Factors That Hinder The Potential Of The Youth

DEDICATIONS: To the very youth which am a member, this article is really a must-read for you and also to our parents in order for them to also think twice when they are making decision that involves us as youth.

INTRODUCTION: There are a lot of reasons why the youth of nowadays are not moving faster in terms of become the type of persons our parents, society and the country at large are looking out for. Some of these reasons are beyond their control, others are within the remit of their power to control it. Most of the youth now are doing something that our fore-fathers could not do, left alone our fathers. But that is the type of lifestyle we have now adopted. But we have forgotten that all this reason has an impact on our life. As a youth, today I want to highlight the negative aspect of these factors.

Now the first question is, who are these youth that we are talking about? And why am I writing about the youth? The youth are class of people ranging from the age of 18 to 40 years but in some party of our continent, I mean the African continent and most especially Ghana. There is the belief that if you are married and yet still between the said age you are no more youth because you are married. But I don’t believe in that because whether married or not you are still within the age that defined the youth. Now let me try and tackle the issues of why the youth? The youth because they are the engine of growth of any country. Before any household would stand, any society would develop, any country would be called a first-class country, they need the power of the youth to do that, and that is why is very prudent for every country to pay critical attention to the youth. Now let me go straight to the point and let you know some of the things that kill the potential of the youth before they even get there.

OVERUSED OF MOBILE PHONE: One of the most important point I want to touch on is the overused of mobile phone or the abusive use of the mobile device. Someone would ask why the mobile phone? The mobile phone because there have a lot to offer and a lot to take away if we don’t use it wisely. Now the purpose of mobile phone is because of the difficulties we have being having communicating to friends and family or to transact business outside the reachable zone. So mobile phone was purposely made to help us reduce the stress that we go through. Gone are the days where when you want to have a conservation with someone far away from you, you need to write a long letter, be at the post office to send to the other partner who lives bit far from our end.

The most painful aspect of it all is that, if you don’t have formal education, then it means that you have to go and either pay or beg someone to write a letter for you to send to your parents, kids, family or business partners elsewhere. Some of the issues are sensitive to the extent that it needn’t revealed to a third party but because of the situation at hand you have to do it just to make sure it gets to the person in question at the needed time. These are some of the few things the mobile phone has come to help with but the advantage can’t go without the disadvantage. Now the overused of mobile phone or the abusive use of phone comes with its own effect. Some of the effects are as follows:

• Problems created on eyes: The unforeseen change in graphics, illumination and details, while you are gaming, is one of the main causes of chronic dry eye syndrome. The eyes bear a tremendous number of reflexes, stress and dryness. Before the eyes can relax and recover there is a new job ready again within that screen that it’s sick of. Now most of us have different eyesight, some are a long-sighted person other are short but the problem is that someone can press the phone from morning to evening and yet still the person is still on the phone. My question what type of business is these very people doing that the phone can’t rest left alone his or her eyes? By so doing we are giving the eye to much load and if it can’t give us problem at the end.

• Problems disconnecting: Becoming addicted to your phone has become a condition that experts now call:” Nomophobia”. It’s not limited to the hardcore Wall Street types with their “crack berries” though; it’s more used these days than we realized. A recent survey found that 84 percent of the world’s population said they could not go one go about in their day without their smartphones, and current research shows that nearly two-thirds of teens and young adults check their phones every 15 minutes or less. The anxiety and stress over missing out on a text or Facebook update can take such a toll on peoples’ health that Morningside Recovery Center in California recently founded the first rehab group for nomophobia. (Asoke Nath 2018).

• Lifestyle diseases: Energetic to overexcited stressed takes much less time nowadays, thanks to our phones. It is communal to see teenagers and even adults fatigued of the long hours spent on smartphone, be it games or surfing net. It impacts the digestion, breathing rate and heart beat rate. Smart phones have become a new enemy to our sleep-in terms of quality and time. Apart from that, the hours that otherwise might have been spent exercising, going out, getting fresh air in parks, relating with your loved or even pets are all taken up by your smart phones. It’s hard to envisage all this making us healthy! Next time when you are consumed by your phone, take a break and breathe, breathe long and easy. You will at once feel the kind of stress it has relieved you from! But the people have different ideas when you speak to them about it.

