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| | Navigating a Changing World
Generation Z is busily texting updating Facebook or MySpace, watching reality television and listening to tunes while completing a homework assignment and redecorating their space. Seamless access and effortless consumption of multimedia is given. In fact, it's almost a reflexive response to their world.
Just how wired are today's youth? In November 2006, Pews Research Center reported that 55% of young people 17 years and younger were using social networking sites. Just 15 months later in February 2008, the percentage had increased to 73%.Cell phone ownership has also grown. Three-quarters of teens now have a cell phone. Among the younger set, 58% of 12 year olds had their own phone in late 2008, up from just 18% in 2004.
Young people are also going to the internet in large numbers. In December 2009, 93% of teens ages 13-17 years used the internet to get information, catch the headlines and shop compared to only 74% of adults, 18 years or older. Actually, young teens today are among the first Americans to grow up using computers and cell phones as they access the internet as part of their daily routine. They are indeed "digital natives."
So how is this social networking among youth changing the world and creating challenges for tomorrow?According to child psychologist Andrew Fuller, "kids aren't allowed to be kids for very long and they're made into consumers at a very young age." They're growing up in a world focused on achievement and outcomes and are already suffering from anxiety about post school success.
This explosion of digital competence is giving high school students, and even younger children, the opportunity to become successful entrepreneurs at a very young age. With the Internet, who knows what age the investment consultant or the game creator is? Furthermore, who cares? Self-taught entrepreneurial youth are earning their own money, giving them buying power far beyond the " allowance" levels of previous generations.
On the other hand, the current economic climate is also helping to shape the world of work for young people. In the global marketplace, a wide array of stuff is cheaper when manufactured where costs are lower. But this means that lower skilled jobs are disappearing, contributing to the lowest levels of youth employment since the end of World War II. Meanwhile, futurists predict that 60-80% of new US jobs will occur in computer related fields.
Youth looking to be highly successful in cyberspace can't wait until their early twenties to develop skill sets. Their world is focused on achievement and outcome, with an expectation that critical skills will be firmly in place by age 14, instead of post-college.
The impact has increased "me centeredness," with greater anxiety about the future and increased incidences of depression. Ont he other hand, today's youth are smarter and better educated than any generation before.
Today's youth spend more time using social networking sites yet they are at a loss to deal with face to face social interactions. How can this be? Think of the last time a mom send the kids out to play in the park with neighborhood kids with no adult supervision. Is the world really more violent today than previous generations?
Research shows that communities are safer today than they were in 1985. Today there is less crime. There is less petty crime. And there is less violent crime against children. Yet our culture has evolved new mores that demand that children be more closely supervised. Consequently, many children no longer have space to learn how to relate with other young people without the supervision and interference of parents and other adult figures. This lack of skill becomes apparent when basically good kids use cyber bullying to solve social conflicts.
In contrast to the over-supervised youth, some young people are too often left on his or her own, with little supervision or guidance, especially in the hours immediately following school. While this time provides a great opportunity to practice people skills, adults are not available for consultation or "checking in". Youth need a more balanced approach in which adults are accessible to show interest and provide guidance and support without monitoring every minute of the day.
While we fear for our youth we are also instilling them with feelings of insecurity. We impost more rules, watch them more closely, exact stronger discipline, and hassle them for hanging out with their peers in public places. Yet the vast majority of young people hanging out are law abiding youth engaged in learning social behavior.
One product of growing fear of our youth is the increased criminalization of "making mistakes." We hear the horror of an 11 year old honor roll student arrested and detained overnight for writing on a school desk or the girls cited for possession of a dangerous weapon after they got caught cutting each others bangs with blunt end kindergarten style scissors. While these examples seem excessive, the growing trend is to use police citations to handle school discipline issues. School and YSB partnerships like YCAPP and START, suspension alternatives in Stillwater Area Schools and South Washington County Schools respectively, provide more appropriate discipline and help students learn more effective ways to handle situations.
How can we help youth face these challenges together? As parents, youth workers and community leaders. we can ensure all young people have early and frequent access to information technology and support in developing the skills to use it well. In addition we need to recognize that access to technology is a critical component of each child education process and not a disciplinary tool to be withheld, especially when a mistake has occurred.
At the same time, we also need to provide a life away from the latest technology gadgets where children can engage in unstructured play and socialization with their peers. We need to give them space and time to be "kids," without continually focusing on becoming the "best" at everything they try. Imagine playing a sport for fun and camaraderie for a change of pace.
We need to become more aware of the growing "culture of fear" that is forcing our schools to become fortresses and increasing distrust among neighbors. We need to remember that learning is often a result of trail and error. Youth would benefit from awareness programs that increase their knowledge and build more effective decision-making skills.
Download Article ReferencesCheck out a related article: Challenges Facing Youth | |
