You don’t want to miss out on our final episode in season 2 of Youth Updates. Today we look at the humour of young people, the fresh wave of year 7s coming up into youth groups this Autumn, our word of the month and changes affecting those thinking about higher education.
ISSUES: Because Joking About Things Makes Them Better, Right?
If you take a look at the different generations over the years, each one has different ways of coping with life’s difficulties. Whether that’s to silently bear it, deal with things behind closed doors or digging their head in the sand.
However, young people have a different way of tackling serious, even traumatic, issues – whether they’re personal or on a worldwide scale. Although it is a part of face-to-face conversations, it also has roots in the digital world. Social platforms see people sharing stories, memes and jokes about anything and everything from violence, sexual assault and even dead siblings or parents.
For example, on TikTok there was a ‘then and now’ trend with the idea that you show a photo from several years ago and compare it to now. One girl showed a photo of her and her sister when she was younger and then her with her sister’s grave.
Equally, publicly tragic events are often quickly memed. Take the Titan sub implosion, for example. If you search for it on a number of social media platforms you’ll quickly find people making jokes about it.
To some, this humorous approach to tragedy might seem awkward, callous or cold-hearted but to this generation it’s just another way to deal with the onslaught of bad news they hear on a daily basis (exacerbated by the influx of information digitally). Some studies show humour can help shift views from trauma being something terrifying to something more light-hearted and therefore easier to cope with.
However, it seems pertinent to think about how to also help young people to properly address issues and heal or take action, rather than just making light of them and to also engage in empathy in the tragedy of others.
POP CULTURE: Next academic year’s year 7s are as old as the London Olympics…
You heard that right. The group of young people coming up into year 7 are as old as the London Olympics (more or less).
Every year we love to think about what went on during the time when those about to join youth groups across the country were born. Next year’s year 7s were born in late 2011 through to summer 2012.
This means they were also born the same year that the Hunger Games was released cinemas, One Direction released their hit ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and Carly Rae Jepson’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ hit the airwaves. Interestingly, there’s a new Hunger Games film coming out later this year, Harry Styles (formerly One Direction) is one of the biggest popstars right now and Carly Rae Jepsen was a smash hit at this year’s Glastonbury!
Alongside this, the iPad is older than all of these Gen Alpha guys coming up and they were born when Snapchat was launching. With Facebook and Instagram older than Snapchat, no wonder they think these apps are for their parents!
ISSUES: To go or not to go (to Uni)…that is the question!
In 2012 Universities began being able to charge up to around £9000 per year in tuition fees – a steep jump from what came before. This came as a shock at the time but is something that teens now expect when considering their moves as they step into adulthood.
However, new legislation means that those starting in 2023 or after will spend 10 years longer paying off their loan than their 2022 counterparts and will begin paying it back at a lower salary than them too. This, combined with the current economy and young people hearing ‘cost of living crisis’ all over the place and it’s leaving many weighing up whether University is right for them.
More than ever, young people are considering the career advantages, financial implications and life experiences more than some of the previous Gen X and Y folks before them. For many they may find that work or apprenticeships provide them with a great alternative but for some it’s a sobering issue that they’re really thinking over.
Note: Scotland Universities are still free for Scottish and EU students.
Word Of The Month:
‘mid’ – to label something or someone as average or poor quality.
For example, if someone wants to share a video about some food places they don’t think are good, they might say, ‘these are the most mid food places’.
Don’t forget to join us again in September for season 3 of Youth Updates when we’ll also be chatting to various guests on some hot topics!