Itsa国际传媒檚 easy to feel like being young sucks right now.

Most of us donsa国际传媒檛 think wesa国际传媒檒l ever own a house in Canada. We work multiple jobs to keep up with the cost of living. We cansa国际传媒檛 find doctors. Wesa国际传媒檝e had sa国际传媒渢he best years of our livessa国际传媒� disrupted by the pandemic. Wesa国际传媒檙e hardly represented in an increasingly divisive political landscape. We deal with increasing anxiety about climate change and the future of the planet.

All of that sucks. It sucks for everyone, but for young people, it can feel like the end of the world.

Thatsa国际传媒檚 backed up by the Mental Health Index complied by LifeWorks which has tracked the mental health of Canadians over the past two years. The index has found that younger Canadians sa国际传媒� those under 40 sa国际传媒� have worse mental health scores than people who are older. Students enrolled in full-time post-secondary education have consistently reported the worst mental health outcomes of any demographic.

Far too often, the concerns of younger generations are disregarded. Wesa国际传媒檙e told to grow up, wesa国际传媒檙e told that this is simply sa国际传媒渉ow things work in the real worldsa国际传媒� and that sa国际传媒渨e donsa国际传媒檛 know how good we have itsa国际传媒�. Nobody can deny that the youth of 2022 have a better standard of living than the youth of 1922, but we donsa国际传媒檛 have it nearly as good as the youth of 1972.

There is simply not enough support out there for all the young people who are struggling. Though that doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean that the struggles are insurmountable.

If everything was truly terrible, if our planet was truly beyond saving it might make sense to throw up our hands and give up.

Thatsa国际传媒檚 not the case. If you take a look around B.C., yousa国际传媒檒l find itsa国际传媒檚 often young people at the forefront of climate action movements, racial justice protests, advocating for an end to the toxic drug crisis and coming up with creative solutions to our problems.

But young people arensa国际传媒檛 always taken seriously.

Up until recently, the so-called young generations of Millenials and Gen Z havensa国际传媒檛 had a seat at the table. The oldest Millennials are now 40 years old and represent the largest demographic in Canada sa国际传媒� and the politically engaged Gen Z is coming up rapidly behind them. The tides are shifting and the problems of Canadasa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒測oungersa国际传媒� generations are quickly becoming mainstream.

Itsa国际传媒檚 easy to feel like being young sucks. Itsa国际传媒檚 easy to look at all the problems in the world and get overwhelmed.

It wonsa国际传媒檛 be easy to solve our problems, but our world and our futures are worth fighting for.

Cole Schisler is a provincial reporter with Black Press Media.

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cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
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