How do you bring a group of young people together to make decisions on what is important for them? You hold a youth jury!
Eva Asiedu-Addo
A few weeks ago, myself, along with some members of our Young People’s team and the Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) from the Influence of Influencer’s project, attended a Youth Jury event.
The aim was to bring together young people to identify the risks and benefits of content that social media influencers make about mental health.
So why use a youth jury?
In the legal world, a jury is a group of people who are selected to listen to some evidence and give a verdict. But juries aren’t always used in this traditional way!
For example, citizen juries were introduced a few decades ago as a way to involve members of the public in decisions about policy. These juries were introduced to make sure that members of the public could be involved in decisions that would impact them.
In a similar vein, youth juries are a great way to get young people involved in making decision around topics that affect them – like social media! They allow a group of young people to come together to look at evidence, share ideas and make joint decisions in a fun engaging way.
How did our youth jury go?
Our young jurors were first presented with evidence and insights (these insights were presented as videos recorded by members of our YPAG). In the spirit of role play, the facilitator of the event wore a judge wig!
We then split in groups to deliberate and prepare key asks, with Youth Jury Buddies to help facilitate the discussion. These were young people from our YPAG who have been involved in the project throughout.
The discussions used a 1-2-4-All method, a method that begins with individual reflection and progresses to sharing in groups of different sizes to make sure all voices can be heard. Much like a legal jury, the goal was to come to a shared opinion.
The final decisions were then presented as key asks, which were shared in front of the whole group and a guest panel.
Involving young people throughout
For me, one of the most important takeaways from the event was how beneficial new and engaging methods can be in involving young people in decision making!
Even further, involvement of young people has to take place throughout the process. For our event, young people were involved in every aspect, from choosing the insights that would be presented as evidence, to presenting the key insights, welcoming the young jurors in, and facilitating discussion.
In short, if we want youth voices to be heard, we have to involve them and make it appealing!
Understanding the opinions of young people and delving into seldom-discussed topics felt like it was a push in the right direction in the conversation of social media and mental health.
Usman Javaid, YPAG member & Youth Jury Buddy
Youth Buddy Spotlight!
I interviewed Youth Jury Buddies Lexie Winfield and Usman Javaid to get their input on why their role as peers in the process was so important. Here’s what they had to say:
How did you find the experience of being a youth jury buddy?
Usman:
Working with young people from across Birmingham was an amazing experience to be a part of.
Understanding the opinions of young people and delving into seldom-discussed topics felt like it was a push in the right direction in the conversation of social media and mental health.
I thought it was so important to hear the thoughts directly from young people and also hear the reaction of some of the key adult changemakers, such as councillors from the local area and head teachers at schools, who added to the conversation and ended the day on a positive note.
Lexie:
As a peer buddy my role was to sit in conversations with the young people to help them a) think through what they consider to be the most pressing issues relating to social media, and b) how they imagine positive change being brought about.
The overall experience was really positive – it was amazing to hear so many young people being open about their experiences, especially as so many of them resonated with me.
After hearing the young people present their solutions I also left feeling really optimistic for the future – they all came up with so many excellent solutions and hopefully we’ll start to see tangible change soon!
It was very important to me that we created an open space for the young people to unapologetically be themselves and talk about their experiences.
Lexie Winfield, YPAG member & Youth Jury Buddy
How did you help to facilitate discussions with the young people?
Usman:
I supported the group discussions through introducing an icebreaker activity with the young people, allowing them to get to know one another, as this was the first time many of them had met each other, and build a common ground.
Building off of this we were able to delve into discussions around social media and the different categories of content seen and consumed by young people. We discussed the impact of this on them, and what they thought where the biggest concerns affecting them as individuals, as tables and as a group, supporting their communication and development.
Lexie:
It was very important to me that we created an open space for the young people to unapologetically be themselves and talk about their experiences.
I know from past participation in focus groups that sometimes they feel a bit like school/work, so I wanted to use my position as a peer to build rapport, break the ice, and ultimately ensure that the experience was fun throughout.
How did your presence make a difference in how the discussions went?
Usman:
By bringing up different topics when the conversation went quiet, allowing the young people to discuss topics that they might not have discussed previously, such as men’s mental health.
Supporting people to discuss topics that may be stigmatised within the group, opening up the discussion to be inclusive and open, ensuring everyone could get their point across and do so comfortably.
Lexie:
Environments like this can be daunting for young people who haven’t done this type of research before and so I like to think that I was able to encourage all participants to join in.
I really took the time to ensure that anyone who had come alone to the event felt particularly empowered to speak in the group setting by directly asking about their personal interests.
I was able to develop my skills in youth work, and to do so with a group of young people I hadn't met before - this was definitely a big accomplishment for me.
Usman
What skills did you develop or improve through this experience, and how has it benefited you?
Usman:
I was able to develop my skills in youth work, and to do so with a group of young people I hadn’t met before – this was definitely a big accomplishment for me.
Having the ability to support and facilitate these discussions in an open and supportive manner around these conversations was also important. These conversations are helping to create a positive change within the young people of today, and that was a great outcome in itself.
Lexie:
I was able to keep the discussion focussed and on track whilst still feeling natural and engaging. I have past experience in qualitative research, and have done forms of moderation before for interviews/focus groups so this will benefit me for any future work of this kind, especially with young people.
Is there anything you would do differently next time?
Usman:
Honestly no, I think it went extremely smoothly and any curveballs such as the weather or the lost catering services were dealt with the best we could have. All the young people enjoyed their time, and a really got stuck in helping wherever possible!
Lexie:
In my attempt to build rapport I think I brought my own opinions/experiences in too early in some of the discussions, which may have then swayed the conversation.
Next time I would be extra conscious to stay quiet at first and just subtly encourage the young people to take charge of the conversation before bringing in my own insights.
My biggest piece of advice is to create an environment that doesn't feel the same as a school/work setting.
Lexie
What’s your top piece of advice for others trying to meaningfully involve young people in research?
Usman:
I would say there are two key pieces of advice: the first is making young people aware of what opportunities are available. It’s amazing to want to involve young people and get their thoughts, ideas and opinions, but it’s important to know where to reach them and how to reach them.
My second piece of advice would be flexibility. Young people can completely change your view of a project by pointing out issues or expanding on the project, so it’s important to have the flexibility within your project to accommodate for these changes.
This shows the young people that you are finding the balance between your vision and plan yet also respecting their ideas.
Lexie:
My biggest piece of advice is to create an environment that doesn’t feel the same as a school/work setting.
This means actively not mirroring how those settings run (e.g. making young people put their hands up to answer), and instead encouraging all forms of expression. In my opinion that’s how you create a comfortable setting and get the most authentic insights.
What’s next?
Our jurors made some amazing suggestions to influencers, the government and education providers for how young people can be better deal with the sometimes damaging impacts of mental health content on social media.
Using these suggestions, the research team will develop a policy brief that will be sent to MPs locally and nationally.
What a way to involve young people in making decisions that will impact them!
Eva Asiedu-Addo is a Peer Researcher and Public Involvement Officer at McPin.
Lexie Winfield and Usman Javaid are members of the Young Person’s Advisory Group (YPAG) for the Influence of Influencers project.
