To think young people have been totally forgotten ??

[Mossang3l]

I was watching something earlier and it was the very elderly talking about how the community has come together to take care of them. Christmas dinners, companionship, gifts, phone calls, check ins etc. Wonderful. I’m very happy they are being looked after.

But it’s really struck a chord with me. There is NOTHING like this to look after the young even though they are sacrificing so much for everyone else.

They don’t have careers or adult social connections, they’re probably single, they’re missing their educations and exams, they’re probably the highest percentage to have lost their jobs, they can’t see their friends, their future prospects have been reduced massively (through the economy, educational inequalities, brexit etc).

They’re all lonely and isolated and scared and all that adults seem to do is bitch about students and the young. They’re moaned about and criminalised just for being young (well they were is September anyway but it’s stuck I fear). Far too many of them are committing suicide and yet still nothing happens.

My daughter (20) lost her job and can’t get a new one, hasn’t been into uni once and is so lonely. She signed up to volunteer with every organisation she could find and hasn’t heard back from a single one.

Surely we need to be doing more to help the young ? I fear they are being totally forgotten and may be having the worst time of all.

I totally agree!! I'm glad someone said it!
My grandmother was in teir 2 and was going out and getting on a bus and getting her hair done every week! Living her best life!!
My OHs little sister is 17, she missed out on that summer year between school and college. Her college life is spent mostly at home, her and her mum look after her granddad so shes really careful. They live in a small flat. I remember I went to festivals, party's and holidays and had the best time at her age. College was the best time for me and it's where me and OH met. Shes shy and college was going to be the making of her imo. Shes missed out on so much and spends 90% of her time in her room.
Me and OH are in our 20s with 2 children. We are so lucky to not have lost our jobs, but everything looks so bleak. The business we both work for has had to make massive changes, it seems everyone is doing more for less but we need to work. I have fully accepted we will never be able to own a house. Or ever be able to have a garden. Some of my friends have lost everything. Some are NHS nurses who graduated early to help and couldnt even see their parents at Christmas.
I want to protect the older people in my community, and I have respect for them so I am playing by the rules. But nothing makes me more angry than when people blame my generation. Give us a break.

No one generation is more important than another. Every generation is struggling.

In many hospitals they are treating a similar number of Covid patients as they were in April.

If everyone follows the rules and waits for the vaccine rollout, we will return to normal although for the thousands of families who have lost loved ones to Covid, their lives will never be the same again.

@FuckOffDailyFailure

I agree there is something really disgusting about this thread. People saying "fuck the rules - they should be allowed to go to gigs and have sex with randoms, just like what I did when I were a lass"! It isn't fuck the rules, fight them. What you are actually saying is fuck the vulnerable. Sick.

This isn't every poster obviously, before anyone jumps up and down. If you read my posts, you'll see I am worried about young people...in fact, anyone under 40 has been handed a shitty stick in terms of job prospects and the housing market. But now is not the time. If you've, until now, been cushioned from the problems facing many people in terms of housing and careers, then you are extremely lucky. The posters who talk about going to gigs as some sort of god given right sound unhinged and out of touch. Honestly, I haven't even been to a covid ward, but just hearing about it is enough to find these comments massively fucked up.

To acknowledge that young people are missing out on things that mainly happen at that time of life, rather than when they are older, is recognising that they are having to do it for mainly for others. I for one, am not saying they everybody should have just carried on as normal, but people (including the young) are entitled to feel pissed off at the restrictions in place, even if we feel they are necessary.

I personally am in my early 50s (so slightly higher risk) and spend 6 hours a day in a classroom with 30 children, but don't think I should have the vaccine before my 85 year old mother. However, if the difference between schools staying open or not was vaccinating school staff, I'd agree with prioritising a 30 year old teacher over a healthy 60 yo who is wfh.

It is healthy to debate. Just because we all have different views doesn’t mean this tread is nasty. Every generation has been affected by this. But some more than others unfortunately. Mental health access has practically stopped, disadvantaged kids are suffering, etc etc.

If we don’t debate these issues and listen to others and their views then we are kidding ourselves about being democratic and free speech (within limits). If we had had an honest discussion about the EU I’m sure we wouldn’t be in the position we are now.

There are some nasty views on this thread though ,not the whole thread of course ,but there are certainly some very unpleasant comments.

No one generation is more important than another. Every generation is struggling.
This is true but I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying that some people have it tougher than others.
I’m sure I sound like a broken record to DH but I’ve said pretty much constantly for the last 9.5 months how glad I am that if we have to go through this it’s now .. not 10 years a go when we both lived on our own in tiny flats hundreds of miles away from family .. not 15 years a go at university when we basically wouldn’t have had university ...
I am really struggling now but I have it much easier than others - my kids are young enough not to overly care (although it’s obviously still not good for them), I have DH, I’m in a happy family and not in an abusive one, I have a garden which was vital to my mental well-being during the first lockdown.

