Youth is a very important period in

Youth is a very important period in the life of every man. This is the time when a person discovers the world and tries to determine the place in the universe. Young people face lots of problems, which are very important for them and don't differ much from those that once their parents had to deal with. At the same time every generation is unique. It differs from the one that preceded it in its experience, ideals and a system of values. The adults say that the young people are not what they are. These words are repeated from generation to genera¬tion. To some extent they are true, because every new generation grows up quicker, enjoys more freedom. It is better educated and benefits from the results of the technological progress of time.
Young people of today don't directly accept the standards of their parents who believe that they are right because they are older. The adults don't want their values to be questioned. The young people can't accept the values of their "fathers". All these differences gener¬ate a generation gap when the young and adult don't understand one another. As a rule, the adults who are dissatisfied with their own lives teach the young how to live. Unfortunately, the adults apply old stan¬dards to the new way of life. They can't leave behind their "good old days". This burden is very heavy. They think that the world is going down the hill. They gloomily look ahead unable to understand the opti¬mism of their children, who want to pave their own way in life. The ma¬jority of the young people don't want to live in the past. They have their own ideals. They want to make their own mistakes, rather than to listen to the warnings of the adults and repeat the mistakes of the older genera¬tion. They want to overcome their own difficulties without looking back. However, the life of the young people is frequently determined by the adults. I think that parents will never understand their children. And the children, in their turn, shock their parents with their dress, language, be¬haviour. The existence of subculture which is specific for every genera¬tion is a form of protest of the young people against the values of the adults. Thus, informal groups, such as Hippies, Rappers, Rockers, Bikers, Punks, Goths, and Acid House appeared as a kind of protest against the values and lifestyles of the older people.
Traditionally, young people were looking at their elders for guid¬ance. Today the situation is different. Sometimes the young people share information and experience with their parents. I think that it isn't bad, especially when the adults really try to understand, what is going on in the lives of their children. Moreover, teenagers grow up so quickly that they almost don't have time to enjoy their childhood.
Another problem that teenagers face today concerns their rela¬tionship with their friends. As far as friendship is concerned, I think that a person can and should have a lot of friends. He or she can be on good terms with the classmates. But at the same time there can be only two or three real friends. I believe that real friends will never be¬tray each other. They will always understand and help each other. I agree that tolerance is the pledge of friendship. It is wonderful if a school friend remains your friend for the rest of your life. But in this case everything depends on the person.
The problem of love is very important for young people. Today they fall in love when they reach the age of Romeo and Juliet. Ro¬manticism and idealism very often accompany the love of the teenag¬ers. They can love deeply and passionately, they believe that their love will last forever. Unfortunately, often their hearts are broken. Young people are not always ready to have stable relations. In many cases they are too young and inexperienced to begin a family life. They have to continue their education, while family obligations will force them to make money. At the same time without good education it is not easy to find a good job.
Communication has always been an important part of teenager's life. Today they can choose between traditional and new ways of communication. Traditionally the young people meet after classes with their school friends, make parties, go to the cinema or disco clubs to have fun, relax and acquire new friends. But if the young people don't like noisy clubs and other places of entertainment, they can find friends without leaving their homes. The Internet gives such an opportunity. Although this international Web Wide World is in¬tended for getting knowledge, only few users employ it in this way. Others use different computer programmes to chat with their friends from all over the world. They can sit for twenty-four hours staring at the monitors. Such teenagers don't eat, sleep, work or study. Their parents think that they are doing nothing, but this isn't absolutely cor¬rect. The only thing many teenagers are interested in is navigating through the net and checking their e-mail boxes. And it is a great problem of the present and future.
As you see, young people have a lot of big and serious problems. But all problems of youth are linked with the present. And when they grow up, they don't have such problems anymore.