Great expectations: the hopes, fears and challenges of today's young people

A lifetime in debt after university, jobs hard to find, mortgages out of reach and rents too high: in 2011, young people seem to be facing a tough time.

But on the surface at least, many seem as hopeful and positive as young people should be. Amy Baxendale, 20, from Wigan, is currently in her third year of a degree in photography at Falmouth. "I enjoy my freedom to come and go as I please, and having the means to experiment in my line of study before I go out into the big wide world! I enjoy being around likeminded people who are here for the same reason."

Oliver Meredith, 17, from Swindon, has just left college and is looking for work. "I want to get a job, move into a place with some friends and hopefully go into acting. Moving into a flat is likely. Acting is not likely but I'm still hopeful about it."

Nevertheless, there is evidence from many quarters that young people in the UK today really don't have it easy. Take Unicef's Report Card 7, published in 2007. This highlights the extent of the problem, ranking UK youth at the bottom of 20 OECD countries in three out of six dimensions of wellbeing including "family and peer relationships" and "behaviour and risks".

Of course, in practice many young people do have good relationships with their family and friends. According to Baxendale, "being away from my family and my boyfriend for so much of the year is really difficult. I've always been a family girl, and my friends are such an important part of my life."

Some young people have to overcome huge barriers in their lives, notably poverty. According to the Child Poverty Action Group, ethnic minority children experience a higher than average risk of income poverty compared with white children. Poverty has an impact on the sort of education a young person has – from the sort of school they go to, to the likelihood of them attending further or higher education, to the job they do or don't find. Students graduating in these economically straitened times face poor job prospects. In April, data from the Complete University Guide showed that only 64% of students found postgraduate study places or graduate jobs – compared with 68.5% two years earlier. And, according to a survey by Aldi Graduate Recruitment, nepotism is rife – one in three graduates gains employment through family connections.

Combined with the difficulties they may or may not be facing in their own lives, young people have to face the suspicions of adults. From time immemorial, adults have been concerned about the behaviour of young people, yet in recent years – and particularly since this summer's riots – this seems to have turned into a more widespread contempt and fear. This distrust is keenly felt by young people. Jacob Macmillan, 18, from Swindon, is doing further maths and biology A-levels at college. "Adults look at young people with fear, especially when we are in groups. They look down on us too."

Xavier Hussain, 16, a London region media representative for the UK youth parliament (an organisation that gives a voice to 11- to 18-year-olds, which is heard by local and national government), agrees: "Young people are hounded with regular accusations of vandalism and other antisocial behaviour. The recent rioting is a perfect example." However, young people were seen in a good light in the days following the riots, when they were prominent in street cleanup operations organised on social networking sites.

Communicating via sites such as Twitter and Facebook is an integral part of the lives of young people – many of whom simply cannot remember a time without it. "Social networking is important for knowing what's going on," says Macmillan. "It makes communication a lot easier." And for Baxendale: "I use it to keep in touch with my family and friends back home, to Skype with my boyfriend and my mum, to organise university group work, and to get inspiration."

Despite the current doom and gloom, many of the fears of young people seem remarkably similar to those of an older generation: they are afraid of growing up, taking on responsibilities, not reaching their goals, doing badly in their exams. "Right now," says Meredith, "my only challenge is getting a job."

The young people interviewed throughout this supplement vary a great deal in terms of their family background, income, education and ambition. Their expectations for the future vary too: some see many more reasons for hope than others.

But, despite all the problems, many young people are doing their utmost to get all they can out of life. Celeste Houlker, 20, is the editor of Live magazine, which helps inner-city youths acquire media skills in writing, graphic design and photography. "The trend now is for young people to group up and start their own enterprises," she says. "It is a hard time, but, because it is difficult, we are finding other ways to make sure our standard of living is maintained and we have a decent future ahead of us."

Source: Rizwan Syed, Guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19th November 2011