Youths and influences

Most discussions on youth have focused on issues such as drug abuse, crime, violence, sexuality and poverty. In addition to these, today’s youth are afflicted by new challenges. One may define the ideal youth as a balanced individual exhibiting a highly spiritual life informed by absolute moral values and whose behaviour demonstrates qualities such as righteousness, honesty, humility and conscientiousness in everything he/she does.
Historically, the older generation has managed to transmit their beliefs, values, traditions, customs, worldviews and institutions to the younger members of their societies. This was achieved largely because of the impact of agencies of socialization, such as the family, religion and the schools. Today the impact of these institutions has been challenged and undermined by new forces, particularly the internet and the television.

As such the family and religion now have a minimal impact on the average youngster. The values emphasized today include individualism, Godlessness, materialism, secularism and rationalism.
It is the youth who are encountering the most serious challenge to his/her faith under the impact of godless culture of modernity.
Best minds in our society are not socialized by religious institutions. The emphasis is on competitiveness, academic success, career goals, income and social mobility
Little or no attention is given to preparing tomorrows leadership. There is no emphasis placed on critical thinking, problem solving.
We are preparing followers, imitator’s conformists, and not leaders, innovators or problem solvers.
The youth is being asked to give up certain family and social values that were an integral part of their identity, and adopt in its place a sense of self-alienation, and become a self-estranged imitator of everything "modern".

We need to pay close attention to the effects of these challenges.
Let us recognize that we have a serious challenge on our hands: to ensure that today’s children (tomorrow’s adults) would experience a better world than we are living in today. We should all work towards this objective and not wait for a crisis to occur and then react, let us be prepared .

Ella via bold and beautiful response