Teen Boom And Generation Gap
- By Sam George
- Published 01/11/2007
Sam George
Sam George is the Executive Director of PARIVAR International - a non-profit initiative to address the needs of youth and families of Asian Indian origin in North America and to the Asian Indian community worldwide. Parivar means family in many Indian languages. Sam George also serves as one of the founding directors of Urban India Ministries
www.UrbanIndia.org Sam George and his wife, Mary have spoken at premarital and family events in many countries. They are parents of two boys and make their home in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Sam is the author of the book “Understanding the Coconut Generation: Ministry to the Americanized Asian Indians." Check out this website www.CoconutGeneration.com Coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside) is a metaphor for the Americanized Asian Indians. Sam George can be reached at sam@coconutgeneration.com
In many parts of the world there is teenage boom…much like baby boom in USA after the second world war. Currently, the total population of 10 -24 year-olds is estimated at 1.5 billion, of which 86 percent live in developing countries. The growth is most rapid in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. Some suggest the possibility of a critical, and potentially dangerous, global generation gap as emerging adolescent populations age and their political and economic expectations rise.
The World Bank’s 2006 World Development Report found:
- Nearly half of all unemployment in the world is among young people.
- 500,000 young people under the age of 18 are recruited by military and paramilitary groups.
- 300,000 have been involved in armed conflict in more than 30 countries.
- 13 million adolescents give birth each year.
- Young people account for nearly half of all new HIV infections.
Many nations and global developmental agencies are keeping a close eye on this growing breed of teens. What does church or youth ministries have to say about this?
In a book on the impact of globalization on missions called “One world or many”, I have written two chapters on global emerging cultures of youth, which I had called as TechnoCulture & TerrorCulture. Young people around the world are gravitating towards one or the other, much like debates of Lexus/Olive Tree or McWorld/Jihad.
