Lack of sleep due to mobile phone use leaves some Mayo students 'like zombies'
The after-affects of the pandemic are still being felt by young people.
Mayo secondary schools are seeing a lasting impact on students' social development and mental health following the Covid-19 pandemic.
A new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has detailed the enduring impact of the pandemic on student motivation, wellbeing, social development, ability to reconnect with peers and manage stress.
Michael Walsh, principal of St Brendan’s College in Belmullet, said there is "no doubt" that the spectre of the pandemic continues to linger for some students.
“What we see day-to-day is far higher levels of anxiety, an over-dependence on mobile phones where it seems to be nearly used as a tool to cope or nearly as a comfort blanket."
He said the withdrawal of supports that were rolled out during the pandemic has not helped matters, noting that the issues which arose during Covid show no signs of abating.
“We are fortunate in that we have a Home School Liaison Officer and a project worker and great staff but the need is growing year-on-year. Teaching is the easy part of the job now,” he added.
The Belmullet principal said there are issues surrounding school refusal with some students suffering a level of anxiety that they are unable to fully explain.
“They have such anxiety that they genuinely cannot come to school,” said Mr Walsh.
Margaret Heffron works as Home School Liaison Officer at St Brendan’s.
“There is a complete addiction to mobile phones which results in a complete lack of sleep. Students are disconnected and can be like complete zombies during the day. That can lead to social struggles with young people never getting away from their phones and the negative things that can come with that. There is a heightened sense of anxiety,” said Margaret.
Shaun Burke, principal of St Gerald’s College, Castlebar said schools across the country are experiencing similar issues.
“Anxiety is huge. That seems to be the main thing," he said.
St Gerald’s utilises the services of a psychotherapist to offer additional support to students as part of a co-ordinated approach.
“We felt that the school needed to respond and offer different options and supports for students, one of those being in-house counselling," said Mr Burke. "That allows students to speak to someone other than a teacher. But we always tell students their first port of call should always be their GP.
Mr Burke was on the panel at a recent UNESCO Youth Mental Health conference.
“The same worries we had as kids are the same worries young people have now, the only thing is we didn’t have social media to compare our lives to others online,” said the school principal.
“Most kids are fine but we have to look after those kids who are struggling a little bit more. That little bit of help can mean that they have the same opportunities as everyone else,” he added.
