Problems faced by youths

Young people are often told, “teenage years are the best years of your life – treasure it”. In town, happy groups of secondary and college students roam the streets, appearing energetic and radiant. However, this is only part of the picture. In Singapore, many problems arise among teenagers. Yearly, figures of depression rates among teenagers escalate and we cannot help but wonder what is becoming of this new generation of young people.
Life for many youths of this new day and age involves a painful tug-of-war consisting of mixed messages, unanswerable questions, of emotions and incompatible demands from parents, teachers, friends and oneself. For youths, this period of life involves exiting the sheltered period of teen hood and reliance on others, and attaining adulthood and independence. This period in life is concomitant with many problems, as youths struggle to find answers to life, and fit themselves into the community and society. In this essay, I will explore the main problems faced by young people today, the reasons they arise, and the possible solutions to these problems.
Firstly is a problem that most youths experience – peer pressure. The most common form of peer pressure is that which comes from friends. It rang

Lastly, a problem that exists among youths today is strained family relationships due to a generation gap. The generation gap is whereby parents and teens have different thinking about things – from clothes and music preference, to values and beliefs. Many parents lose influence on their teens and teens value peer opinions above parents influence. Today, tension between parents and youths is widespread within many families in Singapore. There are also cases of teens leaving their homes and not returning for a few days because of unhappiness caused by this.

On a concluding note, youths do experience many problems, however, we must realize the major role that youths will play in the future society, and take on a positive outlook on it. We must have hope in youths and the potential they have in making drastic and valuable improvements to the community. Indeed, teenage years might not be the best years of one’s life, but the lessons learnt from the problems and trials a youth goes through, should be treasured as a means of helping one to mature and grow.

Secondly is competitiveness within and outside of school. We have become a society of overachievers, stereotyping losing, or not succeeding as bad, and is a stigma of imperfection. Competition can take the form of a spice that keeps life interesting, stimulating one to greater creativity and success. However, most youths fail to realize that competition can be toxic and a pervasive lifestyle.

To solve this problem, it requires a good attitude in both parents and teens. Youths themselves, should show the required filial respect to their parents, be understanding and respect some decisions that their parents make for them. Parents should show an attitude of respect and faith in the child. The control they exercise over their child should be done with understanding and sympathy. With this mutual trust in each other, the youth will see themselves the way their parents see them. When given the trust to be able to make decisions, the youths will step out into the world and discover themselves as well as how the world works, survive mistakes and adversity, learn from the consequences and thus strengthen themselves emotionally and psychologically.

Parents also play an important role in helping their children deal with peer pressure. A common reason why many teens succumb to negative peer pressure is that they aren't sure how they feel about an issue or situation. They need an adult to be there to guide them, and help them in decision-making. Parents thus play a role in the promotion of self-awareness, and helping them build confidence. Talks with their teens, asking them how they feel abou