By Alex Hughes,

The Guardian.

“I wanted to leave my phone away for longer”

Lillie James

I can’t believe the effort they put in, it was one of the best days of my life.

Amelia Howells

All we needed was North Face.

Breaking News: Teens can be persuaded to ditch their phones…

In Partnership with The North Face. 

To tear teenagers from their beloved screens appears to be a fight most of the population aren’t fit enough for. However, The North Face has done exactly that. Face the Space campaign was established by the brand to encourage young Londoners to unplug themselves and go off the grid. From clothes to good music, North Face covered everything to get the younger generation outside and socialising after the lockdown. 

In the woods of Highgate Park North Face had a pop-up event where they were selling rare pieces and other apparel at a discounted price. They created a vibrant and cool vibe by playing upcoming London music artists like Ama Lou, Central Cee, and Ayzia. Scattered around the area were uplifting posters promoting the benefits of being outdoors. North Face prepared allocated seating areas made from logs where they pushed for the young strangers to sit and chat. Millie Hope, one of the faces behind the campaign, said, “We wanted to put these young adults in an environment where they felt free and open to talk about everything. I think the older generation overlooked the ultimate sacrifice the youth endeared just to keep us safe. They lost two years of creating memories and exploring the world, and we wanted to ease them back into it. I believe a lot of people felt anxious to socialise after covid, especially the youth; we wanted to get them back outside and show them we are all in the same boat.”

A popular feature of the event was the ‘Locked Away’ aspect where attendees were encouraged to immerse themselves entirely into the experience by putting their phones in lockers. North Face aimed to get the youth to enjoy the event in the moment, technology-free. It was voluntary but those who complied got an extra 10% off either clothes or food and drink. Jacob, 18, from Shepherd’s Bush, said: “I thought I was going to struggle without my phone for a couple of hours. I also didn’t want to miss any texts my friends might have sent me. I was surprised at how easy I found it; I enjoyed not being distracted.” Lillie, 20, from Lewisham, was also surprised at the experience saying, “I didn’t want to do it at first, I like to always have my phone on me, but I thought 10% extra off the clothes would be worth it. In the end, I wanted to leave my phone in the locker for longer! I enjoyed being able to meet new people. I wouldn’t have done that if I had my phone.” 

It was clear the North Face went above and beyond for Gen Z as they had soe of the best upcoming artists performing on their main stage. To see and act like Central Cee you can be paying anywhere between £100-£300.

The free event was promoted to 18-to-21-year-olds who live in London boroughs. Only those who met the criteria were allowed entry. The Face you Space worked on making it an inclusive and equal space for everyone. A 2021 study by the Countryside Charity highlights that ‘ethnic minorities have on average 11 times less access to greenspace’. So North Face wanted to combat that. Obed, 21, from Hackney, said: “It was nice to be around a collective mix of people. I didn’t feel singled out going into the outdoors.” When Obed was asked if him and his friends will try to go out more after this event, he replied “Yeah, definitely. I learnt a lot about the benefits of being outdoors. My friends and I thought people who went out in nature were pretty whack, but we now know it is for everyone.” This isn’t the first time the North Face has pushed to get people of colour to feel comfortable in nature. The North Face financially supported London charity ‘Wild in the City’, which ‘supports and enhances the wellbeing of urban-dwelling people of colour through developing relationships with nature’.

Overall, it is nice to see a brand that promotes change, act on it too. North face successfully achieved the unimaginable, bringing the youth together to interact, have fun and embrace nature all without their phones.

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By Hannah Morgan

The Daily Mail

Lucy Williams, 18.

“My favourite part was just being able to listen to music with my friends, eat nice food and be out in nature”

Nature really is Our Best Friend.

Lockdown was hard for us all, but did we ever fully consider the extreme pressures put upon the Youth? Lucy gives us insight into how lockdown impacted her mental health, and what helped her get back to normality.

In Partnership with The North Face.

The greatest confinement in history, known as Lockdown, challenged us all. When we think of Lockdown, we think of Tiger King, clapping for the NHS every Thursday, Joe Wicks’ Workouts, family quiz zooms, getting excited to go to your local Tesco’s and the amazing efforts of our NHS staff. One thing we do overlook though is the unheard voices of Generation Z, who supportively complied with the strict lockdown rules. The youth had their lives turned upside down, with no idea what the future had in store for them while they had no friends to hug or confide in. 

From the horror stories of students complying to quarantine in their suffocating university rooms, to children being home-schooled for two years, not engaging in any type of groups crucial to their social development and happiness, lockdown had a profound impact on young people. These dreadful experiences explain why in March 2020, out of 2,036 young people aged 13-25, 80% of them agreed that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse (Young Minds, 2020).

Lucy, 18, living in North London with her one- and three-year-old brothers and mother, gave insight into her Lockdown experience

How was your experience during the lockdown?

It was pretty good at first. I remember finding it a bit exciting because I didn’t have to go to college, and I got out of loads of homework and exams. For the first couple of days, it was somewhat relaxing. I hung out with my younger brothers, watched films, and went on TikTok mainly.