• Problems with posture: There are many diseases resulting from wrong postures while working for long hours. Looking into your phone for long time with neck bent and arms in a fixed position pose a serious health risk. Pain, muscle spasms and restlessness are just short-term effects. In the longer run permanent or chronic diseases may occur. Cervical spondylitis, golfer elbow, chronic dry eye syndrome, stiffness in thumbs, neck and back are a few diseases occurring from inured wrong postures of using smart phones. The typical head down and neck bent position while one is rivetted in their favorite games or chat should be willfully avoided.

• Destroying your focus: Due to the fact that you are addicted to the phone, even when you are walking, sleeping or doing something very important, your mind is on the mobile phone or smartphone. Sometimes people would be walking on the street typing or watching over their phone instead of concentrating on how to cross the road then at the end, ends up in accident which could be avoided.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Social media is another bigger challenge to the potential of the youth. When I say social media am talking about all the sites that got to do with the internet, but I wouldn’t want to talk more about the internet here because I have topic on its own that has to do with social media.

Now why social media? Social media because it has brought a lot of disadvantage to the youth. The lives of Facebook, WhatsApp and co. they have also, in one way or the other brings about the international communities together. Some get their life partners on the various social media platform. But we shouldn’t forget that it has also bring about a lot of issues that still need to be dealt with. If you go the various social media platform, there is somethings that you wouldn’t like to see on those platforms but then it more or less like there is no rules and regulations governing it. Therefore, it has made it easier for everyone to post what they think is good for them. But one problem I have is, instead of it to be something that they should be the very people having access to, it rather spread out for every user to get access to. I think it could have been a way of boundaries for certain group of people but no, if only you have the account of the said social media platform then you are good to go.

There was a time I opened my Fb account and the things I saw; my own eye couldn’t believe it. Then I asked myself is these really going on here? Just because I couldn’t believe it. When people are busy doing business, other are also busy send pornography materials on the net for other to watch. Now some of these young people after watching the porn, what next is that, they want to use it in practice. But the question is, who are they going to use as a test case? And therefore, there is the increased in sexual misconduct. Not only sexual misconduct alone, it has led the youth to a lot of lifestyle that is not accepted to the norms and the tradition of where they are coming from. Most of the dressings and things we do is as a result of social media.

POLITICS: Politics is one of the things that always comes to mind to dealt with. And I think today happens to be a good day to deal with politics that hinder the potential of the youth. Politics is good at all standard, there is no two ways about that but the negative impact that it has on us is what we opt to talk about in this article. I recalled when someone is being called a politician, then it means the person is a grown up with some standard of living.

But nowadays politics has sunk low to the extent that young people of school going age are interested in the political work than even their education. Why so because, if you are not a politician or you don’t have a family member who is a politician, then it is very difficult for you to do something meaningful things in life. Now everything is been control by politicians, they own all the big companies and what have you.

Someone you might know for over ten years life can turn overnight because that person has taking up the mandate of becoming a politician. Then the friends would asked, what happen? How did it happen? And when did this happen? These are some of the question that runs through the mind of the ones that knows such people in the community in which they live. Now because of politics and the type of promises the politician have being making to the people, some of this young and energetic youth would do everything humanin possible for their party to come to power, in order for them to also get appointment. Some of them losses their live in the cause of campaigning and other forms of political activities that they have to carry out for the supposed party. Which at the end have end the potential that could have led him or her to the top of the world.

SCHOOL DROPOUT: Another serious challenge of the youth is about the issues of education. Education they “said is the key to success” as how true that statement is, we are yet to ascertain that fact. But if you asked me, I will say, the said is not far from the truth. Because I’m able to write for you to read because of education and therefore the said is not far from the truth.

School dropout is a global problem that we have to tackle. There is a lot of factors that leads to school dropout, but because of time I will just highlight on it. and some, the next time we get time to talk more about the causes of school dropout. Now some of these causes got to do with, financial, personal. But one thing we also have to know is that apart from the usual factors that led one out of school, some people feel like education is really not their field so instead of getting a small knowledge about things in the education sector, they prefer to go in for trading, but one thing that have escape them is that in everything we do in this current dispensation, you need a bit of education.

