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This is the teenage handbook competition, an artistic creation competition.
This is the teenage handbook competition, an artistic creation competition.
Teens face issues that range from self identity, loneliness, social media, drug use, and bullying…anything a teen is struggling with. The National Institute of Mental Health reported that one in five adolescents “aged 12 to 17 in the US had at least one major depressive episode.”
Yet teens don't want to hear solutions from adults, especially their parents. The Stanford Medicine News Center references a 2022 study by Abrams et al. that literally found “around age 13, kids’ brains no longer find their moms’ voices uniquely rewarding, and tune into unfamiliar voices more.” Unfortunately some teens do not have support from their families. And many do not have access to counseling support.
In addition, teens don’t want others to know about their issues. A 2023 Boys and Girls Clubs of America survey highlighted that “67% [of youths] try to keep anyone from finding out” about major problems. And yet, “92% of youth want to help when they see someone having a problem.”
Our solution is the Teenage Handbook Competition, which encourages teens to digitally journal and accumulate a collection of creative expressions by teens, for teens, on teen issues.
The Teenage Handbook is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization
“Journaling is an adjunct low-cost, low-side effect therapy that can help . . . in the management of common mental health symptoms…”
- Sohal et al. (2022)
“Creativity is a basic human response to trauma and a natural emergency defense system”
- Louise DeSalvo. "Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives"
"Art therapy refers to various treatments, such as ...music therapy, and drawing, painting and craft therapy...It was found that the use of art therapy as an adjunct treatment showed improved mental health in patients.
- Shukla et al. (2022)
"The Teenage Handbook’s first ambition is to encourage teens to digitally journal and accumulate a digital collection of respectful and helpful creative expressions by teens, for teens, on teen issues. Introspective digital journaling is the opposite of social media oversharing. It’s the art of using electronic devices to record one’s feelings and experiences. It can be done through different media like audio, video, phone notes, etc. It’s the quintessential 21st century therapy tool. Through high tech self reflection, teens can process and share their positive learnings to help other teens who inherently are skeptical of grown ups and face similar teen experiences."
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