At the end of May, The Irish Times released a survey of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 conducted by Young Social Innovators. Sixty percent of those surveyed described their generation as stressed, anxious and depressed, while a mere 11% described it as motivated. With the housing crisis (which currently sees over 10,000 people in homelessness services), precarious work and the constant threat of climate change forever looming over them, it’s not surprising that the majority of young people are not exactly as hopeful about their future as they may once have been.
A generation faced with stress & anxiety
By Heather O’Callaghan
At the end of May, The Irish Times released a survey of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 conducted by Young Social Innovators. Sixty percent of those surveyed described their generation as stressed, anxious and depressed, while a mere 11% described it as motivated. With the housing crisis (which currently sees over 10,000 people in homelessness services), precarious work and the constant threat of climate change forever looming over them, it’s not surprising that the majority of young people are not exactly as hopeful about their future as they may once have been.
For teenagers there is a constant pressure to perform well in school as their entire college career hangs on one exam, which is nothing short of “tell me everything you’ve learnt in 5 years, go!” For young adults there’s the added stress of high college fees and high rent for very limited accommodation which forces many either to live with their parents all through university and for many years afterwards, or not attend the university they received a place in if it’s away from home. As well as this, there is the issue of precarious work, low wages and zero-hour contracts to contend with. Pretty bleak, right?