Youth problems - Текст по теме проблемы подростков

13. Youth problems

1. Specific character of youth problems.

2. Physical problems.

3. Psychological problems.

4. Measures of prevention.

Words:

to be concerned	быть озабоченным		generation gap	разрыв поколений
to deal with	иметь дело с		common	общий
experience	опыт		adults	взрослые
bad habits	плохие привычки		innovation	нововведения
fashion	мода		misunderstanding	недопонимание
addiction	привыкание		proper	подходящий
strong drinks	алкоголь		permanent	постоянный
to get used	привыкать		current	текущий
to give up	отказаться		harm	вред
to resist	противостоять		commercials	ТВ-реклама

1. There are many problems in the world we live in. But they are rather specific, if we speak about the world of youth. The fact is, that teenagers and young people are mainly concerned about their personal position in the world. Therefore, the main problem is the problem of choice. There are many situations, where we meet it. But it’s more difficult for the youth to deal with these problems, as young people don’t have much life experience yet. All the problems can be divided into 2 main groups: physical and psychological difficulties.

2. One of the most important physical problems is connected with bad habits. First of all, it is a drug crisis. This crisis is based on some kind of fashion for drugs. However, soft and hard drugs can easily cause addiction. Sometimes that’s enough to use drugs just once to fall seriously ill (for example, AIDS) or even to die. Another problem is smoking. Its difference from drugs lies in the people round them. Also it’s necessary to keep in our mind, that each cigarette knocks five minutes off life. Finally, we should mention strong drinks. They are extremely harmful for young organisms. And if people get used to them from an early age, it’s very difficult to give up this habit later. The reasons of such behavior are the same. At first, people try something new. They do it because of the curiosity or because their friends do it. But then they just can’t resist their bad habits. A strong will is needed for breaking this circle.

3. Among psychological difficulties, there are family relationships and school problems. These problems appear when teenagers leave the world of childhood. They try to be independent and free in the way of living, making friends, spending free time, clothing and style. In order to find something new, they often ignore social rules. The problem is that such lifestyle forms the generation gap. It’s difficult to find common language for teenagers and adults, as adults are usually not ready for innovations.

Another problem is misunderstanding in communication with friends. It can be caused by the differences in interests. Sometimes it’s difficult for teenagers to find the proper groups of friends, and they have to feel permanent discomfort in their circle of communication.

But probably the most important problem is the problem of professional self-identification. Young men are influenced by the people round them, by the current social situation and by their own interests. And it’s often difficult to make a decision about the future career without any experience.

Physical problems			Psychological problems
bad habits	smoking	strong drinks	family relationships & school problems	misunderstanding with friends	professional self-identification

3. Measures of prevention will be helpful, if they have 2 levels: state and personal ones. The government should stimulate educational programs, illustrating the harm from drugs, smoking, using strong drinks. It should also limit the influence of commercials, advertising these products directly or in­directly. Various career opportunities should be offered for the best choice. Speaking about personal level, it’s useful both for teenagers and adults always to try to come to a compromise.

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Questions

1. What’s the difference between problems of adults and youth problems?

What kind of difficulties do young people meet?

2. What are the main physical problems? What are their reasons?

3. What are psychological difficulties? Are they actual for you?

4. What are the levels of prevention? What measures of prevention can you name?