Rates of alcohol consumption, vaping, and harmful social media exposure were areas of concern raised by young people who responded to a local survey.

The Upper Clutha Youth Voice Survey, a bi-annual survey which began in 2016 and was last conducted in 2020, tracks the activities of local young people, including their use of harmful substances. 

This year’s survey was sent to 560 young people aged 11 to 24, resulting in 181 valid responses from Te Kura o Tititea Mt Aspiring College (MAC) students.

Path Wānaka/Ara ki Wānaka (formerly the Wānaka Alcohol Group) chair Niamh Shaw said 82 per cent of young people surveyed felt positive about the future but were concerned about vaping, social media, peer pressure and mental health.

The results showed some young people are engaged in negative risk-taking behaviours, including alcohol consumption (67 percent) and binge drinking (33 percent), vaping (43 percent), and gambling (43 percent).

“It’s also worth noting that 74 percent of respondents said the main source of their alcohol supply is parents,” Niamh said.

“This finding is consistent with national research from the 2019/20 Alcohol Use in New Zealand Survey. Te Whatu Ora says that while some parents believe introducing alcohol at a young age is a protective factor, there is evidence that socially supplied alcohol by parents is generally associated with increased alcohol use and alcohol harm in the future (Nicolson and Aron, 2023).”

Niamh said the survey findings show the importance of raising community awareness of the risks of parents supplying alcohol, and “breaking through the misconception that it will protect our young people from future harms”.

The survey findings also show that local young people are participating in a range of ‘positive risk-taking’ activities, including outdoor sports, volunteering, and the arts.

“It’s encouraging to see so many young people engaging in positive risk taking which is a healthy and constructive way for young people to take risks while learning new things,” Niamh said. 

MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen said the findings reinforce the role of the school in equipping young people with the information they need to make good choices. 

“At school, we promote positive risk-taking behaviour and provide support for students through our pastoral care team of junior and senior deans, expert guidance counsellors, and youth workers.

“Our Health Education programme helps students understand the connections between social media use and their mental health and wellbeing, drug and alcohol safety and awareness, and their physical and online safety.

She said the school’s focus on social media use was timely as half the survey respondents said they had been exposed to images on social media that they considered nasty or disturbing.

Kahu Youth Trust chair Randal Dobbs said providing local youth with productive and educational programmes could help them engage in activities that support their wellbeing.

Path Wānaka will host a community meeting in November to share the findings of the report and facilitate a discussion about the community’s response to the findings.  

Path Wānaka empowers parents and whānau to support their young people dealing with adult-sized problems. Members include representatives from the NZ Police, Community Networks/LINK, MAC, Kahu Youth Trust, Queenstown Lakes District Council, ADL, Students Against Dangerous Driving, Public Health South, WellSouth, and Te Hau Toka.

PHOTO: Supplied