Youth of today are taking longer to complete the transition into adulthood compared to youth of twenty-five years ago. Changes in education and the benefit system may be responsible for the altered state of transition in current youth (Keep, 2011) which is an assumption that will be explored. In regards to this; this essay will cover youth transition and will look at how the restructuring of polices and legislations have affected youths transition in to adulthood. Furthermore the manner in which political ideologies and perspectives have altered factors such as education, employment, housing and benefits will be examined. Once a full explanation has been provided; the fundamental question that needs to be answered is; are the teenagers of today embattled or empowered?
“Definitions of ‘youth’ in Western societies usually refer to the life stage between childhood and adulthood, the transitional period between being dependant and becoming independent” (Kehily, 2007). The age of this transition can be best defined by the House of Commons as starting at 16 and ending at 24 years old (2013). This transition from youth to adulthood has altered considerably in recent years; the traditional norms and values that youth once followed are no longer respected or easily attained. Current youth have very different life styles and expectations, consequently; adolescents are taking longer to complete the transition into adulthood. Twenty-five years ago the traditional norms were to get a job straight after school, start courting, get married, save up enough money to set up home and eventually start a family. The fact that this is no longer the norm for the majority of youth reflects that the changes in education, employment, housing, and benefits have affected the model of transition significantly. In 1997 the political party New Labour came in to power and one of the main
Leon Botstein, the author of “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” serves as the president of Bard College, as well as a professor of arts and humanities. Botstein wrote this article after the tragic shootings at Columbine high school in 1999. This event triggered something inside Botstein causing him to think negatively about the American high school system. In the article “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” Botstein explains, in his own words, of the corrupt happenings of present day American high school (368-369). Although Botstein may have high credentials, he provides no evidence to support his negative claims and opinions about teenagers and American high schools.
The transition from childhood to adulthood can be a harsh and difficult journey. As teenagers become young adults, they fall face first into a new and frightening world of—no longer feeling safe or sheltered.
This period is marked by physical, social, moral and emotional development (Davies, Hartdegen, Haxell, Le Geyt & Mercier, 2012). It is a time when the adolescent’s sense of self or identity is becoming much more clear and they are beginning to understand their role in society, starting to question the morals of others and contemplating their own moral and ethical beliefs (Davies et al., 2012). During this time Erik Erikson believed that adolescents are faced with the psychosocial stage of identity versus role confusion (Berk, 2008). Adolescents explore their values and role in society, overcoming this conflict to better understand their own identity, however if they do not fully overcome this conflict, Erikson believed that the adolescent would be confused about their values and future adult roles (Berk, 2008). This conflict was clearly demonstrated in my own development during the late teenage years when I experienced both the results of failing to overcome and then overcoming Erikson’s fifth psychosocial stage. At age eighteen I finished secondary school and began my tertiary studies, I had been accepted into the degree I had wanted to study since middle childhood, however I quickly learnt that I was enjoying neither my studies nor my experience of life in halls of residence. I discontinued my studies after only
Emerging Adulthood represents the period of development from late teens through their twenties, mainly focusing on the ages 18-25. This is the period which people start exploring and realizing the capabilities of their lives, which then helps them characterize as adults and no longer teenagers. This topic of psychology is compelling to me because it’s a stage that every adult has lived through, it’s interesting that we have all experienced it differently based on our life circumstances and demographics. It’s interesting to see the changes throughout the years and eventually it will be easier for young people to explore these years as more young adults are going to school nowadays. It teaches me to further understand why emerging adults go through
In other industrialized nations, teenage turmoil was a fraction of that seen in the U.S. The author proposed that turmoil was the result of infantilizing- a phenomenon largely attributed to American culture. When treated like adults, teens are capable of rising to the...
‘Youth’ is characterised by this in-between-ness, in other words young people are those who are neither children nor adults but in this transitional phase. Defining youth is also trying to define the moment of entrance into the independent stage of
Kent, Adam. 2009. “Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood.” Table 1. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Human Services Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/vulnerableyouth/3/index.pdf.
