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Youth - Coggle Diagram
Youth
Challenges faced by youth
Over-reliance on technology
"Digital natives" who are extremely comfortable with technology
Generation is highly creative and collaborative in school and in the workplace
May be unhealthy as they would rather stay indoors to use electronic tools
Obesity
Social isolation
Lack the social skills to reach out others and integrate themselves
The dangers and risk of privacy when using social media platforms to communicate with the outside world
Cybercrime
Digital piracy, viewing online pornography (under 18), online bullying and harassment (including threatening or sexual messages)
Peer influence and low self-control to be the major factors (study led by a Michigan State University criminologist).
Acquired Attention Deficient Disorder
Multi-tasking leads to reduced attention span, which causes people to be able to analyse complex data and information as they cannot focus for very long
Pervasive media influence
Mass media are conduits of information and entertainment, serve as important windows on the world.
Provides people with information and a variety of opinion that can be a major basis for the formation of an individual's beliefs, thoughts and actions.
Problems
Violence
Violence on the media is glamorized and portrayed as cool
Amount of violence exposed to a child in the media is on the rise
Sex
TV exposes children to adult sexual behaviours in ways that portray the actions as normal and risk-free, frequent and 'everybody does it'
Sexually-transmitted infections
Identity
Mass media influences young people's ideas of sexual norms and gender roles
Hedonistic (living as you like as long as you are happy) behaviour perceived as cool and accepted
Exposure makes children go into premature adulthood (which they may not have developed the skills to be responsible)
Youth are influenced to believe or idealise such ideas as they use the media as a guide for their lives
Challenges
Discerning what they read and watch
Develop their own set of moral principles and not be negatively influenced
More media-savvy and critical of what they receive on mass media
Stereotypical perceptions
Stereotypes often perpetuated in popular culture through the media
Affects how youths see themselves (not only adults view on youth)
The world does not respect or understand them --> does not encourage a positive sense of self-worth
However, events have proven that youths can be empowered by technology and education
Also more pro-active in making a change in their own lives and that of others
Over-parenting
Parents solve children's problems
Bubble-wrapping the child from potential harm
Anxiety disorders are increasing among children, showing up in both children and young adults who are ill-prepared for the challenges of independent living, university or work
Obesity among children is reaching epidemic proportions along with type II diabetes and threats of shortened lifespans as children are driven everywhere and doing activities that do not provide enough exercise
Allow children to avoid legitimately challenging situations
Too much control over the children
Indulgent parenting
Problematic phenomenon: Little Emperor Syndrome
Under-parenting
Many children grow-up in dual-income families
Either brought up by helpers or other caregivers
They turn to peers and the mass media in making social and moral decisions, lacking proper guidance from parents
Many are also pampered and given excessive material goods to make up for lack of emotional care
Leads to materialistic minds and connsumerism
Parents fail to be actively involved in their studies
Consumerism and materialism
Young children
Children learn from a young age that the measure of success and happiness in life is how much one has
There is little restraint on such mindsets
Young children tend to believe what they are told in advertisements and may assume they are deprived if they do not have the products
Youths
Advertisements targeting youth are profoundly influential (particularly consumption of alcoholic drinks and cigarette use)
If the behaviour continues, they will have a greater sense of entitlement and competitiveness to fulfil material wants
Single-parent households (raising a child is already difficult in a two-parent household)
Economically, a single parent is likely to bring home less income
Fewer opportunities (quality preschool education etc.)
