A Glasgow man is encouraging young people who feel they are struggling to reach out to The Prince&apos;s Trust and spoken of his own experience with the charity.
More than half of young people in Scotland think social media puts "overwhelming pressure" on them, according to a UK charity.
The Prince&apos;s Trust&apos;s 10th Youth Index has revealed that the overall wellbeing of young people aged between 16 and 25 has dropped in the last year.
Just under half (49%) of 16 to 25-year-olds in Scotland say comparing their life to others on social media makes them feel "inadequate", while 60% think social media creates an "overwhelming pressure" to succeed.
Meanwhile, over half (52%) of young people in Scotland feel more anxious about their future when comparing themselves to others on social media.
The Youth Index, supported by eBay, is a national survey that gauges young people’s happiness and confidence across a range of areas from their working life to physical and mental health.
To tackle the growing issue, the Prince&apos;s Trust is helping young people to develop their confidence to combat the growing pressure around social media.
Now Reece Hayes, 22, from Glasgow, is urging young people to accept help from the charity the way he did.
Reece had a traumatic childhood as a young carer for his mum and struggled to cope, causing his mental health to deteriorate, becoming angry, suicidal and aggressive.
Eventually, Reece contacted the Prince&apos;s Trust and asked for their help in allowing him to move his life forward.
He said: "I had been struggling to find a job as I had been in trouble with the police.
"When I came to the Trust, I was at a point where I was really struggling and didn&apos;t know where to start.
"I was hoping the Trust could help but I was really nervous as I didn&apos;t know too much about them.
"However, when I spoke to them, they didn&apos;t want to hear about my convictions, they told me to put all that behind me."
Reece secured an interview for Get into Retail with Tesco, a Prince&apos;s Trust programme run in partnership with Tesco to give unemployed young people the skills and experience they need to find work in the retail sector.
He said: "I managed to get the job at Tesco with their help and worked there for about half a year before moving on.
"I decided I wanted to go into social work but again, I was worried that because of my convictions I wouldn&apos;t be able to.
"I spoke to the Trust and they really helped me again and supported me through the process.
"With everything I&apos;ve gone through, they&apos;ve been there to help me."
Reece became a Prince&apos;s Trust Young Ambassador and even went on to deliver a TEDx Talk in Glasgow – sharing his experiences with an audience of over 2,000 - as part of a special Year of Young People 2018 TEDx Youth event.
He was announced as the Prince’s Trust Scotland’s Young Ambassador of the Year Award in 2018, and was also shortlisted for the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Young Achiever of the Year Award.
Now, he is backing the Trust&apos;s charity&apos;s campaign to protect young people&apos;s mental health over social media.
He said: "I think their new campaign is brilliant.
"Even when I was younger social media wasn&apos;t as massive as it is now - it&apos;s only boomed to this extent in the last few years.
"Everybody can see people&apos;s lives and I think that puts a lot of pressure to live up to expectations.
"That can really affect a young person&apos;s confidence and self esteem.
"Anything that the Trust does I am 100% behind and totally happy to support.
"They are one of the best organisations out there and I think they&apos;re new campaign is fantastic - if you&apos;re struggling reach out to them because they will be there to help."