Young people and their world – maturitná téma

Young people and their world

Characteristic features of young people

Appearance:

- young people like to dress nicely– they like to wear brand name clothing

- they like being fit and attractive – girls want to be slim and boys want to look fit and have strong muscles – that’s why boys often go to the fitness centre and girls are often on diets because they want to lose weight. 

- they like nice hairstyles – they dye their hair and use a lot of cosmetics like for example make-up, gel, face creams, after-shave and so on. They also like to have piercing and tattoos. 

Character: 

- Young people like to be independent and respected - they know what they want from life and they like freedom.

- They don’t like criticism and they don’t like to be told what to do.

- They have their dreams and plans for future. 

- They like their friends and they like spending time with them => love and friendship is very important to them. 

- On the other hand, some young people are nowadays very cheeky, rudeand impolite and they don’t care about other people. Sometimes they are lazy– they don’t help other people. 

Life style:

- They want their life to be interesting and exciting => they like to live fast.

- In the developed world, young people are usually well-educated, experienced and self-confident. They know their goals and try to reach them. They are often hard-working and they have many opportunities to study or work abroad – they often travel to foreign countries to learn a foreign language, earn money and gain experience.

- sometimes it is difficult for them to find a job because they don’t have enough work experience when they finish school and because there are few job opportunities in Slovakia=> they can’t afford to buy their own flat or start a family. 

- Many young people today start their own families later in life than their parents did. They want to work on their career first and get married later. Young families are different nowadays. In modern families they share chores, husbands help at home more or sometimes stay on a maternity leave if their wives earn more money. 

Interests & leisure time:

- They like to go out with friends – they go to pubs, cinema, discos, music festivals… 

- They like modern inventions and gadgets that make our lives easier => they can’t imagine life without the mobile phone or the computer. They are used to Internet banking, shopping on-line and using the Internet to find information. They spend a lot of time playing computer games or listening to music.

- Young girls like to buy new clothes and make-up

- Most young people like sport – they like to go skiing, swimming… 

Advantages and disadvantages of being young

Being young has many advantages:
- You have all your life ahead of you, you can make plans and decide what you want to do in the future

- If you want to, you can travel abroad, find a job or study

- You don’t have to think about your children because you don’t have any

- You have your freedom 

Being young can also have some disadvantages. For example:
- it is more difficult to find a job because you don’t have enough experience 

- if you study and go to school, you don’t have your own money – you are dependent on your parents and family 

- you can’t buy your own flat, house or what you want because you don’t have your own money 

- older people don’t understand you – they have different opinions 

Problems that young people face

Young people can face these problems:

- alcohol and drugs – sometimes young people become addicted to alcohol and drugs. They are curious and they want to try it and later they can’t stop. Alcohol and drugs have ruined many young lives.

- Generation problems – these are the problems between older people and young people. Young people think that older people don’t understand them – they don’t like the music that young people listen, the way they dress, their hairstyles, the slang which young people use. Young people consider older people very old-fashioned. Older people despise the young generation because they are different - they think that young people are bad – much worse than themselves when they were at the same age.

- Problems with parents – young people feel that parents don’t treat them as equals. They treat them as little children and young people don’t like that. Parents sometimes don’t have time to spend with their children, to talk to them…

- Young people don’t have enough experience – it is difficult for them to find a good job and to earn money