Now like I stated earlier in the case of politics, politics have taking over everything to the extent that it even entering into our education system. Most of school dropout is as a result of financial problem. Now the reason why I said politics have entered into our education system is because, some of the politician plays with the emotions of the poor and the needy. Why am I saying this? Some parents are unable to help their children to be in school, then there would be a certain politician that would come and make a promise that if you vote for me or my party and should we come to power. I will make sure your ward has access to education. The most interesting aspect is that because our parents are so much in need of that help, they will not even ask about the funding. When the politicians are not able to fulfil his promises then it means that, that child chance of going to school have to end wherever he or she is.

Other aspect got to do with personal interest. Some people think it not much important to them to be in school since they see education to be waste of time. These young boys and girls think going to school for about 10 years to be able to complete the secondary level of education before even think about the tertiary education is a big blow to them.

DOMESTIC VIOLENT: Another major challenge about the youth is the issues of domestic violent against children. When I talk about domestic violent am actually talking about things the youth goes through in terms of violent against kids. Most of these violent got to do with child abuse. It also talks about what some women go through the hands of their husbands in the house. Now because of these abuse natures of some parents in the house against their children, the children feel unconformable to live in the house with act. Most of the children in the house are being beating, abuse emotional and what have you.

The truth is that, not everyone can stand the pressure from a family and by so doing, they get to live the house to other places that they can get a refuge elsewhere as far as their lives are concern. Some of these children are staying with a third party and for that matter, they don’t have the need right to express themselves in case there is something that is going on wrongly. So, what they finally do is that, they have to leave, the house living their potential hanging due to the situation at hand.

BROKEN HOMES: Broken home arguably have done more harm to the youth than good. Despite the fact that our parents think that is the right thing for the to do. Gone are they days, before parents take decision on breakup or divorce, they first have to think about their children. After they have finally certain about the future of the children then they can commerce on the divorce case. So, at the end when the two parties sit down and analyze on the effect that would affect the children, they back down to that idea of divorce because they know that, that would not help them to develop the children the way they want it. Fast track to our current dispensation, the parents actually don’t care about the effect that would incurs on the kids but to their interest.

There are most of the issues that could have resulted in a good manner but because of lack understanding between the two parties, none of the two adults that are into the marriage actually don’t care about what the children must go through. But I think it about time our parents think about what would come of us if they want to go into a divorce.

SINGLE PARENTING: Single parenting, today am really on the parental issues of the family. What is single parenting? Single parenting is the act by which one of the partners in the union of marriage become inactive in the performance of their duty in the matrimonial home. Most of the time it does happen to the ladies. They would be the people to go through all that stress just to get their wards in a good place in life. This single parenting is killing the potential of the youth. Why so? This is because when the one party in charge, can’t deal with the issues at hand. In the beginning, they will be said they can do it, that is when things are good but truth me what do you think would happen when things go bad? That is where the challenges come in. What can you do when your mother is no more selling or doing the work that can bring the money home for her to sponsor you like she used to do? Same apply to the father. But the thing that we were to believe is that my second wife can take care of the kids or the step-father but trust me no matter how your second husband or wife could be good he or she can never be like the real mother or the real father. After a short while, that person can’t pay all the money that it requires because knowing at the back of your mind knowing that the children at the end have to go back to where they are coming from. Now, these children because vulnerable to society.

ACCESS TO INTERNET: The internet is my next topic to talk about, but the internet would come as an article on it own. Because the internet has a lot to offer to and we have a lot to talk about when it comes to the internet. The internet arguably has offered us the best platform for our academic work. It has really helped us a lot but one thing is that the internet has also given us the platform to do things that do not really help you. I spoke about social media in the other paragraph. The connection between others and this one is that social media is been operate with the use of internet. Now young guys of days, really don’t want to work hard, but would go all the length to fraud people by the use of the internet.

Most of the time instead of the youth to be up and doing, they rather prefer to stay with their phones and laptops just to defraud people on the internet. But the sadden aspect of it all is when you are cough in the action of internet fraud, your life becomes miserable and your potential is short and there is nothing you can do to become what you want to do or what the good Lord has in stock.

PEER PRESSURE OR INFLUENCE: One of the most dangerous aspects of the whole issue is the pressure that hinders the potential of the youth. Peer pressure is something that affects a lot of people in the country. Because of the lack of parental monitory, the children get themselves involve in the bad things of the youth. Most of the youth in schools and other aspects of life. now, these young children get themselves involve because the friend would go all the length they can just to get them to involve in the bad things they are doing.