A new study has shown that teenagers are placing their education above other life experiences, skills, relationships, and even their own happiness. The question is, is education more important than living life itself?

The National Citizen Service undertook an intergenerational study – and the results make worrying reading for 15-17-year-olds and their parents. The study shows that 76% of these young people see studying for their results as more important than things like family life, friends, hobbies and even sleep!

Just over half of them felt that school work should be put ahead of anything else as they strive to get the grades they want over the coming months, with only 39% ranking their own happiness as more important than getting good grades.

When it comes to achieving any sort of work / life balance, many students just can’t see the point, with just 16% saying they see achieving a healthy balance between their studies and socialising as a priority, and only around half of the 15-17-year-olds thinking that they have managed to balance the two.

Parents

Could parents be to blame for adding extra pressure to get good grades?

Quite possibly, with half of British parents saying they believe school or college work should come before anything else if their children are to succeed in the future.

Only 13% think that their children’s hobbies are of any importance and only 12% believing that their children should get involved in activities that improve their practical skills for the future.

Anxiety

The pressure to do well at school or college is also playing havoc with emotions, with 28% of the young people saying they feel anxious or nervous, and 28% of parents also admitting that they feel anxious about the coming year.

Confidence is at a low with 1 in 10 girls saying they actually feel scared about the next year of study and only 13% of 15-17-year-olds saying they feel optimistic about this academic year.

It’s no better for parents – with just 11% saying they feel well prepared for their children’s year ahead.

It is perhaps no surprise then that the Department for Education have found that the mental health of the students they surveyed has worsened over the last ten years – with girls being particularly affected.

The Importance Of Balance

It is clear that for many young people (and their parents) this focus on school or college above everything else is causing a huge amount of pressure, while also seriously impacting the opportunities to let off steam and relax.

We all recognise the importance of striking a balance between work and social or home-life when it comes to employment, so why are so many people turning a blind eye to the same issue among teenagers?

Perhaps there is a feeling that battening down the hatches and just working solidly for two years or so is a sacrifice worth making for a better future, regardless of any implications for wellbeing. But this ‘toughing it out’ and just getting the work done could, ironically, actually have a negative effect on future success.

Undertaking activities, including socialising with others, can help develop important skills for work and life in general – particularly when so many employers are citing a lack of vital ‘soft skills’ among young employees.

IQ or EQ?

Child and adolescent clinical psychologist, Professor Tanya Byron explained that while the desire among young people to work hard to better themselves was admirable, “it is also worrying to find they view this with such anxiety in terms of their future success, that they are prepared to do this at the expense of other developmentally crucial activities.”

Professor Byron stated, “We cannot allow our children and young people to prioritise their IQ over their EQ [emotional intelligence]. Building EQ is fundamental for emotional and psychological well-being in order to give our younger generation the skills to navigate the developmental and social demands placed on them within a competitive and, at times, anxious and uncertain world.”

There is no doubt that working hard and getting the grades you deserve is important – but not to the point that it should be to the detriment to your health or picking up other important skills for life (and your future career too)!