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The Danby Youth Survey - the results are in!
Last Fall, the Danby Youth Commission (DYC) conducted a needs assessment of youth
between ages 11 -19 who reside in the Town of Danby. The DYC are reporting highlights of
the results. The assessment was a multiple-choice survey completed by the youth
themselves. The purpose of this survey is to help inform the current programming of Rural
Youth Services and to identify any unmet needs for youth in our community. All up, 59 youth
completed the survey. That i s a robust response rate for a small town like ours. Below is a
summary of the results:
In terms of demographic data, the vast majority of youth surveyed were between ages 11 - 17.
We were not able to access many youth between 18 - 19. About half of the respondents
identified as female, about one -third identified as male, and about one in six did not identify
as male or female (i.e., non -binary). One third of the respondents attended Ithaca High
School, one third attended Boynton Middle School, and the rest attended other schools in
the area (i.e., LACS), were home -schooled or graduated.
Youth were asked what they do in their free time. The top responses were as follows: hang
out with friends (79%), internet/social media (62%), listen to music (52%), video games
(48%), spend time alone in room (45%), sports (40%), music/art (38%), read for pleasure
(33%), and stream TV/movies (33%).
Youth were asked what they would like to see in their town. Their top responses were as
follows: places to hang out with friends (55%), larger community events such as parades and
festivals (38%), art/writing & music (36%), social events like dances (30%), outdoor
experiences (27%), job/employment skills (27%) and a community center (20%).
They were asked about barriers that get in the way of them participating in activities. Their
top responses were as follows: not enough time (54%), rather stay home (40%), not aware of
what is happening/available (39%), school commitments such as homework or clubs (35%),
nothing interesting worth doing (35%), and lack of access to transportation (25%).
When asked about the most pressing issues that youth face in our town, they answered as
followed: too much screen time/social media (49%), academic/school stress (42%), mental
health issues (36%), climate change (34%), poor social skills (30%), body image (21%), not
fitting in (21%) and vaping (21%).
Youth shared whether and how they struggled in the past academic year as follows: too
much worry/anxiety (50%), low self -confidence (29%), too sad/depressed (28%), and feeling
alone/disconnected (24%). No struggles where reported by 29% of youth.
And, finally, on a gradient scale from "fantastic" to "miserable", youth were asked how they
had been doing in the previous two weeks. Most youth (58%) indicated that they were
somewhere between "okay" and "good", 10% were between "great" and "fantastic", and the
balance (32%) were between "miserable" and "meh".
This summary represents the highlights of the survey results. For a full account of the results,
please refer to the slides on the Danby Youth Commission page above. We thank all the
youth who participated in this survey and shared their experiences.
We hope these results spark conversations and interest in our community. The DYC would
like to hear your thoughts and concerns about our youth. Please feel free to share them by
email or by attending our monthly Zoom meetings on the second Thursday of the month at 7
pm. Email us at youth@danby.gov.ny with questions or for the link to the next meeting. We
look forward to hearing from residents, and especially young people, who are passionate
about making our community more accessible and engaging for all youth.
