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Survey: Young people worried about the future

Teenagers are worried about Covid and the climate.

Nuoria koripallopelaajia harjoittelemassa.
Hobbies can be expensive for young people in Finland. Image: Pasi Autio / Lehtikuva
  • Yle News

Finnish teenagers are most worried about climate change and Covid, according to a survey by the UN's agency responsible for children, Unicef.

The poll asked more than a thousand children aged between 13 and 18 what they were most worried about.

Climate change came top, with more than 70 percent of those who answered saying they were concerned about it. Respondents also said their experiences of discrimination, bullying and scarcity of mental health services had adversely affected their wellbeing.

The majority of respondents were girls.

Respondents said that family and friends are the most important parts of a good, enjoyable life, yet one in five respondents said they did not have an adult in their life they felt they could trust.

Many respondents said they did not think teachers and other adults in schools understood how different children and young people's backgrounds were. Nearly 40 percent said they feared discrimination or bullying in school.

There was low confidence in adults generally, with just one in four respondents saying that municipal decision-makers understood children and young people.

More than 40 percent said they did not think it was possible to take part in hobbies at a reasonable cost in their municipality.

Sources: Yle