The Challenges of 21st Century Youth.
It is important to understand the current context, the world in which you are called to evolve, and the challenges that are yours throughout your journey. The youth of the 21st century face numerous challenges. Among these are:
- The trivialization of sex: the challenge of premarital sexual relationships, the dangers of unconventional sexual practices, the neglect of the principle “everything in its time,” the struggle against impure thoughts, the harmful emotional schemes and blackmail from adults on the young,
- The confusion between being popular and succeeding in life,
- The cult of laziness and easy money (gambling),
- The consumption of drugs and narcotics,
- The concept of dying young and living happily,
- The loss of reference points and sacred values: honor, dignity, integrity, humility, respect for elders,
- These ways of thinking, conveyed and accepted by “Mr. Everyone,” that obscure your light: I am young, I have fun, I enjoy life, when responsibilities come, I will settle down, it’s the experience of life I am gaining, life outside will have no more secrets for me, etc.
- The absence or weak basic education: when it is flawed or nonexistent, broken, due to circumstances (death, abandonment, parental wounds), the victims we create, family pressure;
- The poor understanding of failure, the promotion of microwave success,
- The societal pressure on marriage: comparison, gossip, hurtful words, appearances.
- Etc.
Young people want to be listened to, understood, and feel that their pain is felt. They want to be shown feelings with authenticity, without superficiality. They are also in search of independence, they want to assert themselves, they seek their identity, they desire to be loved and accepted, and they want to feel love through words of encouragement, affirmation, and praise.
When they feel they lack all this, they escape through music, drugs, sex which they equate with love. They spend more time on social networks. They expose themselves to various risks: eating disorders, sleep disorders from spending too much time in front of screens, lack of social life, cyberbullying, etc.
In trying to drown their loneliness, anxiety, and depression, they conform to what they see the most, they want to resemble their influencers. By constantly seeing the mirage of their influencers’ lifestyles, their idols, or their peers, they compare themselves to others and feel they do not measure up to what they see being applauded…
This text is an excerpt from the book “INFLUENCED OR INFLUENCER” written by Suzanne KWEDI.
We invite you to read the following article “FORGE YOURSELF A WINNER’S MINDSET.“
21st Century Youth.
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