who are looking to go into employment as well .
How are you going to use all the statistics and all the figures that you've actually amassed over the last year to actually influence what the Prince's Trust does and delivers not just in Merseyside but over the UK as well . Is there any programs you're setting for anything different .
Yes . The Trust has convened our UK 2030 Task Force which is just committed and which is about how we can help young people of the future to live . And I'm one of the streams that in that is are live where extreme and and they've just committed to two new field trips to meet young people and mental health experts on the ground as well . The point of that taskforce is about to develop an actionable recommendations for governments businesses and charities alike to make sure that young people are happy healthy and safe . Therefore going to be able to be a productive efficient member of the future and to support our growth as a country as well .
I think the Prince's Trust gives young people the support that they need to stabilise their lives as well helping young people to develop those core skills that they need to thrive both in education and and in work and work . And I think enhancing mental health and wellbeing contact content across all of our programs means that young people will be back at work boosting their mental health literacy improving their wellbeing and also looking at reducing that stigma associated with young people's health . I think the outcome of this Youth Index is it is to look at where what we can do to make sure that we use that information to direct our programs to influence those businesses and governments and charities as well to make it the right to help young people have that right place in the future economy .
Is there any way people can get involved with Prince's Trust .
Yeah absolutely . The Prince's Trust where we're delivering across all of the UK and specifically within Liverpool we've got a real developments on our programs that are happening him for for all age ranges and so one of the best ways to find out more about what's happening with the Prince's Trust locally or nationally is to visit our website Prince's hyphen trust dot Org dot UK .
Well thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing further developments of your studies . Good luck .
Thanks very much .
