YouthNet blog
An insight into youth issues, volunteering trends, charity life and more from the UK charity YouthNet
All | Events | Youth | Technology | Volunteering | YouthNet | Charity World
Thursday Nov 02, 2006
Revolting youth
Oh dear. The kids really are not all right.
Britain's youth are among the most badly behaved in Europe, a study by a think-tank has suggested.On every indicator of bad behaviour - drugs, drink, violence, promiscuity - the UK was at or near the top.... Measured against German, French and Italian youngsters, British 15-year-olds are drunk more often and involved in more fights, and a higher proportion have had sex.
As BBC News reports, the study, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, looks at research into teenage behaviour across Europe and concludes that at at the root of the UK youth's chart-topping riotousness is the breakdown of family life.
Nick Pearce, from IPPR, said these figures pointed to an "increasing disconnect" between children and adults. He said youngsters were learning how to behave from one another instead of from adults. "Because they don't have that structured interaction with adults, it damages their life chances...They are not learning how to behave - how to get on in life - as they need to." The researchers concluded that the lack of adult interaction has left British teenagers increasingly vulnerable to failure
Quite how you overcome such deep-rooted problems is something that neither commentators nor politicians seem very sure about. What does seem clear is that David Cameron's latest suggestions probably aren't the answer.
Speaking at the launch of the Conservative backed Young Adult Trust, Cameron suggested a new approach to citizenship.
"The idea is that you can achieve "early adult status" if you have shown, through completing a programme like the Young Adult Trust, that you're a responsible adult citizen."
While this might sound appealing in theory, can you imagine what it would mean in practice? As Marcel Berlins says:
His vision is that, armed with a YAT-pass, teenage members of the R [for Responsible] -Team could, for instance, swagger into a pub and demand to get smashed. If refused service, no doubt, they could brandish their responsibly acquired guns. Their irresponsible non-YAT friends would have to wait soberly outside, for a year or two more.
Happily, the last word went to one of the (officially) rudest youth in Europe.
Cameron was interrupted in his speech by a Brixton teenager, who argued: "You do not know your arse from your elbow, you bastard." I'm afraid that may have ruined his chances for a YAT-pass.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:16 AM ) Link to this post Comments[2]