Youth depressed, trapped in seclusion
In Britain they call them NEETS (Not in education, employment or training) – which refers to young people who have failed to carve any niche for themselves in the world of work or studies; in America they call them twixters (young people trapped «betwixt» adolescence and adulthood); in Japan they distinguish between «anti-social parasites» (young people who avoid working and sponge off their parents into their 30s), «freeters» (perennial temporary workers) and «hikikomori» (a term that refers to the tendency of certain youths to hibernate in their rooms, emerging occasionally for meals). In Greece they have no name – although they certainly exist in great numbers – probably because they have been so well hidden by their families. But we certainly have NEETS, twixters and freeters galore, all hidden deep behind their families’ skirts. These Greek youngsters are the same as others the world over; they have not pursued their studies (14 percent of Greek adolescents drop out of school) and are not interested in permanent work (with 24 percent of Greeks aged between 15 and 24 without a job). These are kids who noticed early on that opportunities are few and far between, who were crestfallen at the prospect of working full-time for 700 euros a month, and have therefore decided to put off growing up. This is a growing group of Greeks who are categorized under the label «unemployed youth» and have been forgotten. In Britain, the so-called NEETS are a veritable scourge: they number more than 1.2 million and are expected to cost the British state up to 300,000 pounds Sterling (441,000 euros) per year. These are kids who have turned their back on the system, who have no social life, who do not believe in themselves, their present or their future. British scientists describe them as insecure and shy children, scared of life, rejected by society, forgotten by the system. The British government, which noticed the problem in 2000, tried in vain to impose a solution by subsidizing the return of these children to school (with 40 pounds, or 59 euros, per week); now it is considering making education obligatory until the age of 18. And if the problem has not been tackled by 2013, the government is considering imposing a fine of 50 pounds, or 73 euros, for every attempt to avoid school or training. But can such repressive measures effectively tackle a problem with such deep social roots? We are not talking about traditional adolescent indolence, hanging around cafes and partying in dorms, but about real depression and loneliness, about social exclusion. A dead-end life in seclusion, supported by easily acquired electronic gadgets. A life that bursts like a bubble when forced to enter the «real world» of work and obligations.