Extensive demographic and cultural shifts have taken place over the past few decades that have made late adolescence and early twenties into a new transitional developmental period known as emerging adulthood for young individuals across industrialized societies. Arnett (2000) argues that emerging adulthood is a “distinct period of the life course” that is “characterized by change and exploration of possible life directions” (469). Additionally, a critical area of identity exploration during emerging adulthood is love and romantic relationships. Arnett contends that “demographic changes in the timing of marriage and parenthood in recent decades has led to prolonged periods of adolescence and delayed adulthood transitions” (470). By postponing
The dictionary defines rites of passage as ceremonies that mark important transitional periods in a person’s life. It usually involves rituals and teachings that help shed their old roles and prepares them for their new roles. Although all boys and girls will go through a rite of passage to be considered an adult, the path they will take will differ greatly. The common point I have found them all to have is the age range at which this usually occurs, which is between 13 and 16. Some will have to endure task while some participate in celebrations. Some are extremely dangerous in nature while others are less formal and less challenging. All of them require preparations and learning rituals, languages, or dance. I will focus on the puberty phase and how different cultures mark this transition.
In our modern and current society today, typically in the Western cultures, individualisation and detraditionalisation has had many impact and influences on the nature of teenagers, in the sense of them transitioning from youth to adulthood. The term ‘individualisation’ refers to a trend towards the primacy of individual choice, freedom, and self responsibility; meaning that ‘each young person is under pressure to consciously tailor make their own life trajectory towards successful adult citizenship' (Furlong & Cartmel 1997; Kelly 2006). While on the other hand, the term ‘detrationalisation’ referring to the withering away of old forms of collective social collectivity and associated patterns of behaviour embedded over generations; meaning
Everyone that have ever lived to adulthood, understand that difficulty of the transition to it from childhood. As of right now, I am in the prime of the “coming of age “transition. The overwhelming pressure of our society that forces the adolescence to assimilate the social norms is felt by many. Just as in our first steps, our first words or anything that is expected in our human milestones, coming of age is one of them. It may variety from different societies, religious responsibility or modern legal convention; everyone had to reach this point eventually.
Negotiating transitions can create added stresses in young people’s lives. As you get older your responsibilities and what is expected of you will change.
Transition from childhood to adulthood is not just age related. It is a shift in the way our mind starts to process things.
Childhood and adulthood are two different periods of one’s lifetime but equally important. Childhood is the time in everybody’s life when they are growing up to be an adult. This is when they are being considered babies because of their youthfulness and innocence. Adulthood is the period of time where everybody is considered “grown up,” usually they begin to grow up around the ages of eighteen or twenty-one years old but they do remain to develop during this time. However, in some different backgrounds, not everybody is not fully adults until they become independent with freedom, responsible for their own actions, and able to participate as an adult within society. Although childhood and adulthood are both beneficial to our lives, both periods share some attributes such as independence, responsibility, and innocence that play distinctive roles in our development.
Youth unemployment is a global problem facing both developed and developing economies. The United Nations define youth unemployment as individuals between the age of 15 and 24 years not employed and actively seeking employment. Statistics only consider youths who have attained the required age of employment who are willing and able to work but without jobs. Unemployment rates raise concerns in all economies. However, the rate and trends vary from one country to another irrespective of the country’s development status. For instance, in Cuba, Sierra Leone and Germany, youth unemployment rates were below 10% as per the year (Petersen & Mortimer, 2011). Sierra Leone is a developing country while Germany is a developed country yet their youth unemployment rates are comparable. On the other hand, youth unemployment rates in South Africa, Armenia and Spain were above 50% as per the year 2010 (Petersen & Mortimer, 2011). In most countries, youth unemployment rate is more than double as compared to an unemployment rate in people above the age of 24 years. Canada is not an exemption as the youth unemployment rate is raising major concerns. In the recent years, issues of youth unemployment have dominated political debates and social forums. More and more youths are leaving institutions of higher learning to end up being jobless. A considerable proportion of the youths are doing jobs that are below their level of educations. Organizations are raising standards in jobs where jobs previously performed by high school leavers are being given to diploma and degree holders. Since 1966, general unemployment rate has averaged at 7.75%. As per April this year, the unemployment rate among the youths was 14.5%, w...