Chai Brady
Senior footballer Gary Brennan Social media continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing young people today, a Co. Clare GAA star and Catholic school teacher has warned.
Senior footballer Gary Brennan, who retired from Clare duty after the end of the 2020 season, told The Irish Catholic that the pressures created by online platforms are having a profound impact on mental health and self-esteem among students.
Mr Brennan described how social media amplifies comparisons and creates unrealistic expectations. “It’s a major, major challenge,” he said. “The perception that everyone else is doing amazing things is heightened enormously by social media. It’s difficult for young people to keep a sense of reality under its influence.”
Mr Brennan, who teaches Irish and PE at St Flannan’s College in Ennis, Co. Clare, said the long-term impact of social media remains unknown but is already causing significant harm. “The pressure it puts on young people is enormous. We don’t even know the half of what they’re accessing or seeing online,” he said.
The Clare GAA stalwart highlighted the importance of encouraging young people to engage in physical activity and creative pursuits as a counterbalance to social media. “We’re working hard in school to raise activity levels. Studies show participation rates are declining, and we’re way off what’s recommended,” he said.
Brennan said that activities like sport, music, and drama help build confidence and resilience. “Students who stay involved in something that they are passionate about, develop skills and self-belief that help them deal with challenges,” he said.
A strong Faith and deep sense of community were central to Mr Brennan’s own upbringing in Ballyea, Co. Clare. With two uncles in the priesthood, faith was a natural and integral part of his childhood. “Attending Mass and being part of the community were very important to us,” he said, and that his faith gave him perspective and empathy, adding: “Faith has been a very positive influence on my life, it might not have been that way for everyone, I can only say that for me it has helped form me and has had a good influence on me and I’ll pass it on to my own boys.”