PhD candidate "explores" youth attitudes

Economics doctorate student from the University of KwaZulu Natal, Gerard Boyce, hosts a talk on youth attitudes based on a research done by the South African Social Attitudes Survey.  This debate provoking presentation was held as part of the Think!Fest initiative. The presentation explored youth attitudes with regards to their nationality identity, democracy, life satisfaction, governance and popular myths growing amongst the youth.

For my part, the statistics presented were too general and did not account for individualism amongst the youth. Young people were often packaged as being a homogenous group that share the same views only marked by race. This is not the case. Though racial differences do mark a difference but it is more culture and class, which are determinant factors of the ways of living, than race that truly shape our views and lives. The stats failed to account for that. The stats brought forward for the most part were a study about the youth without the youth. This is a true reflection of society of how frequently the better privilege speaks for the less privilege. Men usually speak for women, physically-able speak for the disabled; whites speak for the blacks and in this case old people speaking for the youth.

Young people are often presented as being disinterested and unconcerned. He mentioned that 1976 is used as a benchmark to compare the born-frees to the young that took up to the street for the Soweto Uprising. This is an unfair comparison as the challenges faced by the 1976 youth and the contemporary youth differs markedly. Overall, the presentation was sloppy but did provoke a lot of debate and was largely questioned. 

By: SIBULELE MAGINI
      

Youth identities and future attitudes

By Bongiwe Tutu


As the youth of South Africa we are people who have come into a world that has undergone a great deal of revolutions and transitions in government policies. An immense amount of tension and fear was instilled in a number of people, oppression, poverty, fear and lack of hope for the future. Looking at our brief history with the Apartheid regime in Africa, World Wars in the Northern States followed by the Cold War. These are the things which called for change. A change which came at a time when we; the youth of today were born. That was during the 1990s when the country implemented Democracy and there was a great deal of national unity amongst the people.



This change enabled some of the people who were living in poverty, to be able to grow out of it and develop better futures for themselves and their families. However, a large number of the African people weren’t able to move out of poverty because they were never well off during apartheid. Issues of social welfare; poverty, poor education, poor infrastructure, unemployment and crime ravelled around and thus caused the divisions in our people. These are the divisions which we grew up into and we are therefore living through the consequences of our countries past.



With the new technological advancements coming in every single minute of the day, developing machinery that can do things quicker and easier, there is a less need to have workers and so the division is increased evermore as the unemployment and poverty rate increases. These technologies increase globalisation and so our identities are hindered as our cultures are under the scrutiny of Western trends and lifestyles which are depicted as the ideal ways of living life. Beyond this, there is the youth which is under the pressure of keeping up with all these technologies and trends taking place, being on a social network and putting your name out there to “chat” with people all over the world, trying to live like Jay-Z, and busy “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. So our identity becomes a puzzled box where many find it difficult to embrace in their own talents and personalities.



However, not everyone has access to these technologies or information as they are living under different circumstances and that is how divisions lighten up. You can see the differences in our youth by looking closer into class and racial standards; however, the stronger signifier of divisions which affect our attitudes and identities is class. Race is not an issue unless you are living in poverty. So, you have amongst us those who are in well off class standards, educated, happy and hopeful, and those who are living under the hindrance of poverty who might end up engaging in crime as they have a hopeless attitude for their futures and in need of social welfare. That is how the notion of individualism comes in where most of our youth break out of their social barriers and strive to change their lives as they are hopeful for their future. So the onus is on you, you can either grovel and roam around your disadvantages or try to make something out of yourself. There is so much out there for us, take a stand and make history.

Apathy: Our generation's greatest curse

Jerusha Sukhdeo (UJ)

September 12 marks three decades since the death of black consciousness icon, Steve Bantu Biko. While many choose to reflect on Biko’s strength of character and iron resolve there is a lesson to be learned in the infamous response of South Africa’s Minister of Justice, James “Jimmy” Kruger. Kruger stated that Biko’s death left him “cold”.

The former Justice Minister and his ilk, felt nothing at the time of Biko’s death.

30 years on, it is disturbing to see that this sentiment remains. Even more disturbingly, this sentiment remains with the youth. Young people are increasingly ignorant and apathetic about the sacrifices made by men and women as recently as 30 years ago. Disinterest in politics, current affairs and even history is rife. While not everyone is political, an understanding of South Africa's political history and climate may lead to greater understanding and co-operation.

Dwelling in the past will certainly accomplish nothing. Ignoring it, however, may accomplish as little.

Apathy is our greatest curse.