“The key to a better tomorrow is in the hands of proactive youth/ Elaheh Amani.”
The twelfth day of August every year is the International Youth Day. The idea for this day was initiated in 1998 in Lisbon and was adopted on December 17, 1999 at the United Nations General Assembly.
The year 2022 is the World Youth Day of “Inter-generational Solidarity, Creating a Global World for All Generations”. This theme is based on the idea that inter-generational solidarity is one of the challenges of our world. The global community aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by youth, provide opportunities that are not available to them, and highlight successful solutions at national and global levels in order to push this important issue from the margins to the center and encourage governments to address economic, political, and social inequalities that hinder the potential of youth to contribute to a better future.
Young people, or what a great number of them are called “Generation Z”, are the largest generation in human history. Being young has always been synonymous with change, progress, and the future. Being young means having the courage and bravery to face problems and challenges, and a love for recreating spaces that make life better. Young people are the fertile and active heart of society, and they have the potential to transform problems and challenges into solutions and opportunities.
Since the 20th century has been burdened with conflicts and wars, with the greatest impact on women, children, and youth, even the Security Council has issued Resolution 2250 on peace, security, and youth, emphasizing the urgent need for youth participation in promoting peace and countering religious and political extremism (the rise of neo-fascism) in our chaotic world.
Inter-generational solidarity and considering the most important interests of future generations at the local, national, and global levels face various challenges in human societies at different degrees.
Stonemasonry.
In order to promote cooperation and solidarity between generations, we must combat ageism. The World Health Organization defines ageism as “stereotypes (how we think), prejudices (how we feel), and discrimination (behaviors) based on age towards ourselves or others.”
Stigmatization can have two-sided consequences. In many countries, especially Western countries, the job market is faced with stigmatization where older individuals are deprived of economic opportunities; however, when stigmatization is discussed as a challenge for youth, we become aware of the harm and deprivation of young people from active participation in society.
Intersectionality in stone-throwing imposes a heavier burden and more damage on young people, along with other social challenges such as sexual and gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and other issues. For example, in American society, a young black woman suffers from more degrees of deprivation compared to a middle-aged white man.
Research shows that power dynamics not only hinder young people from achieving and realizing their potential for a better life, but also have lasting effects on them in their later years, preventing society from benefiting from their potential.
The global report on stigmatization, published by the United Nations in March 2021, reveals deep divides regarding the challenges of stigmatization against youth, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. This report was a wake-up call for further research on the areas where young people, especially in developing countries (in Asia, Africa, and Latin America), are facing stigmatization, in order to develop effective policies at a societal level. Political participation, health, social justice, safe civic spaces, and economic opportunities are among the areas where these divides are prominent.
Dominance over sectarianism and power relations is the process of comprehensive communities in which there is a hierarchy of economic, political, and social power. Overcoming sectarianism cannot be achieved without transforming power structures. These attitudes and beliefs influence the approach to life of the majority of citizens and gradually bring society closer to fundamental and structural changes. To strengthen and foster solidarity between generations, trust in wisdom and a deep understanding of the importance of youth’s economic, social, and political participation is necessary. This trust must go beyond words. Only with such trust can we harness the strengths of this generation, their creativity, and their social fertility.
Security in the civil realm.
Security and support for the presence of young people in the civil sphere is another challenging area in the world that has not yet been deeply researched; how young people of the Z generation and even the Millennium generation are facing threats, harassment, and abuse in the virtual space. Their novelty and creativity, lifestyle, beliefs, and values, which are rapidly changing with technology and social media platforms – especially compared to previous generations – how are they being pushed aside, stereotyped negatively, and creating a generational gap? This gap, with its rapid pace, causes disconnection between generations and polarization.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) emphasizes in its recent report, published on August 11, 2022 under the title “Global Trends in Youth Employment”, that the interruption and generational gap in the economic field has placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of young people. (1).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of youth employment and economic opportunities has declined more than any other age group. This pandemic, which has greatly affected global job markets, has had the most impact on young people. According to this report, the proportion of young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET index) has increased in many countries and still has a significant gap compared to pre-COVID crisis levels. In 2020, while the employment rate dropped by seventy percent for previous generations, it was eighty-seven percent for young people.
On the occasion of August 12, 2022, International Youth Day, the United Nations Women’s Commission has also issued statements stating: “Inequality, discrimination, and injustice are challenges that we cannot achieve the five sustainable development goals – including gender equality – without addressing them by 2030.” There is a long way ahead, as in America, with the Supreme Court ruling that abortion is illegal after fifty years, gender equality and women’s rights are more at risk of being taken away than ever before. (2).
This statement emphasizes that patriarchy has affected all generations and our preconceptions, judgments, and stereotypes have an impact on attitudes, policies, and programs of those in power in different societies, and are a major barrier to the participation of young women in their communities. Negative stereotypes and norms have intensified sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination, and it is necessary for us to overcome these cultural, economic, social, and political barriers and encourage and facilitate the leadership and participation of younger women. (3).
