This is so fucking shit for young people

[ssd]

Yeah i know its shit for everyone before you pounce on me

But imagine being around 20 just now...no pubs, no nightclubs, no jobs around, no buzz in your town centre, no excuse to dress up in something new, or planning your latest night out, meeting your pals and all the excitement of the night ahead.

Its just so fucking shite.

I got the train home tonight from work, Glasgow city centre is a ghost town. Places that were always busy boarded up, of course everything except like of newsagents and tesco's shut. Its Friday night. It was always jumping when i was young, absolutely jumping. It was dead. On the train was a bunch if young boys, playing music a bit too loud, all singing along....going home from the city centre at 6pm!!!!. I could have cried watching them all, a nice sunny evening and the only place they are heading was back to mum and dads, or a local park maybe, i dont know. They were about 18, casual dressed, haircuts, all wanting a good time with their pals and probably hoping to meet a partner if they were single.

Where is the life for these kids???

This has gone on long enough. I dont care if i never see inside a pub again. I've had a brilliant social life at that age. Now they have fuck all.

Its too much.

19 year old DS has lost out so much. Lockdown hit just after he turned 18. Still hasnt really celebrated. This week he went for a walk with one friend and the excitement was off the scale. As a promising musician with all shows, gigs, events and rehearsals cancelled his life consists of sitting in his room and visiting his grandma.

DS 18 is going back to uni tomorrow and actually has had a good time in halls. They all seemed to get Covid in the first term, no incidence or quarantining in the second term, and there seems to be the usual parties. Just no clubs/pubs, but he's still had a great time. It's the kids who couldn't get to uni because of Gavin Williamson's exam fiasco that I feel very sorry for.

It's massively shit, but it's even more shit for elderly.

Is there really any need for this.

OP wasn't asking who it's worse for. OP was noting how shit it is for a particular age group.

You don't need to try and level up here

The young have been under some restrictions?? Some? They’ve been basically banished to their homes, as someone further up said even the flipping garden centres have been open! What 18 odd year old is going to walk around them? 🙄

"At least the young will have a chance to make up for lost time."

In one sense yes, in another no - as an example, for university/college students, this year (and part of last year) has gone for ever - they simply won't have the chance ever to have the experience they were hoping for and expecting. For this year's 2nd years the end of university is not that far off, yet they have had just six months of 'normal' university life so far. Same for sixth formers - disrupted exams and end of school events.

There's usually at least one response on threads like this to the effect of "WW2!" (or something along those lines). Of course yes our young people are in many ways better off than those 80 yrs ago - but then so are most of the rest of us!

There are many other groups in awful situations as well, of course - I don't forget that.

Some restrictions?

🤬

It’s not just kidding a few nights out. It’s important rites of passage, mental well-being, employment prospects, economic impact, qualifications and future opportunity and to top it all most of our young people have been responsible about the whole thing but still been getting the “dont kill granny” emotional blackmail.

@CatRamsey

Not all people in their 20s want to be going out and going to clubs

You are absolutely right. Not all young people do. Does that mean that the majority that DO want to go out should just be ignored and have to put up with this crap?

@savethegrannies That’s so true that the Tories have looked after their key voters. The contempt for young people is scandalous. Thousands of pounds of debt for uni courses which have been online and not delivered in person. Disregard for poorer children who lack the tech or parental support to access school classes. It is clear that the youngest and most vulnerable will suffer most from this whole episode.

It is so shit. "It's been hard for everyone" is a cop out and completely dismisses the fact that there is a scale as to how shit it has been from devastating through to a positive experience. I for one am so grateful it has come in this time in my life and not too difficult a time for my children, in terms of generalisation and ages I think 16-24 ish has got to be one of the hardest age categories to have dealt with lockdowns, I can't imagine having my A level-University years taken from me, those years defined me, I'd be a completely different person and I hope we remember that when we deal with the mental ramifications of coming out of this.

