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It is rather unfortunate that at an age where young adolescents should be curious, joyful, learning and being enriched, they are anxious instead and understandably so! Today’s world is changing at an alarming pace. The compact yet power-packed computers we all carry in our pockets expose us to so much information. It is truly unprecedented and our teens and their parents alike are not prepared to handle the newfound pressures.

We are raising a generation that is more connected, more informed and ironically, more anxious than any before. Samsung recently asked 1,000 people between the ages of 11 and 15 in the UK, to answer a survey about their most pressing concerns. This was in May 2025 and it came as the tech giant launched its fifth annual Solve for Tomorrow Next Gen tech challenge, which encourages young innovators to design tech that could help to solve some of the societal issues. Overall, almost two thirds (64%) of the young people surveyed felt anxious about the future.

There is still hope though, with 81% expressing a desire to make a positive difference to the world but many felt they would need a little more help getting there, with about half (49%) feeling what they learn in school doesn’t currently prepare them to tackle today’s big issues. The 64% of teens who were worried about their future were not just anxious about exams. It is about a bigger, heavier question: What will my life look like?


To begin with, social media has made it so difficult to distinguish between our real selves and the meticulously manicured and filtered versions that some put out on Instagram! This only gives rise to really unhealthy and quite frankly, bizarre comparisons and teens may not be equipped to distinguish reality from the reel-verse but that is only the tip of the iceberg! The world is growing increasingly paranoid with the mainstreaming of AI and a rapidly evolving job market. Altogether, it can have a very daunting impact on the young and impressionable minds of teens, leading to feelings of being lost, clueless and disillusioned, perhaps.

Here are some expert and research-supported tips that parents can use to help teens who feel anxious about their future:

Listen first, advise second
A report published in 2024 by the National Center for Health Statistics showed a striking disconnect between the level of support that teenagers feel and the amount that parents think their children have. Researchers found that teens often feel less emotionally supported than parents believe they are. While 93% of parents think they provide necessary support, only 59% of teens feel that way. As psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour notes, teens are not always looking for solutions; they want empathy and perspective, not immediate advice. Parents can help by being present and curious — ask open questions like “How are you feeling about this?” rather than pressing for solutions.

Normalise anxiety and foster hope
Future-related stress is widespread or so ReachOut’s Navigating the Unknown report in August 2024 claimed as it highlighted one of the top issues of concern for young people: the future. 83% of youth say it significantly affects their mental health, with many reporting sleep issues, low motivation and difficulty focusing. Research on future orientation shows that teens who feel supported by parents tend to be more optimistic and less likely to engage in risky behaviours. So, parents can help validate their feelings while modelling optimism. Share examples of how ordinary challenges were overcome, helping them build confidence.

Offer safety, rekindle sparks of curiosity
In an interview with TOI, Swati Saboo, Co-Founder of Scarbble, shared, "After working closely with emerging talent and leaders in the industry alike, I’ve realised that the best thing parents can offer their teens isn’t answers but a sense of psychological safety and emotional stability. As the world changes at lightning speed, today’s teens realise that an outdated outlook no longer applies. Thus, instead of putting the weight of expectations on pressuring them to constantly persevere, learn new things, offer them the gift of your presence, your undivided attention."


Parents should focus on rekindling the curiosity and earnest ambition of teens. Saboo advised, "Encourage them to explore what truly excites them, what is it that they would like to be the “world’s best” at? Know that today’s teens also have a very independent bent of mind. They would ditch conformity but embrace curiosity and parental guidance goes a long way in inculcating in them the right mindset and emotional resilience needed to withstand any tech disruptions. What’s truly going to shield the teens from debilitating and anticipatory anxiety of the future are essentially human skills."

Empower through coping skills and resilience
Programs like FRIENDS, which is endorsed by the WHO for anxiety prevention, helps build resilience, self-esteem and coping skills in youth while early interventions like preventive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce anxiety symptoms and alter negative thinking patterns. Parents can help by introducing coping tools like deep breathing, positive thinking or journalling. Encouraging mindfulness or seeking professional help early can prevent worry from snowballing.

Do not do too much
Bringing his expertise to the same, Navyug Mohnot, CEO at QAI Global, Stanford -trained Life Design Educator, Certified Coach and Facilitator, shared, "In my years of teaching the Stanford University “Designing Your Life” (DYL) course at Ashoka University, ISB and NID, I have met hundreds of students who are bright, capable and deeply worried about “getting it right.” The problem? They have been led to believe there is one right answer.
Here is my first suggestion for parents: Do not do too much. It is tempting to over-engineer your child’s future by selecting the “right” school, pushing the “right” courses and building the “perfect” college application but here is the truth: careers are built, not chosen. They evolve over time, shaped by experiments, mistakes and unexpected turns."

The approach should be to offer something powerful: tools, not prescriptions. Instead of telling your teen what to be, help them explore how to think. Ask open-ended questions:

• “What energises you?”
• “What’s a problem you would love to help solve?”
• “If you could try something with no risk, what would it be?”

Mohnot asserted, "These are not just feel-good questions. They shift the conversation from fixed outcomes to ongoing exploration. This is where “prototyping” comes in: trying small, low-risk experiences before committing. An internship, a weekend project, or shadowing someone for a day can give more clarity than months of overthinking. Parents can also help by reframing success."

Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project found that teens feel happiest when parents value kindness, curiosity and effort over grades. The message, “you’re enough”, is not just comforting. It is liberating.
Detours often lead to the best destinations. Teens need to see that not having every step mapped out is not failure. It is life.

So, if your teen is anxious, give them room to try, fail and learn. Share your own career detours. Let them see that life is not a straight line but a series of evolving drafts. When they start seeing their lives as design projects, not tests, they become more resilient, hopeful and ready for whatever future they choose to build.

Parents should ensure that kids pursue their curiosity, with a sense of whimsy and play, be emotionally resilient, have the grit and spontaneity to quickly adapt to changes and be confident in asking difficult questions and getting clarity! In the end, we don’t need perfect kids. We need independent and empowered thinkers who feel supported to grow and occupy their unique space in this fast-moving world.

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