Social Problems Facing Today's Youth

Youth is often thought of as a carefree period in one’s life where all responsibilities seem distant and the main concern is to have fun and be free. Perhaps this was once true but the modern world has many pitfalls waiting for young people to stumble into. This essay covers some of the most pertinent ones.

Information Overload

It is extremely useful to have access to huge amounts of information when completing an assignment but the data that teens are exposed to is not solely educational. They can find out what their favorite celebrity thinks about a particular event as it happens through the magic of social media. They can find out almost anything they want to know instantly or see anything they wish to see. Some of what they research they probably should not spend as much or any time on but this is hardly preventable.

Profile Perfectionism

The widespread use of social media means that most young people expect their online presence to always be available for others to look at. As a result, they feel like they must always maintain a profile that shows them in the best possible light. As everyone in their age group competes to have the most likes, shares or followers, the need to be seen as perfect can eclipse other more pressing concerns.

Lack of Close Relationships

The popularity of smart devices means that the majority of the leisure choices that young people make will be related to technology rather than actual social pursuits. They think of online friendships as real and do not realize that their networks are made up almost exclusively of acquaintances who they could not strike conversations with if they were to cross paths in person. The idea of playing in the streets is completely alien.

Economic Crises

Aside from the problems that they have contributed to, young people will inherit broken economic systems that their parents have managed to spoil in a single generation. Financial criminals have robbed many of them of the inheritance they seem to think will still appear. Even now there are cases where parents who were relatively well off became impoverished or even homeless due to a downturn that few people could predict would occur.

While today’s youth do face a slew of problems, they also have the tools that could potentially save them. With enough creative thinking they could remake the societies they inhabit for the better.