Loneliness, isolation, teenagers, sex!!!

Surprisingly, loneliness and isolation are very common feelings among our teenagers despite the fact that we live in overcrowded cities. Social media, video games, dangers in the streets... make our teenagers spend hours and hours alone in their bedrooms with their computers. Is this really good for their mental health? 

 

In the old days children used to play in the streets altogether, they would interact with other teenagers and they would learn about life through interaction.

 

Interesting articles to read about the issue:

• Teenagers on loneliness: ‘We want to talk to our parents. We need their guidance’ (The Guardian)

• Loneliness more likely to affect young people (BBC News, Education)

• Alone in the Crowd: Dealing With Loneliness In Teens (Your Teen magazine)

• Consequences of social isolation for children and adolescents (No Isolation)

• Why teenagers feel MORE lonely than the older generation (Daily Mail)

And this can even affect their sexual habits:

• We have abandoned our children to the internet (The Guardian)

• Help! My teen's watching online porn (CNN)

• Pornography 'desensitising young people' (BBC News, Education & family)

 

Here's a listening exercise to do: Loneliness (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

REVISION EXERCISE for 4º ESO

Complete the sentences using the correct FUTURE TENSE form.

1. I booked our summer holiday last week. We (go) _______________________ to France in July.

2. I think our team (win) ______________________ tonight. I’m feeling lucky.

3. I (have) _____________________ an orange juice, please.

4. I’ve just started a new diet. I (not eat) ______________________ any more chocolate.

5. It’s 8.30, you (be) __________________ late for school.

6. I (be) ____________________ 17 on my next birthday!     

7. We (play) ____________________ tennis tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

8. In our trip around Scandinavia we (visit) __________________ Copenhagen first, then Stockholm, Helsinki and finally Oslo, where we (have) _________________ on a cruise ship along the Bergen fjord.

And here's a video about the Bergen fjord:

and another video about the train that goes from Oslo to Bergen: (What does 'Norway in a nutshell' mean?)

The future of our society is in real danger

We have got a serious problem in our society, especially in Spain. A great number of variables is affecting this dramatic situation. Educational system, uninterested and unmotivated children, broken families, fall in the number of marriages, increasing divorce rates... would be some of these negative factors.

Perhaps the solution is simple and it is based in just going back to our roots, as it seems to be happening in Scandinavian countries or Germany, where the concept of family is a major concern.

Here are some articles to read about the issue:

• Marriage on the decline as singles rise (BBC)

• Cycle of 'compulsive consumerism' leaves British family life in crisis, Unicef study finds (The Daily Telegraph)

• My advice for a good marriage? Don’t start with a dream wedding (The Guardian)

• Marriage falls out of favour for young Europeans as austerity and apathy bite (The Guardian)

• A crisis in the family (The Daily Telegraph)

• More Americans living without partners, especially young adults (CNN)

 

Interesting previous posts in this blog:

• Families in the future >> DIY families???

• Relationships and laughing

   

Activities for my 2º ESO students:  What would be your ideal family, your ideal teacher, your ideal school? Try finding solution for unmotivated students. You will have use HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS.

 

Here's a listening exercise to do: The future of marriage (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Here's a new section in BBC Learning English: The Experiment. This unit deals with...

... What they really mean: Sarcasm

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 180418 / 18 April 2018    >>>  An app to calm you down   -  Language related to 'Mental health'.  Need-to-know language: depressed, open up, comfort, counsellor & therapy.

Boot camps, what are they?

Read this report about residential boot camps for teenagers and give me your opinion. It could also be the topic of your next composition. But first let's have a look at the definition.

Some serious cases to analyse about these boot camps:

 Torturing Teens for Fun and Profit

Boot camp boy died under 'routine' control

Crossword on CHILDREN & quiznet on war words & Adjectives describing character