Dispirited, unmotivated, unaccomplished – these are just some of the terms that we hear about our young generation, often said to be characteristics of the “post-90s” and beyond.
In the past two years, the term fai tsing – literally translating to “rubbish youth” – has emerged to widely describe our young generation in Hong Kong.
Young people today are facing a whole different set of challenges than in the past. From an industry-based epoch to knowledge-based economy, Hong Kong’s social infrastructure has rapidly evolved over the years.
The differences in the challenges young people face exist in social interactions, even down to basic communications. Cyberbullying, an issue widely affecting our young people today, for example, was not something that happened in the past.
Speak to any young person today and they will tell you their frustrations, stress, and hopelessness do not only stem from the academic stress, a lack of resilience or coping ability – perhaps it is this and more.
Before we dive into fixing systemic issues, we have to drop the labels and listen to what they have to say.
Where do these frustrations, stress and hopelessness stem from? Could it be our society’s inability today to reconcile the speed and differences between generations? Surely success today looks very different from the past.