Young Minds is a great charity that addresses issues affecting teenagers’ and young people’s mental health. They touch all the bases: bullying, stress and anxiety, self-harm and issues within the youth justice and criminal justice system. Seemingly there are getting on for a million young people who have been diagnosed with mental health problems, and of course there is no way of knowing how many should have been diagnosed but haven’t yet made the right connections.

Young Minds have just brought out a brilliant new, short video which focuses on the pressure lots of young people feel under to conform with a vision of what sex is, as gleaned from the internet. The video is linked to a campaign Young Minds are running which has adopted the neat strapline Don’t believe the hype. 

Definitely worth looking at. These are the main points they are making

• We want clearer ways to report online content that is upsetting and disturbing
• We want every school to ensure that young people receive sex education that:
  ° helps them to understand what a healthy relationship is and about what consent means in sexual relationships
  ° gives young people the chance to talk about pornography and how it influences expectations about sex and attitudes to others
  ° provides young people with a safe space where they can talk about sexual pressures
• We want schools and youth settings to provide guidance on sexting so everyone understands the consequences.
• We want more help and advice for parents and carers so they understand how to talk to young people about sex and consent in sensitive ways.
• We want safe online support for children and young people to discuss their concerns.