Essentially, "young people" fall into the period of life from the beginning
of puberty to the attainment of adulthood. This period is usually concomitant
with problems as they "struggle" to fit themselves into society. The word
"problem" doesn't necessarily imply that youth is assumed to be a period
in which storm and stress predominate; it can be a period marked by good
health and high achievement. Nevertheless difficult decisions and adjustments
face young people in today's society. In this article, therefore I would
attempt to identify some of the fundamental problems faced by young people
today and possible solutions to these problems.
Perhaps the most fundamental problem faced by young people today is
unemployment. Because of the universal downturn in the economy coupled
with technology whereby particular jobs and skills are made obsolete, many
youth today are experiencing problems in obtaining jobs. Young people today
have certain needs and aspirations. Consequently, the treat of unemployment
means financial worries, frustration and discouragement. How do the youth
today respond to this?
Given that many youths may not be sufficiently mature to cope with such
problems, they go in the undesirable direction of delinquency, drugs, vandalism,
stealing, etc. Moreover, they compensate for their feelings by striking
out against society, revolting against adult authority. These problems
are invariably compounded by peer pressure whereby young people are forced
either consciously or unconsciously to become involved in those antisocial
activities by people of their own age group. What can be done to solve
the problem of unemployment and its ills?
One method which can be adopted to curb the problems which arise out
of unemployment among youths, involves the providing of relief or protection
from the financial hardships of unemployment. For instance, a compulsory
unemployment insurance system could be adopted in which workers and their
employers contribute to a fund out of which payments are made to those
young people who are eligible for work, but cannot find work. Incidently
this method is currently being used in the United States of America, Britain
and other countries.
Other methods which can be adopted include measures aimed at creating
conditions that reduces the level of unemployment. These would include:
(a) programmes for retraining, in order to give would be employed young
people new skills that are in demand; (b) subsidies and other incentives
to encourage workers to move out of areas of labour surplus into areas
in which labour is in short supply.
Also, young people should strive for high education in order that they
would be qualified for the very skilled labour force required by industrialized
and "semi-industrialized" countries.
Another problem facing young people today is the tension which exist
between parents and children. It is usually common for strained relationships
to develop between parents and young people. In their eagerness to achieve
adult status, young people may or rather usually resent any restrictions
placed upon them. Often times young people may not be willing to admit
that they have doubts and fears about taking on adult responsibilities
and freedom. They invariably believe that their parents are overanxious
and overprotective. This usually creates tension between parents and young
people. To correct this problem, psychologist emphasize the significance
of psychological weaning. This is the process of outgrowing family domination
and working towards the time when the young person establishes his or her
own home. Similarly, parents should exercise control over young people,
but with sympathy and understanding.
An area of immense concern, and which poses a problem for young people
and their parents is sex and dating. Some parents today are prepared to
give their children some latitude as far as dating and sex are concerned.
In contrast, some parents are very overprotective, restricting their children
from going out with the opposite sex, thus, many young people today are
debarred from learning the valuable experience of adjusting to other persons.
They also show deficiency in the development of social poise, which might
not be available otherwise and this deprives them of their privilege. Therefore,
parents, school, and the church can and should do more to promote wholesome
relationships.
Teenage pregnancies and venereal disease are also common problems facing
the young person or teenager. This can severely disrupt her education.
Moreover, being pregnant at such an early age can also have deleterious
effects on one's health. Perhaps what is most important is the risk of
"catching" the deadly disease AIDS. Many young persons today have contacted
AIDS and are suffering the consequences, being terminally ill.
What can be done to address these problems? First, many of the sexually
related problems of young people can be lessened if young people were given
sufficient and suitable instruction well in advance of the time when sex
is an immediate concern for them. Some surveys have shown that the primary
source of information most children, regarding sex, is their peers, not
from their parents. Secondly, the postponement of sex prior to marriage
can go a long way to reduce the incidence of AIDS. And thirdly, the church
can reinforce the Christian teaching of monogamy.
On the question of Church, it has been found that many of our young
people today attend church, while an equal or greater amount do not attend
church. There is a tendency for the latter set, to become involved in antisocial
activities such as drugs, gambling, stealing and vandalism. For those young
people who attend churches, many of them have serious reservations about
the church as a whole. Many of them question the significance of the church
in view of what is happening in our society today, in terms of drugs, unemployment,
frustration, and crime. Maybe the church needs to diversify its programmes
in order to effectively accommodate the "Modern youths" and by extension
to curb their fears and frustration.
Having looked at most of the fundamental problem areas for young people
and solutions to these problems, I would hope that, or rather it is my
desire that this article would serve as a vehicle for helping young people
today to appreciate and understand some of the problems which confront
them and how they can attempt to address them.
Additionally, it is my fervent hope that those in authority would work
in conjunction with young people to help them to alleviate the aforementioned
problems. We must remember that the young people are the leaders of tomorrow;
consequently, it is incumbent on the adults to set the pace (as it were)
for an uninterrupted transition.