Zi Generation (Zoomers).
On a stone tablet obtained from the ancient Sumerian civilization, it is written: “The younger generation has deviated from the system and this is what destroys our civilization. In other words, five thousand and five hundred years ago, it was said that the youth were trying to destroy the achievements of the Sumerian civilization.” (4).
Investigators define Generation Z as a population born between 1995 and 2010. By this calculation, these individuals are currently between the ages of twelve and twenty-seven, and most of them are children of the Millennial generation. The result is that Generation Z is a generation that has mainly been born and grown up in the 21st century.
William Strauss and Neil Howe believe that each generation has unique characteristics and dominant narratives. The characteristics of the 21st century, such as social unrest, rapid technological growth, environmental changes, economic crises, and deepening class divides in most human societies, the rise of right-wing forces, and the trend of political polarization, have had a profound impact on the characteristics of this generation. The social actions of this generation are also different from previous generations. Activism has always been a characteristic of youth; from the protests of May 1968 in France to the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in America, from the civil rights movement in America in the 1960s to the Occupy Wall Street and Arab Spring movements – which are considered the latest chapters of youth activism in the world. It seems that Generation Z will also establish connections and mobilize to shape social uprisings that are different from those of previous generations.
Social media and new platforms produce more content for Generation Z and beyond. This is in comparison to previous generations who consumed news through print, radio, and television, providing a larger volume of content for Generation Z. New platforms continuously produce content and the priority of world news changes hour by hour. In Google search, one can observe news from one hour ago, one day ago, one month ago, and one year ago by using specific settings. Generation Z and Generation Alpha – the generation that is emerging after Generation Z – are digital natives. One activist of this generation in America, who fights for gun control in the country, calls their motivation for mobilizing around the movement and civil and social activism “fear and necessity.” However, 18-year-old Emma Gonzalez, who is one of the survivors of the horrific mass shooting at her high school in Florida on February 14, 2018, says we need activism to stay alive. She boldly and bravely, alongside other young leaders of this
Edelman Research Institute in America shows in its research that 70% of Generation Z has a social and civic motivation and goal, although they do not consider themselves as full-fledged activists. According to the results of this study, Generation Z is a generation that is more likely to boycott a product, a country, and protest in their own style. Confronting companies like Starbucks and creating a massive and deterrent traffic when this company was preventing the formation of a labor union for its workers, is one of the unique protests of this generation. In this generation, one out of every five people has a job where they do not believe in the values, goals, and strategies of that company.
The current generation is more disillusioned with political structures and participation compared to previous generations, and their trust in the democratic nature of political institutions and governments is lower than any previous generation. In a study conducted by the University of Cambridge since 1973, this trend of decline is clearly evident. Similarly, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has found that young people who have experienced a pandemic are less likely to participate in elections and have a more pessimistic view of the government. This research has been conducted on the Zika, Ebola, SARS, and now the coronavirus viruses.
While today’s youth are clearly moving away from politics in the way that previous generations have deemed “official,” they are more inclined towards political participation without hierarchical organizational structures and groupings. They are more interested in democratic processes and direct forms of participation compared to previous generations.
Another aspect of the characteristics of Generation Z and even Generation Alpha is that social activism begins at a younger age in this generation, as they are exposed to more news and information from all corners of the world. Greta Thunberg made her first protest at the age of fifteen outside the Swedish Parliament. She is an example and role model of a generation that is rightfully angry for many reasons. Despite negative stereotypes, this prominent environmental activist has been an inspiration for the youth of her generation, and even children as young as eight years old are now taking action and being activists for the environment in different parts of the world. In California, USA, in a widespread protest and demonstration against a company that had polluted the coastal waters of Southern California, most of the speakers and participants were high school students. In other examples, Licypriya Kangujam from Manipur, India, at the age of ten, successfully launched a campaign to clean up the surroundings of the Taj Mahal from plastic pollution.
The older generation and younger generations are becoming increasingly angry, worried, and anxious about their own existence and the future, which they see as getting darker every day and at risk. They feel that, under this pretext and with equal power and mutual respect, they must be present at the negotiating table to develop forward-thinking strategies that will improve their lives. The generational gap and distance is widening due to the widespread influence of technology in daily life and all areas. If governments, institutions, groups, and organizations do not purposefully work towards addressing the challenges and resolving the power imbalance between youth and previous generations based on mutual respect, the generational gap and distance will continue to grow wider every day.
The Iranian race.
In general, those born between 1996 and 2010 are considered part of the Z generation in Iran. According to a survey by Deloitte in 2021 (The Deloitte Global 2021 Millennial and Gen Z), the Z generation in Iran is “like their peers in other countries, native to the digital and virtual world, spending their moments with the internet and smartphones, and the virtual space and social networks give them the opportunity to interact with strangers.” According to statistics from the ISPA Center in 2018, 55% of teenagers and 81% of people aged 18 to 29 were members of a social network in that year.
