To think the next generation will grow up timid

[Phonebox]

Never before have we had such a disappointing reception to our series of lectures as we have experienced over the last year.

I work for a charity which involves a lot of speaking to and recruitment of young people to spread knowledge of our cause and inspire fundraising efforts across the country.

Usually we get good responses to our talks and lots of ideas and energy from young people keen to make a difference.

However recently we've had such a poor reception...we've left schools and clubs after warmly encouraging questions at the end and receiving none, trying in vain to generate discussion groups and being met with nervous giggling and a lot of embarrassment, and me and my colleagues are faced with trying to find out if we've suddenly all turned into teenage repellents or if there is something else going on

I talked to my teacher friends at a focus group recently, and they're a cynical bunch anyway, but they hypothesised the growth of social media meant that more teenagers are acting like sheep and refusing to speak out or offer controversial opinions (or even potentially risk looking ignorant by asking questions) because their behaviour is now so closely recorded and monitored by technology.

That's a rather extreme theory. However many of us at work were teenagers in the 70s and 80s and used to a bit more public revolutionary attitude than the meekness we've faced recently.

So AIBU? Any heartening stories of bold teenagers to cheer me up?

I've got a teen, with lots of teen friends. None of them are timid, either at school or around adults.

My experience of today's teens doesn't match yours.

Ds is quite bold and will discuss and question and is politically motivated but his political colour is blue.

What is your charity? Or at least what sphere is it in.

My experience doesn't match yours either. Usually I'd say it's when they aren't interested etc most teens don't get involved, rather than a confidence issue

The teens I am in contact with (retail) are far from timid. Rude, self absorbed, kardashian wannabe divas maybe but not timid.

Hmm, my husband works in higher education and says that his students don't challenge received opinion very much. But that could be a lot to do with the course that he teaches. I really hope that it's not a symptom of the education system, although that feels like it could be true iykwim.

Do you change your presentation year on year, OP? Could it be that it needs freshening up?

It's a charity working towards providing more services and access for disadvantaged youngsters.

We also aim to close social divides between young people from more privileged backgrounds and those who don't have the same opportunities.

We find that on the whole the young people in particular say all the right things when pressed but actually struggle to understand what it is like to, say, not have the money for music lessons or live in a household where a ski trip might as well be a trip to the Moon. And attendance at fundraising events aimed at raising money to give to local youth clubs has dropped. We're struggling to find out why this is.

what is your 'cause'?

I think the problem is less timidity, and much more that so many are selfish, having been taught they are princes and princesses and always getting their own way, never having to lift a finger to help at home etc You want them to volunteer? To help others/an iportnat cause?Most would not be interested at all and would just view your talk as an excuse to miss a lesson.

NOT ALL TEENS I hasten to add.

I'm not surprised your fundraising is less successful of lateb when so many families are really struggling to make ends meet. Those who can and do give, probably give to what they consider more worthy causes than the local youth club.

I think there is an art to obtaining teanagers engagement and relying solely upon presentations sometimes just doesn't work. If I were you, I would not write them off as timid, I'd go back to the drawing board and consider different ways of reaching my audience.

What phanto said. You may think they're all moneyed and have plenty, however, not many families are actually comfortably off any more. Perhaps they think you're offering to give them music lessons?

Lilac, how often do you see them being bold whilst out of their comfort zone, standing alone without the 'protection' of their mates?

You go to a corner shop on Friday night in some of the areas in my city and what you'll find won't be timidness or nervous giggling, I assure you. You won't raise a lot of funds either though...

Well, at DD's school for music, in Year 7 and 8, they have to perform a solo piece, either on an instrument or by singing, in order to pass the module. Every Child in the year group. Every last child performed, in front of their peers. Speeches in French, Latin, etc.

And why was my post chosen out of all the others? Especially as it wasn't even me that used the word 'bold'

Ye need to come up with a more modern approach.

Teens don't sit & listen as
they used to.

Interesting post Phonebox. Perhaps today's youngsters are too afraid to be controversial in case they may not get many "likes". Possible defeat and humiliation no longer stays in the room, there is the remote, but still unpredictably real, possibility it could go global. It takes a sturdy soul to confidently ride out the storm.

I did mean bold as in offering new opinions, not afraid to speak alone, without the agreement of their mates...

You haven't met DD, OP. That's all I'm gonna say.

sacredheart has it in one. It's not that they're timid, they just don't give a shit because it doesn't involve clothes, pop stars or selfies (and I'm referring to both sexes here).

That's rather stereotyping, isn't it?

Not all teens are vacuous airheads.

And given some of the threads running on here not all vacuous people are teens either.

Maybe your presentation style is a bit stale and you need to find new ways to engage your audience because things do change. How much speaking to you do in your lectures? How much other media is used? How interactive is it? Are you giving a talk and asking for questions afterwards? There is no point lamenting that your audience isn't engaged without giving some thought as to what you could do differently to engage them.

Have to say what I'm thinking is its a charity that's out of touch with reality, or has been controversial in some way.

That said I've a dd unafraid to say so if she were at one of your 'lectures' (calling them that also suggests that even if you SAY you ask for questions at the end you don't give the impression you genuinely want them.) Also why not allow discussion throughout the session? Whats the room setup like is it someone at the front 'lecturing' lines of desks?

Why are you asking teens to support you? Are you looking for support from under 18's? If so what kind of support?

I work with teenagers...I sometimes wish some of them were a bit more timid

Seriously though, one of the things that makes my work enjoyable is how bloody fearless and unafraid to stand out and stand up for themselves and what they believe in some of the kids are. The pressures on kids nowadays are just insane, I wouldn't be a teenager in 2015 for all the money in the world.

I don't think this generation are the issue, I think you need to find new ways of reaching and understanding them.

In addition to what's been said, I doubt many teens are going to stand up and say anything that will identify them as underprivileged.

Lilac, maybe you have better examples but I'm not particularly impressed by the idea of students at a music school performing solos. It's precisely what we would expect. They are conforming, not stepping out of their comfort zone, except for the fact that they are performing at a high level.

I picked you because it was the first response to the OP and it was so categorical. My use of the word 'bold' is not related to anybody else's usage. I hadn't actually noticed that someone else used it.

And when I think of teens, the word that strikes me is conformity. They are desperate, desperate to conform to their group, even those who see themselves as 'alternative'. Whether this is more or less than previous generations I cannot honestly say.

It seems a bit odd that you assume a whole generation will be timid just because in the last year they haven't been responding to your lectures. You are clearly not engaging them and perhaps that is because you are out of touch and are getting on their nerves with your style of lecturing/talking. Do you know any teenagers?