It can be better to text than to talk

28 September 2009 2 mins read Jon Jolly Youth Work

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) research on positive activities released at the end of August made for interesting reading. Back in March, the DCSF conducted interviews with 72 pairs of young people aged between 13 and 19. The purpose of the research was to understand the motivators and barriers to young people participating in positive activities, and to find the most effective ways in encouraging young people to participate.

While there was nothing immensely surprising in the report, it did highlight a number of key themes that have a relevance to all of us working with young people. For example, friendships and social circles have a big influence on whether young people participate in any given activity, and the notion of having fun is far more compelling to them than any particular achievement.

The biggest barrier identified to young people participating in activities was a lack of awareness over what is available to them. Researchers concluded what many of us already know: that most young people don't go actively looking for information but expect it to come to them.

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