Sociological Imagination And The Dilemmas Of Youth Essay

The sociological imagination and the dilemmas of youth are two important concepts that shape the society we live in. They both allow us to critically and sociologically interpret our day-to-day existence.

2. Body

2.1 Sociological imagination

Sociological imagination is the link between an individual and the society. It is the way the society impacts an individual on a daily basis. It can be understood as thinking critically and scientifically about the connections between and individual and the society. According to C. Wright Mills, “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society”.

2.2 Defining Personal Problem and Social Issue

The sociological imagination encapsulates

The causes of this issue are mainly the high fertility rate, poverty and lack of education. The more people that there are, the more jobs that are needed to provide for each family. If there are no jobs available for the expanding population, it leaves the majority of youth unemployed, especially if those young people are living in poverty. The causes of high fertility rate, according to Tsebe, are the gender roles, lack of knowledge (teenagers are misinformed about sexual intercourse), availability of contraceptives, imbalance of gender powers (young women who are in relationships with older men are more likely to fall pregnant then when they are in a relationships with someone of their own age), peer pressure, child support grant and sexual behaviour at a young age. Another reason for the fertility rate is that in some countries, young boys are useful to families in that they can provide labour, particularly in the farming and mining

It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that the child of a farm workers can be the president of a great nation.” The lack of education that plagues rural areas in South Africa greatly impacts the unemployment level of the youth. Without adequate schooling at a young age, one will most like not be able to attend university or a college. In the absence of formal tertiary education, employers tend to disregard applications without any experience. Therefore the youth with a limited education and without experience are unable to get jobs and leaves them