The generation of change, we are the future
Grade 9 students in the Collective Voice program at Aden Bowman Collegiate share their lives and opinions through columns. Selected columns run each Monday in The Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
After the recent events of the Parkland shooting in Florida, teenagers have taken the lead in the fight for gun control.
The survivors of the shooting turned to social media to call the government out on its mistakes and share their stories.
The students have continually been protesting on and off the screen, and the outbursts have led to many companies breaking partnerships with the National Rifle Association.
It has been a story of empowerment for teens and young adults around the world and has been a personal inspiration.
Events like this have only been possible with the invention of social media, which has taken the world by storm.
It has changed how we interact with our peers, friends and family through posting, liking and commenting on posts so we can keep up to date.
It is an outlet for selfexpression, a platform to share talents and a way to channel opinions and ideas in a world where our voices are often invalidated as ‘too young.’
Generation Z, my generation, has been defined as anyone born from 1996 to 2012.
It is the first ever to grow up with such advanced technology. While I admit we tend to do stupid things influenced by social media, it has also opened our eyes to what really happens in the world.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System, adults think that teenage behaviour is getting worse compared to previous generations.
In reality, teenage pregnancy has declined significantly in the last three decades, and smoking among teens has decreased 20 per cent from 20 years ago.
How does this impression affect us?
As a teen, knowing of the negative expectations toward me definitely affects my mindset.
The Global Goals list implemented by the United Nations in 2015 includes 17 goals to end poverty, eliminate inequality and stop climate change by 2030.
Generation Z will grow up while these goals are being created and worked on. We will live in a world where hopefully they have been achieved and we will have to work to maintain the progress made and continue to make a change in society and the planet.
In the Collective Voice program, I am learning how to make my voice heard and matter in society. It prepares students to be active and responsible citizens and gives us a chance to share our opinions.
The world is quickly developing, and young people are constantly changing with it. We have grown up in an era of advancements and technology and new ideas, and we will be the ones creating and improving them. We are the generation of change, and we are the future.