What teenagers wish their parents knew: ‘Adults presume that phones are used for only bad things’

This week on The Women’s podcast, we’re handing over the microphone to Róisín Ingle’s teenage daughters Joya and Priya to talk about what life is like for teen girls in 2024.
The 15-year-old twins discuss perfectionism, coping with academic and social pressures and why they believe adults need to stop worrying about phone use and social media.
“A lot of adults presume that phones are used for only bad things and they aren’t really accepting that this is the way the world is going,” says Priya, emphasising that adults “don’t fully realise just how different things are from when they were younger”.
“I know there are obviously a lot of things on technology that shouldn’t be there, but there are a lot of good things about it too”.
Also on this episode, we hear from “teenage whisperer” Chelsey Goodan who has spent 16 years working closely with young people from all different backgrounds. She is also the author of ‘Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls.
“Social media is not going anywhere, phones aren’t going anywhere… it’s about empowering them to make healthy choices themselves,” she says, offering advice to parents struggling to manage this issue.
Goodan also discusses how mothers can deepen their relationships with their daughters by listening and giving them the tools to find their own solutions. She also explains how harmful stereotypes like ‘moody’ or ‘dramatic’ can only serve to ‘silence’ or ‘squash’ young girls and what wisdom can be learned from a teenager’s angst.
You can listen back to this episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.