But, after the first week, I found myself extremely bored. You would think as a family of four we could have kept ourselves entertained. But because my brothers are much younger, they needed a lot of mum’s attention otherwise the house would have been carnage. Towards the end, I started feeling a bit lonely which, I don’t know, sounds a bit stupid. I was really missing being able to be myself around my friends and just messing around. 

Would you say your mental health issues began in the lockdown and why?

Yeah, I would. Before lockdown my week was full of doing things I loved. It is funny, when I was doing the activities, I couldn’t be asked, but when I was sitting at home alone in lockdown, I couldn’t think of anything better.

I think it’s because I was 18 learning how to drive, making new friends in college, studying subjects I loved, and I just got to the adult league hockey team. My life was exciting and it all got taken away from me so quickly. I turned 18 in lockdown, and I felt a bit robbed of making memories, being your first time to legally drink and all. I was in bed by 9:00 pm because my mum was so exhausted after home-schooling my brothers. I never imagined celebrating my 18th like that. I know people were going through a lot worse than me, but at the time I found it difficult to adjust.

That was another thing I always felt guilty for feeling like this, which didn’t make my mental health any better. Like, my feelings weren’t valid because people’s relatives were dying, and I still had a roof over my head, and I was healthy.

I think over the months I got painfully lonely and anxious. I was overthinking everything I did and said in the past because I literally had nothing to think about. I also struggled to see so many pretty girls on Instagram and TikTok because I didn’t look like them during lockdown.

The phase of facetiming died out pretty quickly so I didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. I probably spent 10 hours a day on my phone just aimlessly scrolling. It was hard because I just live in a little two-bedroom flat. I didn’t have any greenery around me. If I looked outside all I saw were flats. I respected the lockdown rules, so I wasn’t allowed to go for that many walks. I don’t think I saw any proper type of greenery for a month. It was literally like a prison.

I don’t want to be too negative but yeah, I never really struggled like that before in my life.

How did you feel when Lockdown was over?

Before Lockdown I was a very confident person, and after saying all that you would think I would be bouncing to get out of lockdown, but I really wasn’t. By that time, I was nervous to go back outside. I hadn’t seen my friends or anyone for ages, I didn’t feel confident mixing with other people. I got so used to my uneventful life that I was scared to get back to reality. I used to love going out in nature, but I couldn’t be asked anymore because I was so addicted to my phone.

What was a big moment for you after lockdown? 

I think the Face your Space event helped me a lot. Initially, I wasn’t going to go but one of my friends made me. It was also a bonus it was free. It was a wholesome experience. I never went to Highgate Park before; I didn’t realise how easy it was to get to. I got to chat with loads of different people my age. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one struggling either. My favourite part was just being able to listen to music with my friends, eat nice food and be out in nature. That day was pivotal for me because it really eased me back into my normal self. I also got such a cool top from the event, at a good deal. I always wear that top now whenever I feel a bit anxious to remind me I’m not alone.

Also, my friend won a tent from the North Face raffle, so we are going to go wild camping to celebrate my extremely belated 18th. It’s funny because I couldn’t think of anything better than doing something different for my 18th, with my friends in nature.

How are you moving forward?

After the Face your Space event I got to make a lot of friends who had a similar experience to me. We really enjoyed our time in the outdoors, so we made a promise to meet each other once every two weeks in the park for a coffee catch-up. I will also be going out more for walks and spending time with myself and less time on my phone. I have started adult hockey again. I forgot how much joy being outside and doing sports gave me. I won’t take that for granted again.

I never realised how much being outdoors made such a difference in all aspects of my life. I have better sleep, a better relationship with my family and myself and a greater appreciation for the world.

SIDEBAR:

Mental Health specialist Brian Owen says Lucy’s experience was very common among 13-24-year-old

Brian Owen states: Teenagers and young adults had a different responses to grownups because of the phase of development they are in. Consequently, little to no structure in one’s routines, difficulty accessing mental health support, unable to communicate and fully understand their emotions along with a major factor of being isolated from peers can severely impact a young person’s mental health.

We must not forget the youth missed many milestones in their life like important birthdays, graduation, driving tests and prom. A lack of human contact with friends, family, teachers and quarantine, a lack of nature and increased screen time have all been directly correlated to symptoms of anxiety and depression among young people. 

What can young adults do to get back into the swing of things?

I think reconnecting with the outdoors is important. We forgot that our prime animalistic instincts are rooted within nature. So, either by picking up an outdoor sport or just going for more walks with our friends. I would recommend at least 30 minutes a day to be out. 

Our recommendations to get out and about:

On Saturday the 1st of April, the North Face will be holding another Face the Space Event. On this date, they are prioritising those who missed the opportunity to go to the first one. We recommend this if you find yourself feeling a bit anxious, have no incentives to go outdoors or fancy some time away from your phone. It might be as simple as wanting some good food, some cool clothes at a cheap price, and a place to hang out with your friends. Regardless, this will be a welcoming place to meet other young Londoners from urban backgrounds, listen to music and ease yourself into nature.

Check out more details here: https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/about-us.html  

See if you qualify for tickets here: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/  

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