I am of the opinion that my contemporaries (mid 30s, young kids, some money) and those of my parents (old enough to have on the most part bigger houses, children left home, close to retirement so less stressed about keeping jobs) have it the easiest in general.

@Oblomov20

I agree. Totally and don't think this is acknowledged enough. Protecting the very vulnerable 80 year olds, who should be shielding, is starting to wear a bit thin for me as a main policy.

same , although t o be fair some of them havent got internet and maybe not close relatives and have to go out to do their shopping and take a risk . however when im reading in the daily mail about hospitals becoming overwhelmed with elderly covid cases i cant help but think that a lot of them arent actually shielding the way they are meant to be . all i can say is the sooner they are all vaccinated the better . then the rest of us can hopefully resume a bit of normality . seems this whole thread has got a bit emotional in terms of people being accused of ageism and the like . but the cold reality is the whole country cannot keep getting locked down for weeks on end to protect a minority group unless we want to really see our economy in shreds and loads on the dole .

Well said zigazaga. This website is primarily for mothers so as a mother I would take a lot more discomfort on my shoulders if it meant my young adult children got a more normalised student, social and work life. And so would their grandmothers. All I have worried about in this pandemic is how it’s affecting young people’s lives, not my own. I’ve had my youth and freedom.

That’s a truly brilliant idea @YardleyX, about extending the furlough scheme to include students who have lost so much of the uni experience they are getting into debt for.

Your suggestion is entirely fair. I don’t suppose it will happen, in line with the disregard for the young which many of us on this thread are so concerned about.

@Coffeeandcocopops

No one on this thread is saying don’t vaccinate or look after the vulnerable or disabled. What people are asking is why start vaccinating the over 80s first? The over 80s can isolate a little longer and we focus on vaccinating the youngsters and front line staff first. Then schools can open etc.

I appreciate that people want to see their over 80s parents safely and once vaccinated they can do that. But what about those with disabled children in care homes who haven’t seen their child since March. Dont they have a right to be vaccinated first?

Trouble is that the old are still catching it despite shielding/isolating, they're catching it from their carers, from their hospital wards, from their care homes. That's the problem. They're not out partying or holidaying.

@chaosrabbitland completely agree and thank you for voicing this so succinctly. Also agree re elderly people not taking precautions given rising hospital admissions. See lots of them about locally at busy times, not wearing masks properly etc. I do think there needs to be more support ie a bigger shopping window and more put in place to address isolation. However children are also isolated, university students are horribly isolated, mum's of newborns and on maternity leave completely isolated from an essential support network through the stay at home dictat. If this had happened after my DD was born 14 years ago my life would have been at risk due to severe pnd. I kept myself going via meet ups and coffees... Otherwise I would have been in a really bad way. Breaks my heart to thing about what a lot of new mums will be going through...

@Flyonawalk

That’s a truly brilliant idea *@YardleyX*, about extending the furlough scheme to include students who have lost so much of the uni experience they are getting into debt for.

Your suggestion is entirely fair. I don’t suppose it will happen, in line with the disregard for the young which many of us on this thread are so concerned about.

Yes, it's a good idea, but first, the Govt must address the 3 million self employed who were excluded from their support schemes. Adults who've lost their businesses/incomes must come first.

I think government should fund all young people to do distance learning courses for free, if they wish to. They need to be able to choose to fill this time productively, somehow. And there should be a big impetus to get young people involved in volunteering somehow where they could help, for some payment.

A number of posters are writing in that space of 'I want my young adult to have a more normalised social life, student life', some posters seem angry at people who are elderly for having had a better life and some posters do not seem to think that elderly people should at the top of the list for vaccinations - lots of comments about old people ignoring the rules.
If this thread actually discussed the support the government should have put in place - mental health services, making schools and access to lap-tops etc a priority - then maybe we would be discussing something. As it is, the thread is populated with a lot of random anger about cancelled proms, graduations and how much kinder life has been to older generations. There is no real discussion here - just a lot of shouting.

No one generation is more important than another. Every generation is struggling. This is true but at the same time in my life nobody seems to care about the effect this has had on me (although that sounds really selfish).

I'm early twenties and feel like I've not existed since March. These subsequent lockdowns have been even worse now as I can't visit my siblings. I haven't seen any of my friends in six months (and coursemates since March) and although we message and video chat it's not the same. At the same time my family hang off every word of the government and think their decisions are the best option and won't hear any criticism, along with daily fail articles being quoted like the bible. I'm told get a grip and stop being stupid when I'm upset about how much worse everything is getting, including feeling practically suicidal at times because there is no way out. I've missed out on so much this year including finishing uni and can't get a job (being told by a supermarket that I don't have the right skills to stack shelves wasn't fun). All the while being told it's my fault because I don't assert myself more and can't travel, although I've been having driving lessons since moving back which have been put on hold again.

