Introduction
Youth are today’s young people living in urban areas where modern life is more challenging. Social problems affect many people, primarily those living in towns, this is part of the issues youths face in today’s community, and they are struggling to overcome. Many people living in urban centers face unavoidable challenges in their daily lives, affecting their daily activities. Youths are the most affected, for they are yet to gain momentum over-controlling city life. Here are some of the social problems and realities faced by urban youths’ in modern society.
Main body
Firstly, food security is the most noticeable challenge to youths living in the cities due to increased food prices. Compared to their rural areas, children living in urban towns are more sensitive to increasing food prices as they need to buy most of the foods that they eat (Lardier et al., 2019). Food insecurity is a personal challenge caused mainly by a lack of enough money to buy food for consumption since it is a basic need. High levels of unemployment have led to poverty, and it has become a challenge for youths in urban areas to afford to purchase food. Some sleep without a meal and eat just bread because it is the only cheap and affordable food in town.
Secondly, crime is another problem youth face, where urban centers are seen with high levels of violence and crime. For instance, urbanized countries with a younger population are more likely to be susceptible to civil trouble, leading to violence. Recent research shows jobless urban youth engage with higher levels of violence, drug and substance abuse, and crew activities. High youth unemployment is a nearing warning of strength; on the one hand, cities and towns are well-known hot spots of crime and violence caused by unemployed youths. It happens that young people have left their families and have come to town seeking jobs to earn a living. Once someone highly dependent on providing for old parents or younger siblings cannot find a job, they turn to become thieves.
Third, unemployment is also a problem facing youth living in urban areas; many young people have no jobs for an extended period; instead, they only hustle to get little money to sustain themselves. Most youths are qualified and willing to work, but they are not employed due to a lack of vacancies in many workplaces. Unemployment has led to many people lacking happiness due to a lack of money, whereby one cannot make any progress without money. The crime rate increases as someone cannot accept going without food or dying of hunger; instead, one prefers stealing or robbing innocent people, which is against the law. Youth unemployment has therefore been described as a primary, if not significant.
Another social problem is homeless youth who have no houses to call home; instead, they sleep on the streets. The number of homeless children increases each day in the cities that have come to beg for help. Because of their situation, youths are at high risk of dying from hunger, health conditions, stress, and emotional issues. These children are not getting a good education or going to school entirely, which will lead to unemployment. It is hard to perform well when they know they are homeless with no food to eat. In this case, some families cannot afford to pay for houses. Some people become homeless after losing their jobs because they always become broke and can not support their families.
Traffic and transport are also other problems affecting youths in the cities, and it primarily affects those who go to work and school. Congestion occurs because many people are living in the same area. Due to traffic jams, one can take a lot of time to travel for a short time, while someone in a rural area can take a brief period. Congestion of vehicles on cities roads is caused due to traffic lights stoppages which make vehicles crawl. Although some cities have a well-developed infrastructure, the traffic congestion problem comes in, which wastes a lot of time, making youth students late for their activities.
Gender violence, including sexual assault and rape, are among the problems youth face in urban areas, causing much damage to children. In most cases, ladies are the most affected as they are forced to have sex without consent, which is a crime against the law (Carrington et al., 2020). Some people have found themselves in sex assaults where they are asked to have sex with their employees to secure jobs. In this case, young girls have fallen into the trap of engaging in sex with older men who are their bosses at work in exchange for being favored in securing jobs; however, some do it because of peer pressure while others are forced. This has led to some incurable contracting diseases and living regretting the actions for the rest of their life.
Child negligence and abuse are also problems experienced in urban cities; young women become pregnant while young. They cannot provide for their children; hence, they abandon them and leave them on the streets. Life for youths in urban centers forces them to make wrong decisions, such as abortion because they have no hope in themselves according to their calculations; hence, they will not be able to take care of the born children. Some ladies have gone through hard times trying to think of what they can offer their children if they cannot provide for themselves. Such a situation can also lead to mental illness and depression, leading to suicide.
Drugs and alcohol consumption are among the problems affecting urban youths in modern society. Many engaged in taking drugs and drank alcohol every day of the week. Most youths have become addicted to using these drugs more often, and they cannot do anything without using them. Drugs have led to many youths losing their jobs and students dropping out of school. On the other hand, drugs have led to crime. When someone lacks the money to purchase drugs they are addicted to, they steal from other people. By stealing, they harm or kill an innocent person, or they are either killed or sent to prison.
Conclusion
To conclude, those are some social problems urban youth face every day. The issues have led some of the children into massive problems that have also caused death. Although their government can deal with this problem by helping them ensure their life is made easy. Every individual’s life will improve, and youths will have a better life to save their future, and this will come once their problems are settled. The government and its ministry should prioritize the youth first, for they are the future nation, and creating jobs for youths will help them shape their future.
References
Lardier Jr, D. T., Herr, K. G., Barrios, V. R., Garcia-Reid, P., & Reid, R. J. (2019). Merit in meritocracy: Uncovering the myth of exceptionality and self-reliance through the voices of urban youth of color. Education and Urban Society, 51(4), 474-500. Web.
Carrington, K., Guala, N., Puyol, M. V., & Sozzo, M. (2020). How women’s police stations empower women, widen access to justice and prevent gender violence. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 9(1), 42-67.