The prevailing gloom amongst young adults in their late teens and twenties should not be overlooked by society or policy officials. It’s deeply worrisome when a respected survey conducted by the National Youth Council of Ireland reveals that, despite residing in a country considered affluent by some standards, this demographic group are dejected and fearful of what lies in the future.
According to the study, half of these young adults fall into the category of possessing poor psychological well-being. A third often find themselves devoid of any positivity for what the future might hold.
Their generation is heavily burdened with financial anxieties, which are compounded by the ramifications of lingering housing issues that have dominated much of their lifetime. Most feel financially more strained this year compared to the previous one, with a quarter struggling to adapt to incremental living expenses. While unemployment rates show encouraging results, many are disappointed by their job prospects and earnings. Environmental issues and the changing climate also rank high amongst their concerns.
A particularly concerning discovery is that a notable number now anticipate reaching significant life stages, such as home ownership or family formation, much later in life, by their thirties to be precise. More than half of them still live with their parents, and a considerable fraction who moved out were forced to return by sheer economic necessity – most likely spurred by steep rental costs.
Out of those who are leasing, the satisfaction rate with housing quality isn’t considered very high. Recent data from the Central Statistics Office shows unabated house price inflation, keeping home ownership a distant dream for many. Some may dismiss this data as a portrayal of an over-protected “snowflake” generation with over-ambitious life expectations resulting from growing up in the digital age among relative wealth.
The essence of the matter cannot be missed: there exists a pervasive discontent among the younger population that is both perceptible and genuine. The potential repercussions of this dissatisfaction, should they be allowed to further evolve, have alarming implications for our society’s unity, as underlined by the youth council. A direct relationship can unmistakably be drawn between the results of this examination and the youthful affinity to exceptionally polarised political stances on both ends of the spectrum.
The investigation serves as an urgent alert to the ruling political factions who have presided over the government, in one capacity or another, for the duration of these young individuals’ lives. It tolls a warning bell for what they might invariably face at the elections, a consequence of their inability to ameliorate the housing emergency and curb the intensifying disparity between generations.