Ms Maureen Murray:

There has been an increase in the incidence of anxiety. That was clearly demonstrated in our second My World Survey, which was published in 2019, before the pandemic, so we could see this increase growing and building at that time. On the Deputy's question regarding whether it is real or whether it is just that we are talking about it more, I was a principal until 2018 and, in my experience, it was very real.

The experiences young people have to suffer, if I may say, are so much more complex and difficult than the Deputy or I, or any of us could ever have imagined. For example, on the issue of mobile phones and bullying through them, when the Deputy and I were going to school, we might have had a tough time, but we went home to the safety and security of our home. These children are going home, they have their mobile phone, this computer under their pillow, and it is pinging at 2, 3, and 4 in the morning. That is a very significant pressure.

There is also a very significant pressure of body image and the image that is in the media, of which young people are the focus, which is also very significant.

I am saying this more in a personal capacity but there are also many stresses in families and in family life for a great many reasons. These are impacting on young people. I know of one young person who lost his door key and was terrified and stressed in school because he could not ask his parents to replace it because they did not have the money to pay for the door key for him to get in home. The levels of stress have definitely increased.