The Biggest Challenges Young Adults Face Today

Dallas Johnson
AC1306863
Principles of Public Speaking
Assignment 6_06
10/06/2013

Introduction

Sincerely Young adults today face numerous problems. To me, unemployment and drug abuse pose the major challenge for young adults today. These problems, in many instances, have negative effects on individual’s lives and compromise their personal development as well as their relationships with other members of the society. More seriously, they can compromise the health of the individual and bring harm and regret. The increasing numbers of divorces, for example, is a testimony to the negative implications of these problems on the individual and the society. Clearly, therefore, there is an urgent need for intervention from all the concerned stakeholders to address this disturbing issue.

Discussion

Personally, one of the challenges that I perceive facing the young adults is the increasing frequency of drug and alcohol abuse among the young adults. From investigations and personal interviews, I have established that more and more young adults engage in this unbecoming behavior, and the rates are alarming. I have established that many of the young adults admit to taking drugs because of the frustrations and life uncertainties in the contemporary society. It is also disturbing that many of the young adults understand the consequences but pay little attention to the effect of this behavior on their finances, relationships and social life (Ben-Shahar, 2007).

I have also established that the availability of the drugs and the inadequate legislations have informed the rising number of the young adults engaging in this malpractice. Literally speaking, users do not have to walk 200 meters to get to the ‘joint’ for the illicit substances (Barton, 2006). More disturbing is the knowledge that law enforcement have at times failed in their endeavors to apprehend the drug suppliers and users. Indeed, at times, some uncouth law enforcement officials solicit bribes from the ‘drug kingpins’. Surely, this exacerbates the problem of drug addiction and continues to hinder the fight against this challenge.

Another dire challenge facing the youth is the surge in unemployment. As compared to several decades ago, the young adults of today have a hard time finding a good job. As many of us are well aware, the economic downturn has affected virtually all sectors of the economy and jobs have become very hard to find (Ben-Shahar, 2007). Companies have resorted to making massive layoffs, and the most affected groups among the job losers are the young adults. Lacking vast experience and experience, the young adults find themselves at the top list of layoffs. I believe this is a major problem because it not only affects their financial standing but also demoralizes the young adults.

Moreover, I hold the opinion that this unemployment contributes to other problems such as prostitution and increasing crime rates. Because they have to find alternatives to fund their sustenance and that of their dependents, the young adults use any means to get the money. Indeed, whether the means is moral or not is none of their concern. This has contributed to increased risks such as that associated with HIV/AIDs, other sexually transmitted diseases and insecurity in the society (Barton, 2006).

Therefore, from this worrying statistics, it is evident that all levels of society should help in the mitigation of the problem to contribute to personal and societal development. The individual, the family, the government, the social organizations and all the other concerned stakeholders should take an active role in ensuring that the individual strives for personal and professional development. As an example, the government can come up with timely measures such as empowering the young adults with easy access to loans during these harsh times and provide them with appropriate knowledge on how they can empower themselves via self employment.

In addition, I concede that the social organizations, religious bodies, law enforcement officials, healthcare practitioners and professional psychologists should also sensitize the citizens on the dangers of drug abuse and the devastating impacts on the health and wellbeing of the individual. The law enforcement agencies should also take a hard-line stance especially among the suppliers of the illegal drugs to act as a deterrent (Barton, 2006). As witnessed from experience in other parts of the world, setting minimum pricing and levying high taxes for alcohol can help to reduce consumption. I strongly believe that taking such measures will help to address these challenges and contribute to personal and societal development.

Conclusion

Unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse are major challenges confronting the young adults. From experience and perceptions, I have established that various factors have contributed to these problems. The economic recession, for example, has exacerbated the challenge of unemployment among the youth. The same is true for the drug challenge. Life uncertainties, easy availability and failure in law enforcement also contribute to increased drug and alcohol consumption among the young adults. As my proposal, I advocate that all stakeholders should take active roles in sensitizing and empowering the young people to address these challenges.

References

Barton, L. V. (2006). Illegal drugs and governmental policies. New York : Nova Science Publ.

Ben-Shahar, T. (2007). Happier : learn the secrets to daily joy and lasting fulfillment. New York ; Toronto : McGraw-Hill.