With the ever-growing impact of social media on young people, interpersonal skills such as communication, both verbal and non-verbal, are not developing in the way they have done traditionally. Where children used to spend hours playing with their friends, riding bikes outside their houses after school or climbing trees together in the park, they now prefer to engage with one another electronically. The result is a generation that struggles with the subtle nuances of body language and tone, which can lead to diminished meaningful relationships.
Image Source: Pexels
The impact of this is felt especially in schools, where students are not able to revert to WhatsApp, SnapChat or any of their “usual” methods of communication. When using a phone or computer to chat, if a situation becomes awkward, there is the option to simply dis-continue the conversation.
In real life however, it can be uncomfortable to end a face to face discussion, which can result in more negative interactions due to a lack of experience in those kinds of circumstances. While students are focusing on the school curriculum, the emphasis is still on the individual learning, despite a marked increase in incorporating group work into many subjects. Sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher, whilst important for their education, does not give young people the chance to socialise all that much.
Image Source: Pexels
But they still have break and lunch time to hang out together?
Unfortunately, a study by UCL’s Institute of Education found that these times are being increasingly reduced in schools. Primary aged learners now get 45 minutes less break time every week compared to back in 1995. Afternoon break is being “virtually eliminated” with only half of primary schools now factoring it into the timetable. Secondary schools fare even worse, with afternoon break being part of only 15% of school’s regular days, adding up to a loss of 65 minutes of break time every week for these older students.
Lunch times have also been hugely trimmed down in secondary schools, with over 82% having a lunch that lasts less than 55 minutes. Back in 1995, it was only a third of schools who had the shorter lunch time.
The reasons being given for these changes are largely down to schools feeling the need to increase teachers contact time with their students. With intense pressure to cram more learning into the school day, to provide a larger percentage of higher grades, young people are losing the time to socialise and develop key soft skills. Some students are missing out on even the small windows of time that are allocated as 60% of schools were found to withhold breaks as a punishment. This also denies young people the chance to increase their daily exercise.
Image Source: Pexels
How can WiseUp help?
With growing concern about young people’s mental and physical health, these figures are very worrying. Here at WiseUp, we strongly believe in young people getting every opportunity to improve their inter-personal skills, while engaging in gentle exercise. Our team building products have been designed to fulfil many of the National Curriculum criteria, meaning that a WiseUp day ticks many of the boxes needed by schools.
While participating in a range of different tasks, students focus on their communication within a supportive team environment. Building trust amongst one another alongside personal resilience, our full and half day challenges give students the chance to engage in face to face interactions, while also giving them a break from a traditional classroom setting. They will probably be having so much fun, they won’t even realise they are learning!
Image Source: WiseUp Team Building
Contact Us
Give our friendly office team a call on 01732 822753 or use our easy enquiry form to see what options are available for your students.
Title Image Source: Pexels
Return to Blog