By Jess Osbaldeston
“Back in the day” are the immortal words every young person has heard at least once and I’m no exception.
“Back in my day we didn’t have mobiles, we couldn’t teletext people or whatever it is you do, we had to make do with cups and pieces of string.
“Back in my day we didn’t have that facebrick thingy, we had to physically stalk people to know their every move.
“Back in my day we ate coal and brackish water and were grateful”.
My dad may just be saying this to annoy me but he has a point. As a generation we’re growing up with fast developing, cutting edge technology which makes studying and socialising a walk in the park compared to just 15 years ago.
Thousands of pounds worth of debt
That’s fantastic, but just because I can access Google from the train doesn’t mean this is the golden age to grow up in.
Unemployment figures for young people are at an all-time high and rising, job opportunities are almost non-existent and countless students are leaving university in thousands of pounds worth of debt.
45 graduates will be applying for every job on offer
The thought of leaving the security of university terrifies me.
Being thrown into a world where it’s impossible to get employment without experience and, according to statistics, more than 45 graduates will be applying for every job on offer, house prices are soaring, and your phone bill eats £30 a month that you don’t have is a reality for many.
The only consolation I have is coming to university when I did, dodging the £9,000 fees thousands of students will be hit by.
Gaping maw of uncertainty
Young people are no longer gazing forward into the golden light of opportunity, where a job, a house and 2.5 children await them.
Instead they are staring into a gaping maw of uncertainty, where at 21 they have to move back with their parents because they can’t support themselves alone.
This should have been the age to grow up in, an era full of possibilities, but this has been denied by the mistakes of others, because of mistakes by people who keep telling us to man up as it was so much harder in their day.
No, we don’t live in a war torn Britain, yes, the majority of us can afford to eat everyday but that doesn’t in any way mean we have it easy and the sooner people realise the better.