A new episode of the podcast “Jestem tu jeszcze” (“I’m still here”), devoted to the alarming deterioration in the mental health of children and young people, is now available on YouTube and Spotify. The guest of the episode is Prof. Mirosław Grewiński, rector of Korczak University and social policy researcher.
The conversation touches on one of the most serious social challenges of recent years – the growing number of suicide attempts among young people, self-harm, and increasing emotional crises. In this episode, we analyze the reasons behind this dramatic change and which elements of the family, school, and social systems require urgent intervention.
Key topics of the episode:
- Control in real life vs. loneliness online – parents watch over their children in the real world, but often leave them without support and supervision on the internet, where they encounter hate, violence, and age-inappropriate content.
- The family as a foundation or source of tension – we discuss the impact of lack of time, overload of responsibilities, and challenges in single-parent and blended families.
- Schools without procedures – institutions often avoid difficult topics for fear of damaging their reputation. Teachers lack the support, knowledge, and tools to respond to crises.
- Invisible children in social policy – the system focuses on the needs of seniors, and young people are often left without real institutional support.
- Loneliness in the digital world – the disappearance of lasting relationships in favor of superficial online contacts turns out to be one of the key factors in the current crisis.
Prof. Grewiński also refers to the problems resulting from the functioning of schools based on the outdated Prussian model and points to directions for modern, effective prevention – based on relationships, emotional competencies, and responding to the real needs of young people.
The episode is available to listen to for free, online, on YouTube and Spotify.