Everyday I feel like I can't cope with it anymore and am just so desperate to move out and have some independence again. I flit between thinking that there is hope to feeling helpless and never get the balance right, it's one extreme or the other and has been for months. I feel so sorry for everyone who's suffered because of covid but like a lot of people I'm not sure how much more I can take. The amount of people my age trying to kill themselves is scary (fortunately most of them are failed attempts) and it's frustrating feeling like I have no support.

@Mossang3l
OP, totally agree with you.
Before the pandemic it wasnt looking optimistic for the current younger generation to get on to the property ladder until their mid 30s, combined with having huge studeng fees hanging over them for the following 2 or 3 decades, but now it is going to be so much worse. Yes its tough for the older 60s, but they dont need to worry about employment , and probably have paid off their mortgages. The younger generation have the social isolation with economic deprivation, loss of job opportunities and messed up education piled on top of it.

@Musicaldilemma

I think government should fund all young people to do distance learning courses for free, if they wish to. They need to be able to choose to fill this time productively, somehow. And there should be a big impetus to get young people involved in volunteering somehow where they could help, for some payment.

Tbf, I think a lot of young people are volunteering already.

I wonder whether there might be more ways to extend this. But we might need to be careful if we’re going to just allow covid to spread unhindered in schools.

...I think government should fund all young people to do distance learning courses for free,....

There are a lot of these around already for free. Coursera, Khan academy, edX,...

@ Musicaldilemma there is a HUGE amount of distance learning (online content) available for free.

My privileged teen’s art skills have come on dramatically during both lockdowns - with her expensive iPad, her stable internet connection, her warm comfortable bedroom, her lack of other demands (such as caring responsibilities). As important as any of that, is a personality that allows her to learn in isolation - she’s motivated and has good concentration levels.

I can’t argue that your idea is a bad thing - of course it isn’t! But it’s not a magic bullet. It would still leave out large numbers of young people, who won’t be able to access it for a number of reasons.

@Musicaldilemma

I think government should fund all young people to do distance learning courses for free, if they wish to. They need to be able to choose to fill this time productively, somehow. And there should be a big impetus to get young people involved in volunteering somehow where they could help, for some payment.

That's basically what a lot of Uni courses are at the moment, for which students are paying £9.5k!

There are hoards of young people living in shitty circumstances or with poor mental health who simply won’t be able to access “a course” as a magic bullet.

Would the elderly have such a simplistic idea flung at them?🤔

@Kazzyhoward
People are actually not paying for the course most of the time. They are paying for the paper that they get at the end.
If you want to learn almost anything there are courses for it, many being free.
But if you want to be certified - then you'll have to flash the cash

[quote TheSunIsStillShining]@Kazzyhoward
People are actually not paying for the course most of the time. They are paying for the paper that they get at the end.
If you want to learn almost anything there are courses for it, many being free.
But if you want to be certified - then you'll have to flash the cash[/quote]
Plenty of properly certified courses/professions are available via remote learning at a fraction of the cost, such as chartered/certified accountancy. After a pretty awful first term at Uni due to everything being shut and lecturers not even on campus, my son is actively looking at online/remote options for accountancy and may well not bother returning to Uni.

I'm Graduating from an RG university in September, and if I'm lucky, I might get a job working on the bins. The main graduate job website for engineering, used to have thousands of positions, which already wasnt enough, and now it has 4. 4. As such, this is going to utterly trash my ability to start any sort of meaningful career. Though I sympathise with decisions have been made, my generation have had everything but our lives sacrificed, and it is completely insane. Thousands of young people, and those with young children, are going to die of cancer because the NHS stopped so much care. And in top of this, covid wasn't even that deadly compared to what it could have been, we simply cannot behave in such an overly insane manner every time a virus comes along. There will be nothing left. We only recently paid off our debt from WWII, and what have we done? Borrow a comparable amount of money to destroy ourselves. When the consequences of lockdown come in, the deaths of so many are going to pale in comparison with the mass impoverishment that we have created, and the death that comes with it.

ItsIgginningtolookalotlikeXmas
In your 20s you have so many years ahead. I feel for those in their late 30s who had hoped to meet someone to have a baby with in the past year or so

Thank you for remembering us.
It is the most dreadful, devastating loss. Coupled with losing the close bond with any nieces, nephews, friends' children etc. whilst everyone's hunkering down with their families, something you will now never have.

It's not about age, it's about life stage/situation. And young people have more time to make up for things, some of us were on our last chance and lost it. I've had to sacrifice everything that made my life worth living, despite being very unlikely to be seriously affected by covid.

Very young children/socialising/developmental stuff is a bit different, of course. But once kids are in school they've had this stuff for most of the year.