Absence of parent guidance
Time is spent away from children who need their parent's guidance and influence as that time is used to work
Higher dropout rates
Higher risk of dangerous sexual behaviours and pregnancies
Higher chances of drug and alcohol abuse
Competitive society
There is increased pressure and competition
Competition comes from peers and also from outsourced labour
Financial crisis may leave a whole generation of young people with opportunities that fall well short of their aspirations
In the developed world, the youth face fewer and less well paid entry-level jobs
Economic opportunities may be rising but expectations are rising even faster and the downturn leaves youth unfulfilled
In ageing economies, youth have to fund rising social bills
Benefits and educational support are also bring cut
There is high youth unemployment in this generation
Rapid changes in the world also contribute to the difficulty in keeping up and remaining ahead
There is a lot of emphasis placed on education (education pressures are intense) as the knowledge-based economies of most modern day societies place a very high premium on academic qualifications
Problems among youth today
Anti-social behaviour
Misuse of public space
Inconsiderate behaviour
Acts directed at people
Environmental damage
Factors
Individual: Temperamental, cognitive impairment, distorted styles of social information processing
Parental and familial: Coercive and hostile parenting
Social, environmental and peer: Mixing with delinquent peer groups, going to schools that do not operate effectively
Binge drinking
Frequent drinking of large quantities of alcohol
Health: Liver, blood poisoning, death
Drink driving
Public offences, disorderly behaviour
Eating Disorder
Anorexia nervosa: life-threatening obsession with food and weight, preoccupation with food and dieting, body image disturbances, starvation. Leads to depression and death in some cases
Bulimia: binge on food and then purging due to fear of gaining weight
Bigorexia: Rising cases of young men who want to become more muscular and constantly
Women were not happy with their bodies and wanted to be thinner
Obsession with looking like famous actresses and models. However, it is impossible as most magazine covers and advertisements do excessive photoshop to make models look impossibly skinny.
Others resorting to cosmetic surgery (liposuction is the top cosmetic operation)
Violence and Crime
Gang involvement
Join to find a sense of belonging, get a sense of acceptance, recognition and status in gangs
Youth violence
Bullying, fighting to serious injury or death
Those who have a history of aggressive behaviour, poor behavioural control, involvement with delinquent peers or gang, antisocial beliefs and attitudes or exposure to violence and conflict in the family are at risk of committing violent acts.
Unwed pregnancies and STDs
Suicide
Adolescents who have long-standing problems such as depression, alcohol or drug abuse are at risk for suicide
Warning signs such as depression, withdrawal, rage or running away, substance abuse (though they will not always mean that one is considering suicide)
13 Reasons Why
Singapore
Problems faced by Singaporean Youth
Eating disorders
Study on eating habits of Singaporean Chinese revealed that girls as young as 12 who are already underweight seek to be thinner.
Psychiatrists attribute this to Western influence that place emphasis on slender waists. The most affected would be girls in their pre-teens to early 20s
Most Singaporeans are petite, so the bigger ones tend to be the butt of jokes
Among young Singaporean girls are on the rise, leaving them emaciated from anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Suicide and depression
In 2011, within a span of 4 weeks, there were 3 reported cases of teen suicide
IMH said that there were no major differences in the causes for teen suicide in the previous years, but teens nowadays are more internet-savvy and have easier to access to social media
Taken to cyberbullying
Teens these days are pampered with families keeping to 1 or 2 children
Protective instincts stifle development of child's resilience, making the child afraid of failure and unable to cope with stressors
According to Straits Times, number of suicides among teenagers aged 10 to 19 spiked to the highest in more than a decade, despite a shrinking teenage population
Cyberbullying
In 2012 survey, Microsoft found that Singapore is the leader worldwide when it comes to cyberbullying. Singapore stands alone as a hot spot for cyberbullying
Organisations that engage youth
National Youth Council (NYC)
Believes in a world where youths are respected, heard and have the ability to influence and make a difference in the world
Works with other stakeholders to develop a dynamic and engaging environment where young people are inspired to dream and committed to action
Has various key initiatives such as Young ChangeMakers (provides seed funding and other resources for youth-initiated projects that benefit the community + allow youths to hone various soft skills such as leadership
*SCAPE
Integrated talent and resource centre for youths
Youths are engaged across a broad spectrum of interests ranging from fashion to urban sports
National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation (NYGR)
Supports a range of development, prevention and rehabilitation programmes to reach out and help youth-at-risk aged 12 - 21 years