It乌鸦传媒檚 easy to feel like being young sucks right now.

Most of us don乌鸦传媒檛 think we乌鸦传媒檒l ever own a house in Canada. We work multiple jobs to keep up with the cost of living. We can乌鸦传媒檛 find doctors. We乌鸦传媒檝e had 乌鸦传媒渢he best years of our lives乌鸦传媒� disrupted by the pandemic. We乌鸦传媒檙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.

That乌鸦传媒檚 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 乌鸦传媒� those under 40 乌鸦传媒� 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. We乌鸦传媒檙e told to grow up, we乌鸦传媒檙e told that this is simply 乌鸦传媒渉ow things work in the real world乌鸦传媒� and that 乌鸦传媒渨e don乌鸦传媒檛 know how good we have it乌鸦传媒�. Nobody can deny that the youth of 2022 have a better standard of living than the youth of 1922, but we don乌鸦传媒檛 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 doesn乌鸦传媒檛 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.

That乌鸦传媒檚 not the case. If you take a look around B.C., you乌鸦传媒檒l find it乌鸦传媒檚 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 aren乌鸦传媒檛 always taken seriously.

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

It乌鸦传媒檚 easy to feel like being young sucks. It乌鸦传媒檚 easy to look at all the problems in the world and get overwhelmed.

It won乌鸦传媒檛 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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