Greta Thunberg: Psychology of Teenage Activism

Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist on climate change whose campaigning has gained international recognition.

Every Friday, Thunberg would skip school in order to sit outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on global warming by holding up a sign saying (in Swedish) "School strike for the climate". Her efforts have inspired other students to embrace this movement, titled “Fridays for Future.”

In today's episode of the Shrink Tank Podcast, our panel of Shrinks discuss Greta Thunberg's environmental advocacy, climate change, Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as the influence of youth on our world.

Listen to 'Greta Thunberg: Psychology of Teenage Activism' here, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

 
Being Human
Every week our panel of Shrinks breaks down trending topics of psychology in the news that we call Being Human.

We can’t have a discussion about Greta Thunberg’s activism without bringing up the topic of climate change.

According to an article Newsweek, psychologists warned parents and guardians about being climate change alarmists, noting an increasing number of children who are being treated for "eco-anxiety."

Researchers at the University of Bath and members of the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA) in the United Kingdom say children are commonly being subjected to a barrage of concerns about the future of the planet and "environmental doom."
But CPA members said they don't want the rising "eco-anxiety" social phenomenon in children to be classified as a mental illness because it is a "rational" fear, unlike the causes behind most standard anxiety issues.

Our panel of Shrinks breaks down their thoughts on these findings.

You can read the study that inspired our discussion here.

 
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