The spokesperson of the Iranian Assessment Organization had also mentioned in 1400 that out of one million and eighty-two thousand candidates in that year’s entrance exam, only five hundred and twenty-seven thousand had been eligible to choose a major. This is while the capacity of the country’s universities in 1400 was one million, and choosing a major for that number means leaving half of the university seats empty. Additionally, while the preferred major for previous generations was mathematics, in 1401, only about fifteen percent of students are studying mathematics. These statistics have an impact on the trend of the “NEET” index – meaning young people who are neither studying nor employed nor participating in vocational training courses. Of course, Iranian society, due to the lack of a space where Generation Alpha and Z can enjoy the freedoms they deserve, and the shadow of the dominant government discourse weighs heavily on all aspects of their lives, experiences these damages and tragedies more severely than many other countries in the world.
The society of Iran, like many societies in Western and Eastern Asia and Northern Africa, is a society that is heavily influenced by social, political, and cultural changes and the widespread penetration of the internet. This clash and paradox also affects family relationships and exacerbates generational gaps. After the widespread protests of December 2017, the Ministry of Interior conducted a study in which Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the former Minister of Interior, stated in an interview with Iran newspaper that in addition to political, economic, and social dissatisfaction, a new factor had been added: “a deep generational gap.” According to Rahmani Fazli, “the generation that has now reached the age of activism and has access to the world and its surroundings through the internet, behaves differently.”
With this argument, many researchers nowadays consider the Z generation (the generation born and raised before the resurgence of the Taliban in 2021) and even the Alpha generation as the most powerful fighters against the Taliban. Since self-censorship is less seen in this generation, they seem to express their demands more boldly both in the private space of their families and in the public space of society. Maintaining power dynamics is much more challenging in both the private space of the family and in society, as they demand and protest more than their previous generations due to the vast amount of data available to them through social networks and new platforms. It is noteworthy that this generation in Iran has very similar characteristics, values, and behaviors to the Z generation in other countries, as they think and act based on the data they receive, and have many commonalities. In other words, the Z generation in Iran is beyond the harsh economic and political conditions, and is more closed off in the Iranian society compared to many
The environmental crisis is also a tangible and concerning crisis for many young people in Iran. Fires, floods, and droughts have made this generation worried, as all of these events are considered a crisis for their existence. Among the young generation in Iran, there are creative, committed, enthusiastic, and brave leaders who are observing the threats and concerns of uncertain futures. However, the huge gap between those in power and the vast population of young people in Iran deprives them of the right to participate in discussions and future-oriented strategies. In fact, in authoritarian societies where democracy has no place and is limited to a few non-free and even staged elections, young people cannot use their positive, growing, and creative potential to benefit society. In Iran, the challenges and gender-sexual gaps are also a major obstacle for young people, especially women and sexual minorities. In Iran, as in America, young people – especially in big cities – are heard through hashtags and podcasts. The immense opposition to executions, concern
Furthermore, the 1980s in Iran are also considered to have a smaller population. According to the national census in 2016, the average number of individuals in a family is three (families with more than three and less than four members). Therefore, individuals born in the 1980s and even 1970s are more likely to come from “one-child” families.
The 1980s generation showed their faces and characteristics in a gathering of two thousand people on Tuesday, 18th of Khordad 1395 in front of the Cyrus shopping center in Tehran and on the 3rd of Dey 1399 in the city of Izeh – during the time of COVID-19 – by occupying the Education and Welfare Administration building and chanting “We do not give exams”. The 1990s decade also recently held a gathering in Shiraz. All of these gatherings demonstrate the unique type of social action of the Z generation and alphas in Iran.
These native digital youth, with their immense volume of information and communication, are the new social forces of Iran and other countries in the region, rising like a tsunami. According to Iranian media, the amount of traffic on Telegram per second is much higher than that of domestic messaging apps. They are a generation that is bold, confident, and stirred up by the disorder, openly expressing their demands, with neither the constraints of previous generations in the family environment nor the power holders able to silence them. The roaring waves of Generation Z and Alpha in Iran, the 1980s and 1990s, are a powerful force in the changes of Iranian society. Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has said in one of his recent speeches that “the God of the 60s is the same God of today.” While acknowledging the unity of the God of the 60s, they probably know that there are significant differences between the youth of that generation and the
Notes:
1- The International Organization of Labor says that improvement in youth employment is still lagging behind.
International Labour Organization website.
August 11, 2022.
World Youth Day 2022: Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a Global Community for All Ages.
“United Nations Women’s Commission website.”
August 12, 2022.
3- The same…
4- Fathi, Soroush, and Motalegh, Masoumeh, “Becoming Global and Generational Gap: A Sociological Study of Generational Gap with Emphasis on Information and Communication Technology”, Globalization Strategic Studies Journal, Winter 1390: Issue 5.
5- For more information on the need for improving the well-being and mental health of young people, refer to: Global Survey of Youth for the World Youth Report 2021 (WYR).
United Nations website..
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