Be that as it may, in the latest news, as many as three quarters of a million young people in the UK may feel depressed—even suicidal.
The Prince's Trust Macquarie Youth Index was based on interviews with over two thousand 16 to 25-year-olds. Of these, 281 were classified as not in employment, education or training. 166 of them had been unemployed for over six months. The Chief Executive of the Prince's Trust, said: "Unemployment is proven to cause devastating, long-lasting mental health problems among young people. Thousands wake up every day believing that life isn't worth living, after struggling for years in the dole queue. More than 440,000 young people are facing long-term unemployment, and it is these young people that urgently need our help. If we fail to act, there is a real danger that these young people will become hopeless, as well as jobless."
The UK Government is taking measures to help all young people gain work by creating job schemes. But can these really work on the tiny, overcrowded island of Great Britain given the hormonal nature of teenagers?
Most other animals, apes and human ancestors included, skip the teen stage altogether. They develop rapidly from infancy to full adulthood. In contrast, humans have a four-year gap between sexual maturity and prime reproductive age.
I remember my own teenage years. I thought I knew everything and considered my mother inferior. How I wish I could relive those years and give her the credit, love and respect she deserved. My own teenage children showed all the symptoms above, as did their children. Personal experience means more than all the news.
Adolescents are hard to understand with their odd sleeping patterns, awkward growth spurts, bullying, and acne. Is there a benefit to the evolution of the species from this the teenage phase?
Perhaps our way of life has evolved too much. Do we really need all the gismos that developers release with ever increasing frequency?