WHEN it comes to who a youth is, there is no universally agreed definition and age rate of who a youth is.
However, it still has got its acceptable explanation. Youth could be defined as the time or stage in life when a person is young which is usually between the time of childhood and adulthood (which could be said to be maturity).
It’s that stage in life when one is filled with vigor, freshness, good appearance, agility etc. defining a youth (was challenging as many people had different opinions as to who a youth is), they could not be classified within
a specific age range.
The age of being a youth ranges from one country to another, however it would fall at the age when the individual is full of life. Just as it can’t be linked within a specific age, its end thereof cannot be linked to a specific activity or what the individual has failed to do. Being a youth is an experience which would shape the person’s
level of understanding to life and his or her level of dependency on others.
The United Nations defines youth as a person who is between the ages of 15 to age 24. This definition came into
being as a result of the preparation of the International Youth Year in 1985.
This definition was endorsed by the United Nations Assembly in its resolution 36/28 of 1981. All statistics of the
United Nations is based on this definition. The youth are faced with so many challenges and difficulties that it almost makes it hard for them to function well in the society, some of these challenges are:
1. Violence in schools: Violence is defined by the world health organization as the “intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which
either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting to injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”.
Therefore, school violence may be explained as physical attacks which occur between students or by students to
teachers or teachers to students. These form of violence could happen anywhere ranging from the school
environment, school sponsored events and outside the school premises.
Grave consequences emanate from these violence perpetrated by the students such as vandalism, lack of moral decency, loss of school property, increase in the school crime rate. Students do not wake up on a beautiful morning to choose school violence. Most times, it is being influenced by some factors which could include intake of hard substance, personality problems (disorders), physiological deficiencies, and violent media.
2. Drug abuse: The rate of drug availability and intake at this present age is so alarming and it is seen in
every corner of the streets. The use of drugs is constantly promoted in movies and in music productions making it look appealing to the youths.
During film productions, the characters would be portrayed with cigarette sticks and drugs in their hands making it appear normal on the screen which in turn contributed to the use of drugs by a lot of youths. Musicians
make use of drugs and sometimes use it to avoid stage fright and to suppress stress. In our society today, youth are seen in the streets abusing drugs while it has lead to the mental disability of many.
3. Political and social issues: Irrespective of the fact that the youths make up the most population in a country, they are the most marginalized when it comes to politics and decision making. They always put up a struggle in
other to gain the recognition and respect of public officials and are always seen in the light of lacking the required skill and experience required for the political task ahead.
This and other factors like lack of educational and economic opportunities would leave the youths frustrated and idle and unable to participate in any major political activities.
4. Youth unemployment: As the name implies, it means the state where youths cannot find work to do in their
communities or nation or there are no job placements available for the youths.
Having a significant if not more number of youths in the society could negatively impact the economic growth
of the nation, and if not checked, could cause serious economic repercussions because youths who are unemployed often tend to feel left out, leading to social exclusion, lack of hope for the future and anxiety.
With the birth increase and poor economic planning, the rate of unemployment of the youths would increase
in the future if care is not taken. Taking Africa for an example, there are nearly 200 million people in Africa who are within the ages of 15 – 24, and this number would increase by 2045, it goes to show that the youth unemployment rate will cause a serious problem in the society if appropriate measures are not taken to eradicate or reduce it.
