According to some reports, our population has already exceeded that of China in early 2023, making us the most populous country in the world. We are a young nation with over half of our population under the age of 30 years of age. One fourth of our huge population attends school or college. Some estimates put it that 50 lakh students graduate every year in Bharat.

The age of adolescence to young adults is a time of learning. Individuals of this age group are yet to develop their personalities completely. Moreover, there are a lot of changes going on in their outside world like leaving home, changing places for college and work, lots of travel and new environments and people to deal with. Such a turbulent time is bound to bring lots of challenges especially in this hyper competitive and crowded atmosphere.

We would like to point out some of these hardships faced by students.

 Competition, expectations, stress

There is no denying that students in our country are facing one of the most competitive conditions to ever exist for professional success. For example, 10 lakh students aspire to become Indian Administrative Services officers while there are a mere 180 selections each year. Students prepare for such difficult examinations for a decade or more in some cases. As a result mountains of expectations, failures and resultant stressful situations are created. Students feel like a failure and lacking the mental resources whereas in reality there may not be much difference in academic effort between those who succeed and those who do not. This failure mentality may spill to other areas of their lives and can be a cause of endless worry, anxiety, depression and also suicide attempts.

This scenario isn’t isolated to competitive exams. Such is the situation of fresh graduates who enter the job market. There is stiff competition and the entry level salaries do not have much to offer. About a mere fourth of them actually make it successfully to jobs. Many avoid this altogether and keep studying further, finding similar situations later on.

The burden of expectations often comes with the assumption that the student will triumph over all and will not be fazed by life challenges. Personal biases and also expectations from family and society also feed into this narrative. As only a fraction of students achieve outstanding success, there is a huge number who are left stranded. This also creates shame and guilt when experiences are not going quite as planned.

 Poor support structure

Student life is also a time with few life skills and not all individuals handle stress very welI. It has also been found that young individuals have a poor support structure and there is a lot of delay in recognition and resolution of the issues they face. At this age, they are also relatively easily misguided and may use faulty coping strategies. Their support structure is usually peers who are going through similar experiences themselves

Students are not taught lessons of failure and struggle in silence. Without a supportive structure, many resort to abusing substances or using faulty coping mechanisms resulting in even more difficult situations. In a competitive atmosphere failure is frowned and ridiculed rather than accepted as a learning stepping stone.

 Loneliness and homesickness

Generally, students leave their homes in search of better education and job opportunities. Along with a new academic and professional environment, they also have to deal with new sets of people. Not all are able to solve this puzzle efficiently. Many face loneliness and at times further isolate themself. Shy, introverted and those lacking social skills may also end up being ignored by others.

 Pornography, masturbation, sexual addictions

Subjects related to sex are culturally tabooed in the current circumstances. There is an absence of clear, responsible and timely sex education from parents, school or the society in general. It has been found that students are getting exposed to porn and masturbation at a very young age, even before puberty. Such stimuli are strong modulators, especially of the developing brain. Later it may lead to a host of sexual issues, deviant behavior and sexual addictions. Research suggests such deep seated addictions are like drugs. It is no doubt that it is the responsibility of everyone to have checks in place before the problem manifests itself.

 Addictions to screens and technology

This topic has been discussed in a separate blog (Link provided below). But it needs to be mentioned that at younger ages technology is much more potent both positively as well as negatively. Addictions to screens is a modern epidemic that needs attention on its own to prevent years lost to unproductive activities.

 What can be done ?

Times are changing and the pace of change is also increasing. This may be attributable to technology and advancement. We have to accept that our skills in taking care of our children also have to be upgraded constantly. We have to put away the mindset that just because we as parents or elders have seen through our own student times so we have all the answers. We have to learn to care in new ways as the needs of the current student crowd is different from a few decades back.

As a society we must talk openly about mental health with a special focus on our youth. Parents and society have to adjust their expectations and give more importance to holistic growth, mental and physical well-being than just academic and professional achievements. Competition must be made healthy and failure also needs redressal as a learning opportunity.

Professional help must be sought wherever the know-how is not available to parents or guardians. It may be supportive and also therapeutic in many cases. It has been observed that effective therapy can prevent or limit these challenges. Problem solving skills taught and practiced in therapy sessions are a great tool to approach real difficulties. Challenges of addictions in any sphere such as technology, sexual or substances need to be addressed professionally as soon as possible.

Remember, they are our future, we need to nurture them