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This story has been submitted by Naqi Shaukat.
Boy: What are you doing today
Girl: Nothing Special wt abt u?
Boy: Yaar Bore horeha hun video Call pe ajao
Girl: Hmmm acha 10 pm aati hun abhi family k saath un
Boy : Ok BBY TCZ
Girl : Ok
“Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students, who are nation builders of tomorrow. They must fully equip themselves by discipline, education, and training for the arduous task lying ahead of them”. (Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
Wow, the great saying of Muhammad Ali Jinnah regarding our youth depicts that we are proud of our youth, and what we have witnessed at the starting of the article is actually where our youth is heading towards. This is one odd example but there are a lot out there.
The youth of a nation is its future. It is the product that a nation produces which is to be utilized for a better tomorrow.
Pakistan currently is the largest group of young people ever recorded in its history as 64% of the total population was below the age of 30, and 29% between the ages of 15-29 years. This is the important segment of the society and youth can play a vital role in the development of the country.
Children & social media
Children are growing up surrounded by mobile devices and interactive social networking sites such as Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, which has made social media a vital aspect of their life. Social media is transforming the manner in which young people interact with their parents, peers, as well as how they make use of technology.
Due to exposure to the Internet at a younger age, pornography viewing has increased in our country. That’s not the only issue usage of mobile devices, drugs /tobacco/alcohol is becoming common in our youth. They consume these things to look cool.
Students, while searching and studying online, get attracted to using social media sites, and sometimes they forget why they are using the internet. This wastes their time and sometimes students are not able to deliver their work in the specified time frame. When alerted to a new post or tweet, it takes about 20 to 25 minutes for the average user to return to their original task. 30% of the time it takes two hours for the user to return to their original task.
Unfortunately, this is all due to a lack of opportunities, professional training institutes, awareness for youth in the country. Educated youth is unemployed, they are unable to participate in the country’s development because there is no quality education, and textbooks, policies, and curriculum differ across the country. There is no proper training institute in the country where students can get professional training for their careers.
Parents not focusing on their children?
Another big aspect of this issue improper parenting as well. Parents have stopped focusing on their children. There was a time when a father used to give a social lecture to his children but nowadays that thing hardly exists. As a result, we are losing our youth. For a better tomorrow, we need to focus on our youth.
Providing the conditions for positive youth development is a responsibility shared by families, schools, and communities. The conditions for healthy youth development reside in families, schools, and communities.
Families promote healthy youth development when they:
- provide support;
- have positive family communication;
- are involved in their adolescent’s school;
- have clear rules and consequences and monitor their adolescent’s whereabouts;
- provide positive, responsible role models for other adults, adolescents, and siblings;
- expect their adolescent to do well; and
- spend time together.
Communities promote healthy youth development when:
- adults advocate for youth;
- neighbors monitor youths’ behavior;
- adults model positive, responsible, and healthy behavior;
- youth model positive, responsible, and healthy behavior; and
- youth programs are available
It is unusual for all these influences to be present at the same time; unfortunately, too many youth grow up in circumstances that provide limited support for healthy development.
Youth development programs
Well-designed and well-run youth development programs promote youth leadership by involving youth in needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. A growing number of organizations include youth on their boards of directors. Effective programs engage all participating youth in constructive action through activities such as service-learning, arts, and athletics; and emphasize common values such as friendship, citizenship, and learning.
Remember, “The future of the world belongs to the youth of the world, and it is from the youth and not from the old that the fire of life will warm and enlighten the world. It is your privilege to breathe the breath of life into the dry bones of many around you.”
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