- Three quarters of Slovak teenagers aged 16 to 17 are considering leaving.
- More than 42 percent of young people planning to go abroad do not want to return.
- 67.7% of respondents identified psychological problems as the biggest problem.
A total of 75.4 percent of young people aged 16 to 17 are considering leaving Slovakia or have already decided to leave. Of all those who are thinking about going abroad, up to 42.3 percent do not plan to return. This results from a nationwide survey by the Children’s Commissioner’s Office, in which 10,200 participants took part. The survey focused on the satisfaction of young people, their values, trust in people and institutions, but also on the reasons for a possible departure abroad. The Office of the Commissioner for Children announced the results at a press conference on Thursday.
Commissioner for Children Jozef Mikloško pointed out that According to the survey, 38.3 percent of young people said that they definitely want to leave Slovakia. “It is a number that is not good, that needs to be worked with and which we were surprised that it was so high,” said Mikloško. as he said another 37.1 percent of young people are considering leaving.
“When we add it up, roughly 75 percent of young people are considering or have decided to leave Slovakia. It’s a pan-European problem, the Czech Commissioner for Children recently told me that roughly 60 percent of young people want to leave the Czech Republic and the same 60 percent from Germany, so it’s some kind of migration wave or a movement of young people who are considering it,” stated Mikloško.
He identified relations in society, family and school as one of the most prominent topics. According to him, up to 89 percent of young people consider bad relationships to be a big challenge. “Bad relationships are a motive to leave, a motive for loneliness and at the same time the root of mental problems,” he said, adding that 83 percent of young people mentioned negativism and hostility, and 81 percent a feeling of loneliness.
According to the survey, the biggest problem of the young generation is psychological problems, which 67.7 percent of respondents identified as a key problem. The influence of social networks is perceived as a problem by approximately 70 percent of young people, and addiction to the Internet and mobile phones is a problem for approximately 72 percent of respondents, according to the data. The bad economic situation was a problem for 48.4 percent of young people.
The survey also showed differences between boys and girls. “Boys are more satisfied than girls in all areas of life in Slovakia,” said the statutory representative of the civic association Žena vie Iveta Adamová. While 60.3 percent of boys expressed satisfaction with security in the country, it was 44.5 percent of girls. Girls also more often perceive bad relationships in the family, society and school as a problem.
However, according to the commissioner, young people in Slovakia are still held mainly by family, friends, relationships, nature, freedom of expression, cultural traditions and a sense of security. They have the highest trust in their mother, who is trusted by 92 percent of young people. On the contrary, young people express high distrust of politicians, media and influencers.
Expert adviser to the commissioner for children, Svetlana Pavlovičová, recalled that young people in the Prešov Region see family and nature as the biggest positives. “Up to 70 percent of young people consider their family to be the greatest advantage of their life in Slovakia. 56.9 percent perceive nature in our region as a high value, which is the highest share among all regions,” said Pavlovičová.
Viera Škopová, a psychologist at the Ján Adam Rayman High School in Prešov, emphasized the need for dialogue with young people. “It is very important that we talk to the children and perceive their opinion as very important,” she said. According to her, young people are often troubled by self-confidence, self-worth and the future.
