Why we're not the 'lost' generation

I’ve seen a few articles floating about over the past year or so referring to my age group and those a little younger as the ‘lost generation.’

Ahem.

Now, obviously I respect the opinions of others, what with me being a half decent human being with a fairly accurate moral compass.

However, the term ‘lost generation’ causes a teeny-weeny crack to appear in my usual composed, respectful and dignified self. I’ve largely kept quiet and got on with what I do but now I feel I should air my frustrations.

Young people, such as myself (just about), make mistakes. We do that. It’s part of being young. Our parents probably made similar mistakes at our age. As did our grandparents. Of course, the situation is different these days and some of my peers’ actions have been less than optimal in terms of decision making.

But before giving us up as a ‘lost’ cause, let’s have a quick scan over some facts:

Our generation have inherited a world of austerity, unemployment and limited opportunity. A world where the rich get richer and the poor, let’s be blunt, kind of get trampled into the dirt.

Despite how the media and our government would portray us, we’re actually (mostly) quite a good bunch of people. Sure, there are some cretinous individuals (-cough- Justin Bieber -cough-), but this is the same as any other generation. Overall, we’re not so bad. Our mistakes are more intensely scrutinised because news (and rumour and prejudice, it is worth pointing out) is so easily visible as a result of the growth of social media.

Let’s take a look at the riots a couple of years ago. I’m not condoning the actions of those involved. They further damaged an already tarnished reputation of young people with mindless acts of greed and criminality that will be remembered for years to come.

But why did it happen?

I saw quotes from people involved mentioning that they were bored angry and frustrated.

We are not the ‘lost generation.’ We are the frustrated generation.

We’re frustrated that, through no fault of our own, we’re forced to struggle much harder than our parents to make something of ourselves and to succeed.

We’re frustrated because our politicians claim to want to help us, then lie to us to gain our vote in unjustifiable attempts to satisfy their lust for power.

But most of all, we’re frustrated that those same politicians have given up on us and labelled us as “lost,” while simultaneously claiming expenses for holiday homes in countries most from my background will never get the opportunity to visit to broaden their horizons.

Why should we, as young people, tolerate such poor and inaccurate prejudice?

How is slapping the ‘lost’ label on us going to benefit us and encourage us to be more than we’re expected to be in this ever toughening world?

Why are our voices not being heard as much as they could be? Why is it right for it to be assumed that because we’re young, we don’t know what we’re talking about?

Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. Fantastic organisations, such as The Prince’s Trust, do amazing things for young people who need it.

But it’s not enough.

We are the future of this world. We are the people who will lead this country in whatever industry we find ourselves in. It’s time that those in positions of power, whether political power or in the media, have more faith in us and recognise that we are not lost and never will be. It’s time they recognise that we won’t ever accept such unjustified judgement from those who only try and help us if there’s a television crew and journalists there.

Most  of all, it’s time it was recognised that we deserve a whole lot more respect than is given.