Back in August, we told you about the launch of Brighton5, a campaign that focuses on giving local teens the video skills they need to share their stories on device addiction, negative body image and self-harm. Today, on World Mental Health Day, they have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to help make it happen.
Phone addiction isn’t just a problem that young people face, but with half of teenagers feeling they are addicted to their mobile devices and 36% of parents saying they argue with their teenage children about phone use on a daily basis, it’s a good place to start. It might not surprise you that a third of British children aged 12-15 admitted they don’t have a good balance between screen time and other activities and 59% of girls aged 11-21 said social media was a main cause of stress. It’s a problem that isn’t going away and exactly why Brighton5 are crowdfunding to help their awareness and education project.
One of Brighton5’s founding members, 17-year-old Grace, said: “I have a younger sister, and she is always on her phone, and I can see that social media can cause a lot of anxiety. It will be really good for us to be able to talk to the younger generation through video, about how insignificant social media really is, and show them other ways of being creative and communicating.”
So, how can you help? They’ve already got the backing of local schools and colleges in a bid to help empower teenagers by addressing real issues that real teenagers are dealing with, creating videos with the help of production company Make (Good) Trouble to reach as many people as they can. Anything you donate will help to bring teenagers together to create this educational video content, which will then be used in schools. Teenagers will learn the video production skills they need to spread their stories and combat issues that affect their mental health.
The group of teenagers behind the project are calling on mums, dads, extended family and friends to get involved in the campaign by donating just £1 to the cause, which is launching today to help raise awareness of World Mental Health Day at the same time. For £25, you’ll be listed as a founding supporter, receive a personalised thank-you video from the Brighton5 teens and an exclusive Brighton5 T-shirt. If you know a teenager that might want to get involved in the project, you can help their crowdfunding campaign by pledging for a ‘Guest Editor’ package – an interesting alternative Christmas present to the latest iPhone, perhaps?
Brighton5 founder, Daisy Cresswell said: “Every penny donated to Brighton5’s Crowdfunder will help local teenagers use technology and social media for a positive purpose.” We like the sound of that, and, as a project we’ve been behind since they launched, we’re calling on Brighton & Hove to dig deep and help see them on their way to reaching their £30k target!
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