originally posted on 23-04-2021 8:16 PM

I think that's one thing that's changed too @Onion. It feels like more young people are tackling heavy issues and it's quite cool to see.

originally posted on 23-04-2021 8:11 PM

What are the most important issues for young people? Does anything need to change? What are some ways that young people can express themselves and get their voices heard?

 

Staying healthy I suppose, though that can be said for everyone. I think a specific thing right now is maintaining social relationships actually. In this current environment, it's very easy to forgo and forget these things because we're so used to having them so readily accessible. As young people, we're very technologically savvy compared to past generations and perhaps that has made us more....technologically reliant? (For lack of a better word)

 

Perhaps ways people can express themselves is to just start. After all, starting is perhaps the hardest part of any journey! Reach out to someone, anyone and go from there (while still following our health guidelines of course). Me personally, I've definitely felt that change from when people expressed their views in school assemblies to more online platforms now (lol, that makes me sound so old for some reason :/)

originally posted on 23-04-2021 8:09 PM

Love those gifs @24Kathal!

What are the most important issues for young people? Does anything need to change? What are some ways that young people can express themselves and get their voices heard?
Some of the most important issues for young people are:

- Mental health
- Climate change
- Loneliness

- The 24/7 nature of social media and the speed at which information can spread
- Unemployment and financial security
- Young people being carers, especially young mental health carers as they are less likely to be in education and are disadvantaged in some ways.
- Pressures to do well in school, pressures from society, family and peers.
- Certain traumas, hardships, injustices etc. being unresolved because young people are just told to 'suck it up', are not believed or taken seriously compared to adults.
- Body image
- Discrimination

If I had to change something, it would be a lot! I think I would start with raising greater awareness and in my career, I have tried to raise awareness of some of the issues a young person can face. Parents, teachers, etc. need to read stories about young people, what helped them and what didn't.

There are lots of ways that young people can get their voices heard. Some ways can include:
- Joining an advisory group or committee
- Writing to the media, an organisation or the government
- Sharing their stories
- Looking for expressions of interest from organisations who would like to hear from youth
- Completing surveys

- Using some form of creative expression

originally posted on 23-04-2021 8:11 PM

@WheresMySquishy  I think you just summed that question perfectly!!! So in-depth and informing, thanks for replying 😊😊😊

originally posted on 23-04-2021 8:16 PM

Ooh yes volunteering is a great way to give young people a voice @Onion

@WheresMySquishy, oh I forgot financial struggles and loneliness! Those are important!

@happyandhealthy definitely not being safe or comfortable being themselves is a huge one! I definitely agree about rasising awareness. And social clubs is a great idea!

@RevzZ Yes we are so reliant on technology nowadays 😞

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:54 PM

Yup! And the type of usage @Onion There are good and bad parts of social media!

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:54 PM

Yep definitely!

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:47 PM

What does it mean to be a young person in 2021?

I think being a young person means different things to different people haha. Everyone is unique! For me being a young person means feeling like I don't understand a lot and like I don't belong. But it also means I'm always learning (I hope we don't lose that as we get older).

 

What are some positives and negatives of being a young person?

Positives hm I guess there are a lot of opportunities available- though this isn't the same for all young people. Negatives sometimes people will just talk at and over you and not let you have a voice

 

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:45 PM

What does it mean to be a young person in 2021?

What are some positives and negatives of being a young person?

I think that young people are facing a lot of issues in 2021, but they are opinionated, brave and unafraid to speak their mind about issues that matter to them. I think there is a greater acceptance and understanding of peers in general. Many young people still remember days without the technology that is commonplace today and have seen a lot of advances and change.
Young people have to deal with a lot of issues that impact on their future, such as climate change, unemployment, loneliness, issues relating to COVID, etc. For a lot of young people, mental health issues can happen for the first time, which can be really hard to cope with if you are a young person with limited resources and supports. But at the same time, I wish I could be young forever as I have less responsibilities than someone who is older.

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:48 PM

Not to backpedal but I do have a side question which might be worth a thought - how would we classify a young person? Younger than 30? Younger than 20? I watched a documentary where a man was advocating to be legally younger than he actually was!

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:52 PM

Hehe that is such a good question @RevzZ I reckon in Australia anyway we see young people as being younger than 25? 🙂

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:55 PM

Unfortunately have forgotten @Onion, sorry! It was a small section as part of a larger documentary for an ethics course discussing these things. He was a Dutch man though, so I'm sure you can probably find the segment online.

Thanks for the input everyone! So I'm getting the feeling that young people is generally vague, maybe somewhere from 18-25 and can vary. Guess it depends on how you feel 🙂

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:57 PM

No need to apologize @RevzZ! Time to put my 'young people' googling skills to good use. 

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:55 PM

@RevzZ I think 13-25 is probably what I would consider to be the age range for a young person!
But then again I guess it is quite a subjective topic! I'm sure that people in their 30's would be a little sad if we told them we didn’t consider them as young people 😂

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:51 PM

Good question @RevzZ! Some places classify it as 18 and under and other places classify it as 25 and younger. I think it can often depend on the category a young person falls into. For example, young carers are often regarded as being 25 and younger.

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:51 PM

Personally, I would classify a young person as someone from adolescence to late 20s at most. What was the documentary called @RevzZ ?

 

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:47 PM

@WheresMySquishy oh yeah I'm not looking forward to the responsibilities that will come once I move out 

 

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:50 PM

@Onion  Me neither! Bills, a lack of help around the house, etc.

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:54 PM

@WheresMySquishy a lot of my friends older siblings who have moved out often visit home for free dinners 

originally posted on 23-04-2021 7:43 PM

Just to start us off, I think part of being a young person in 2021 is our greater focus on the future e.g. with environmental issues we now try to be more informed consumers. 

 

Positives of being a young person would be the technology and level of advancement in medicine that exist now/ we have access to (although not everyone has this access). A negative would be the fact that we have to shoulder on the consequences resulting from the actions of past generations (although this is not to say that everything the past generations did were bad).