So much worse for the young! My life (40) has not been that different apart from homeschool nightmare but Jesus wept I feel for the 18-25 year olds. Best years and robbed! I’m in london and the streets are now full of young Uns having brunch and drinks and I think good for you!!!

Couldn't agree more, OP. We've tried our best to let our two push the rules and make the best of the situation. If they were older, I don't think we'd have been able to create quite the same bubble.

Despite the generally high approval for current measures, I think, once the costs really start rolling in, most people won't forgive the government.

I feel for that age group. I really appreciate being middle aged at the moment. I had a normal life for 40 odd years and all being well will go on to have 40 more. (God willing) the young are missing their youth. I actually do feel for the older people. Ive spoken to many who feel that by the time things are normal their health will have declined and that trip will never happen.

We are in our late 30s but my partner is a second year uni student. Bit of a late bloomer and old enough to have fathered his classmates.

They study engineering and most haven't gotten into labs. They literally haven't touched any equipment as future engineers!

They can't do Erasmus even if Covid wasn't a thing. They were too young to vote for Brexit or the current government. Everything has happened without their say and he says they are so upset and stressed.

They can't go for for any EU internships (there's a lot of interesting ones in Netherlands). Most of the UK internships are cancelled and the few that remain are beyond competitive. No one he knows got one and they are at a decent uni.

Some of the faculty have no idea how to use the software. They make bad audio, the hand draw numbers poorly with a stylus and the students can't read them. It's painfully dull.

Some are foreign students paying international rates for zoom courses. Some of the foreign students who were summoned back and then things closed again.

I talk to him about how much time I spent in the uni library and the general uni experience in my day and he just rolls his eyes.

It’s been a year. Everything is opening up again.
Honestly it’s only recent history that has young people going out all the time. It’s not a divine right.
I’m sure young people can find fun anyway, That’s the bloody point of being young.

@puppeteer Agree - when poverty rises, austerity gets going and we have widespread unemployment, I think the public will feel let down. We have been collectively duped into accepting harmful restrictions and the fallout will be huge.

I agree. I would stay in for a v long time if it could give DD her university years back.

Agree, awful for young people and children.
Awful for elderly people too but lives didn't change as much - it didn't really for PILS as the don't go out much anyway, missed seeing family of course but they are so sensible and lovely and we all agreed we were better to stick to rules so we had many years of seeing each other left.

A year is a very long time for someone who is 5, for babies who haven't seen anyone other than parent and perhaps someone in their bubble - I can't imagine how I would have felt @19 tbh. The young have given up enough.

@Thewinterofdiscontent it's not just about going out, it's travelling, it's their education. We can say with hindsight it's been a year, but we haven't known that for much of this making it extremely mentally difficult and we can't say for definite that June is the start of the new world.

My son is 20. He loved festivals and nightclubs pre covid. However he has managed to find an apprenticeship which has continued since January and I think this has helped because he is so tired when he gets in after an early start that he just goes to bed early really. Since restrictions have lifted a little he meets his mates in gardens. But yes I agree it has been pretty shit for young people. My 18 year old ds is more of a quieter personality, missed out on 18th birthday celebrations etc.

Yeah but the elderly have had their lives. The young have barely started

Please not this ageist selfishness again

" I don’t believe they will forgive ever their elders."

Though interestingly, the young don't (currently) seem to blame them at all! And tbf there are some elders who, as some pp have mentioned, didn'tt want the young ones' lives disrupted in order to protect them. (But by contrast, also the ones who got annoyed about the beach.)

Those between 13 and 16 seem to have had a fairly normal life where I live. At least, if the parks and precincts are anything to go by. I did consider meeting my mates there, seeing as gathering in large groups by Co op seemed to be acceptable.

I do think those aged 16-20ish were hit hard. Those are the best, best years. Most of my hazy memories come from those years- going out, drinking, feeling invincible, one night stands....