The problems of young people today

Problems affecting young generation cover a wide range of activities from education, health and housing to employment, criminal justice and participation in public life. These problems of young reflect the problems of society as a whole entity, because our tomorrow day in greatly part depends on how our young generation will be and how it will be able to face with difficulties of life. That is way there is a strong need to consider them with more attention and focus, this means an increasingly important role for youth policy within main stream politics which requires a more integrated approach to the needs of young people, intensified contact with youth organizations and further involvement in practical activities such as youth work, non-formal approaches to education, volunteering and development.

Young people have to be considered as a resource for society. But first of all, they have to deal with the problems, they need to be recognized and studied in a fundamental approach, to indentify main cause and extract it in very beginning. In world today, millions of young people suffer from a range of problems which are increasingly related to economy , social politics and culture, rather than political issues. Sadly, young people (and children) are more likely to be affected by poverty and other results of the high unemployment levels and social difficulties, than adults. And these are more affecting them, as young people are more vulnerable, because they are more dependent on adults and on acquired skills. That is way it is more likely for a young person then for an adult to get in vicious circle of poverty and need. Another problem is education access. Education is considered by many people as the only way to provide the integration of young people into social life and to lead them out of poverty. Indeed, with the constantly growing technical progress, more and more of uneducated people are left abandoned from modern economy and behind of poverty line. Due to the efforts of governments lots of progress has been made in this field. In fact it is safe to say that todays young people are better educated than the ones of any of the previous generations. Involvement into higher education has increased in most countries; the increase was measured in some industrialized countries in the last twenty years. However, there is still so much work to do, as recent experience showed to ensure the only access to education system is not enough, it also needs to be harmonized more with the job offers. In one of the surveys one young woman stated: Before you can even look for a job ... you've got to know which areas you can get to easily so that you can be reliable. Before you get a house, you've got to get a job. So you've got to have money before you start, to get a car, to get a job, or whatever. It is a fact that some job offers are conditional on candidates having a car to get them to work. Many

young people have to make a choice between owning a car and living independently: many saw living in the parental home as the only financially viable housing option (the common phenomenon of kippers). The majority of young people feel the limited availability of affordable housing to buy or rent. For the kippers, continuing to live in the parental home is a short-term solution, but it can t be always be relied on in the longer term. Reliance on the parental home also becomes unpractical when young people want to form couples and start a family. Even with doubled earnings, young people still find it hard to afford a place of their own. The constant growth of modern technology includes growing complicacy of life, which in its turn changes the age of an entry into adolescence. Indeed, in order to became an independent grown up person and integrate successfully in adult society and start, you have to match certain criteria, like have an education, housing and have a solid life experience. With our today s diversity of life mentioned criteria is getting more and more complicated. Considering the fact that not everybody has an equal opportunity of access to means and knowledge, matching these criteria is getting more and more highly difficult task. With so difficult diversity of modern life to make a right choice and stay focused on your way to success, it is difficult even for an experienced adult. So what can we say about a young person who barely grew up to start an adult life, and roughness of life push everyone in the struggle for life. And the media instead of helping out with guiding of making right choice and popularizing strong family relation, friendship and truth love for closest one, portrays more and more black side of life, it shows rich and self-satisfied celebrities with perfect bodies, whose success seemed to be due more to lucky strike or to their beautiful appearance, than to the intelligence and self-sacrifice. Mas-media magnates think more about filling their pockets with money from commercials, then about young generation. Therefore, things that are problematic in society and those that are traditionally holding us together and giving us strength to overcome difficulties are not actual enough. They deceive themselves and they are deceiving peoples, thinking that making a reality shows and huge TV programs like part of the massive entertainment industry fun is more actual and interesting than making a emission about boys and girls who experienced difficulties on their way of studying, life, and on their way to success. They should provide space for new ideas and people who can and want to change the world. Taking into consideration how much time today s kids spend watching TV, it s not unusual that with such an approach media provoke wrong and rootless formation of vain values of young generation and more and more of stressfulness. Family, most of the time, is the children's biggest social influence and source. What young people say and do usually results from the things that they learn at home. Kids with violent fathers, loud mothers, intimidating brothers, and annoying sisters would rather be on the street and are more likely to use drugs. A lot of kids who suffer from illegal substance abuse started the habit just to "escape" the problems at home. Kids, especially those from broken families, usually turn to look for some comfort since they don't have the love and support from their parents. Almost every child struggles with "fitting in" into their respective

circles. Having a group of friends is one of the most important necessities in a kid's life. Nobody wants to be a loner, we could say. During their early years, a lot of kids will find themselves in a stage where they would do anything just to fit in and be cool. Most substance abuse cases result from peer pressure. Some kids consider substance abuse as a means of bonding or a way of showing their coolness in front of the others. Drugs are one of the most serious problems facing today's young generation. It is also a complex problem because there is no one factor leading to drug abuse. Considering the facts about drugs, we need to ask ourselves: "Why do some teenagers use drugs?" Some might find their present life boring. Others may have too many problems. Or maybe, some teenagers use drugs to gain respect in their crew. In some of the cases, it's just curiosity. But now it is clear it is very hard to protect young people from trying drugs, because curiosity is one of the hardest temptations to resist. Therefore, the main problem is no thet first try, main problem is turn of first try into abuse, and finding the way to draw off the tendency to drugs to some other thing, for example to love for somebody or something beloved. In that way, young people would feel that they are needed by society that somebody is caring for them, or that it is possible to have pleasure not only from drugs but from doing favorite sport or hobby. With the help of others, he or she will find more strength to overcome desire to return to drug use. To pay all the necessary attention to all existing problems and social participation, not only of the government social services, is the major way for the solution of existing problems. In ancient Greek society, participation was considered to be an aim of education. They realized it already in those times that participation could only be taught by letting, encouraging and supporting young people to try to assume responsibility and to really participate in the development of society. Decision makers have to pay special attention to participation, as today's young people are often forced into the role of spectators of society, or into the role of consumers rather than that of participants. All of us are aware that participation is a opposite reaction against the concentration of power in a state of prosperity. This is the most important way to strengthen the reducing civil sector of society. Therefore real participation is very challenging for people with power, especially for decision makers. Participation provides training in democracy and a possibility for young people to strengthen their self reliance and solidarity. Young people have the right to be included, to be allowed and encouraged to assume duties and responsibilities and to make one's own decisions.

Aleksandar Jovanovid, 685/12 Filozofski fakultet u Nikidu Odsjek za filozofiju