Teenagers don’t think they are lazy…
A survey shows on behalf of the DCSF shows that teenagers have had enough of being labelled as lazy and want the opportunity to do more positive things in their free time. (It’s actually not very surprising - most of us don’t like being called lazy).
More than 3,500 16 to 19 year olds were quizzed as part of the nationwide Teen Talk survey. It is believed to be the largest ever SMS-based poll of teenagers’ free time. It found that far from wanting to spend their evenings and weekends just hanging out (if that is the correct phrase in these post-modern times), almost three quarters (72 per cent) of today’s teens would rather be involved in activities such as football, dance, going to the gym, music and martial arts. Many teenagers are also keen to participate in youth groups and community volunteering.
However, nine in ten (90 per cent) of 16 to 19 year olds admitted spending much of their time hanging out at home or with friends due to a lack of opportunities in their local area. More than four in five said there is simply not enough to do where they live and would like to see more activities made available to them.
In addition, almost one in ten (8 per cent) already use their leisure time in part time jobs, with a further 16 per cent keen to do the same.
The Teen Talk survey forms part of Aiming High for Young People, the DCSF’s ten year strategy to increase young people’s participation in positive leisure time activities. Positive activities are defined as either structured leisure time activities such as clubs, volunteering and youth work and recreational leisure time activities like sports, drama and music.