TORONTO -- As thousands of environmental activists march Friday in the Global Climate Strike, among them are likely to be scores of children afraid for their future.
Some school boards across the country are even exempting students from to participate. But the presence of pre-teens and adolescents raises the question: Should children be a key player in environmental movements, or is all the talk of environmental ruin bad for them?
Early research suggests that climate anxiety or 鈥渆co-anxiety鈥� is very real. One survey in the U.K. showed that half of children between the ages of seven and 11 . Other reports suggest kids are more worried about climate change than their own homework. In 2017, the American Psychological Association detailing early research into the mental health effects of natural disasters and climate change. While that research is still fairly new, the evidence supporting climate change mounts every year. In June, a report out of Australia even suggested human civilization could .
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much grim news out there and it feels pretty hopeless,鈥� said registered psychologist Christine Korol, the director of the . Korol treats both adults and children, many of whom have expressed eco-anxiety, she told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淭he reactions are anywhere from denial to 鈥榃e鈥檙e all going to die,鈥� and sometimes not much in between.鈥�
Children and adolescents are becoming the major forces in activism in recent years, from the teenage survivors of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting to 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who gave an emotional speech at the UN climate change summit earlier this week. Some responded online with worry and criticism that kids could become anxiety-ridden if involved in activism and exposed to so much fear. The issue has even spilled over into popular television storylines. In an episode of HBO鈥檚 Big Little Lies, Laura Dern鈥檚 character and school principal after the girl passes out during a climate change lesson.
But some experts suggest there may be some benefit to eco-anxiety -- as long as there鈥檚 not too much of it.
鈥淭oo much anxiety paralyzes you,鈥� said Korol, relating the issue to the that suggests stress can increase motivation. For many of the eco-anxious, encouraging engagement and participation in climate action may actually be helpful, she said, but so can turning down the TV.
That鈥檚 because hope is a key factor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to counteract the nihilism and the hopelessness that people feel,鈥� she said. 鈥淗opelessness is the big enemy of solving any problem, including climate change. When we鈥檙e talking about children, we need to give them hope.鈥�
Even in some communities that have been directly impacted by natural disaster, there are positive findings in response to eco-anxiety. When she looked into the mental health effects of intensified flooding in New Brunswick, Julia Woodhall-Melnik, the principle investigator with the University of New Brunswick鈥檚 , found that even some of the negative effects such as anxiety and uncertainty were counteracted by hope and community building.
鈥淚 think when it becomes bad is when youth are thinking 鈥楲et鈥檚 do something about this now鈥� and nothing happens,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen there鈥檚 anxiety and feelings of helplessness I don鈥檛 think that that鈥檚 productive for anyone.鈥�
For Korol, easing child eco-anxiety to the 鈥渞ight level鈥� is important simply because there鈥檚 no other option. Children will have to face climate change eventually.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really no choice,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow you talk to kids about it can help them get that right level of anxiety about it. We need to teach kids to be engaged politically and to make sure they assert their right to have a say about the kind of planet they want to live on. That being passive let鈥檚 other people make the decisions.鈥�
