Young people often face tremendous pressure when it comes to making long- term decisions. That can be observed mostly during the time when they have to choose a University to study, or when they have to make a decision to move away from their hometown or to live abroad. This stage of their life, emerging adulthood, is the part when they have to make life changing decisions and yet they find themselves puzzled in the process.
Perhaps this issue falls on the fact that they are not trained enough to make up their own mind and participate in the process of making a decision no matter how trivial. They are raised and brought up to act and behave in accordance to their family’s goals and expectations. Developing an individual identity where one can make their decisions is rather difficult in a society where young people’s ideas and thoughts are neither appreciated nor taken into consideration. Youngsters’ piece of advice is only called for in situations where technological matters are not clearly comprehended by the previous/ older generations. This affects their personalities and creative drives. This article will demonstrate some of the major factors that influence their inability or difficulty in making a long-term decision.
A significant role that crucially influences these young adults in their quest to make big decisions is that their elders most of the time draw out their future paths. In most cases, their involvement in decision making is perceived by elders as sometimes profane, outrageous, defiant, and disobedient. They usually expect their children to achieve certain goals, and even accomplishments they could not themselves pursue. In collective societies1, according to Hofstede, people do not emerge as separate individuals. The interests of the group are of highly importance as compared to that of the individuals. Therefore, it is a challenge for the young individuals to shape and sharpen their own personas. Consequently, whenever young adults from such communities have to make a decision which concerns them, it has to go through a chain of hierarchy before being asked about what they are truly passionate. Hence independency does not stand a chance in flourishing in these cultures.
Moreover, youngsters are rarely entrusted with big responsibilities. Sometimes, they are not even prepped to do small duties like setting an appointment at the doctor’s clinic or calling the emergency line when needed. Initiatives are not encouraged, but rather suppressed and not heard. Such an example is witnessed in the younger generation’s inability to change the state of affairs decided by the family, as it happens on occasions when they are registered in a new school without their consent or knowledge. The impact of such behaviour by the family conditions the individual to depend on their family regarding every obstacle they stumble upon. As a result, the individual who grows up in an opinion oppressive atmosphere, is inclined to behave in a similar fashion when it comes to raising the new generation. In addition to that, when the time comes where they are required to make a decision, they find themselves unprepared to reach a conclusion, because they are simply not experienced enough which leads to anxiety. It is plainly the case that by the time teenagers are no longer minors, the law imposes on them new responsibilities like drinking, driving, voting, and owning a property, therefore, it is only fair and logical to assign them important duties.
In conclusion, to make a longstanding decision, one has to be equipped with the knowledge and the practices needed. This is not a skill that people are born with, thus, they have to be exposed to instances where making decisions in the right time is of the essence. Individuality and independency should always be motivated in young people who are about to face different challenges than that of their parents.