Mentoring can make a difference.
In our everyday work with youth, we recognize that our youth today are not having it easy. Youth have to face various challenges that affect their everyday lives, but how do they deal with them? I referenced our research and had a chat with our 8 of our mentees (18-22 years old) in Voices Of Asia to uncover 3 common challenges our youth face today;
1) I cannot meet societal expectations
One of the major challenges that youth in Singapore face is stress and time management. Young people in Singapore have to bear with the societal expectations that requires them to be successful. Youths have to deal with the significant pressure of succeeding in every area of life and dedicating the the time to do it is challenging. The modern world especially in Singapore have embraced ‘materialism’ (can’t find a better way to described it). The youths have thus been raised in a society where materials are used as a symbol of wealth power. Therefore, the youths have learned to see their happiness, and rate their success on material wealth. This is a considerable challenge as youths struggle to meet these demands.
2) I cannot deal with violence & bullying in schools
Youth have to deal with the violence in schools. Even though schools are supposed to offer a safe place for the youths to lay a found of their future, majority of the youths in Singapore have reported not feeling safe in schools. Statistics shows that 25% of the youths aged 15 claimed that they had been bullied in school, a few times a month (Lim, 2019).
3) I find it hard to resist drugs & alcohol (and other addictions)
Many might not know this, but another major challenge is drugs and alcohol abuse. Statistics show that there is an increase in drug abusers are under 30, with there being high recordings of drug arrests in Singapore. According to the Cabin Singapore (2018), 71% of drug users in Singapore were under 30, and educated young people have also decided to try drugs. Research shows that most of the top managers and highly rated professionals in Singapore suffer from alcoholism. Sadly, the situation is getting out of hand as young people with drug addiction issues are less likely to seek for help. This increases their chances of being arrested or falling into addiction.
Mental health thus becomes a big challenge
All these struggles have affected the mental health of young people thus making mental health another major struggle that young people in Singapore face. When they face such challenges, they find it hard to share it, mainly because of point 1, being judged. And so, they turn to other forms, such as point 3.
Young people in Singapore are thus, at higher risk of getting mental health illnesses such as stress and depression. As presented by Chang et al. (2019), mental health professionals in Singapore have confirmed the growing number of depression and anxiety among young people. This has resulted to the high rates of suicides in Singapore with statistics indicating that suicide is the leading cause of death among people below age 29 in Singapore. I am very concerned to read news such as these.
Tackling these head-On
As such, Voices Of Asia sees that young people in Singapore are one of the groups who need more help than other age groups in the population. We must first create safe spaces and channels for them to share how they feel, and these has to be done in a way that works for them, we believe we need to build 2 key areas 1) by leveraging technology 2) by harnessing communities.
We do so through our definition of mentoring, which is, ensuring that the journey a youth takes is completed with 121, 12few, 12many support structure, be in mentors, support groups, experiential/formal learning & meaningful project involvements. It is a journey, not a one-off, nor simply just a match between a mentor and mentee. And thus, it takes a village to raise a child. I am happy to share more with you.
Join us to make an impact today. Anyone is welcomed. Pls reach out at www.VoicesOfAsia.org
Love to hear your thoughts…
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Follow us at Voices Of Asia to enter a world where everyone feels safe and supported, through mentoring and learning:-
- Be a mentor / Find a mentor: www.WeConnectApp.org
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Kelvin Kong, Founder & Mentor, Voices Of Asia & Chief People Officer, Lazada Singapore
