Challenges on the way of New Generation & Framework for Positive Youth Development

 

Challenges on the way of New Generation 

& 

Framework for Positive Youth Development

It is easy to look at today’s generation of teenagers and say they are pampered, oversensitive, and have a sense of entitlement. In some ways that criticism is accurate, but I think it is time to pause for a reality check. If I were given a choice  of being a teenager now or thirty years ago, I would take thirty years ago without a second thought  During the mid-1980s, adolescent upbringing was focused largely on development and behavior, their physical growth and mannerism as per the family culture. Little attention was paid to the settings in which children lived.

Today, there is too much importance on the surroundings in which a child is growing up. And developing core values has taken step behind. Adolescents are in constant pressure of proving themselves best at each stage of life. Data says youth unemployment is more than 13% today, the cost of higher education is rapidly rising, a drought of affordable housing coupled with low pay is keeping many young adults sealed under the parental roof unwillingly and trapped in what one report called “adulthood”. Moreover, a relentless focus on academic high-achieving is turning up the pressure in the classroom. Youth, traditionally thought of as the most enviable time of life, can now look like a deeply challenging and sometimes unpleasant time of life.

 Young people growing up today have challenges more difficult to navigate. They are living in a world that is completely different than the one we grew up in and we cannot rely on our own teenage experience to guide them effectively.

There are multiple issues today’s youth are facing.

• Growing Up Too Fast.
• Cyberbullying & Violence in Schools.
• Stress & Time Management.
• Political & Social Issues.
• Materialism.
• Obesity & Body shaming
• Education Inequality.

 Some of the reasons for challenges of the youth today -

Ø Under the Microscope and Forever Documented - The Internet has provided a permanent and public place for all of that to be exposed and mercilessly judged. Privacy is non-existent. There is always someone, mainly peers, documenting their every move and word. It is a pressure we were fortunate to live without.

Ø Never-Ending Exposure - The Internet is their world and the stream of information is constant. They are going to be on there and encounter everything offered, positive and negative.  A kid being bullied could, at least, find a safe haven when they go home. There is no safe haven from cyberbullying. They are exposed to violence and pornography at an early age without an ability to process what they are seeing. Most teenage boys, in particular, end up with an addiction to pornography as a result. Innocence and childhood are cut short while adulthood is still many years away.

Ø Unhealthy Expectations - The problem is that we are asking teenagers to do too much with not enough time, it is a question of their survival in a never ending race. Today’s teenager needs to play sports all year with the commitment level of a professional athlete. Most are forced into taking advanced placement courses, giving them a workload they are ill-equipped to complete. They must complete service hours to make their profile look good, be a stage performer, do activities outside of school. They do not have the time to do all of it at a high level. It is exhausting. Today when asked, they don’t have time to take up activity just for fun. What a sad scenario.

The places where young people spend time—at home, with friends, in school, at work, in front of television, movies, or other media, or in the neighborhood—influence their development greatly. Healthy Adolescent Development contains the physical, cognitive, emotional, social, sexual, identity formation, and spiritual growth that happen during adolescence.

Adults can promote healthy development by understanding what are these changes happening developmentally and why it is happening. These can help both adults and teens enjoy the second decade of life.

It is important to develop a set of 5 core assets for positive youth development.

Competence - A young person learns that he or she is good at something when given the opportunity to try and practice new things.

Confidence – By giving them chance to succeed

Connection – By building healthy relationship between youth and peers and parents and teachers.

Caring and Character - Likewise, a young person learns to be caring by being cared for, and develops character by practicing self-control

Positive Attributes through Learning and Experience shapes the future of young people.

By

Dr Mona Shah

Occupational Therapist, Clinical Psychologist.