Editorial Releases: 2004

SOUTH AFRICANESS - HOW THE NEW GENERATION OF TEENAGERS VIEW SOUTH AFRICA: September 22, 2004

Introduction

This year the South African government completed a 10-year review on the impact government policies had on society, and now, President Thabo Mbeki?s Policy Co-ordination and Advisory Service is preparing another national review, this time focusing on issues such as social values, identity and the role of the family. So, in times of ?Proudly South African? campaigns, celebrations of democracy, successful bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and Nelson Mandela, how do the youth of today view being South African?

Birth to Twenty, the largest and longest running study of child health and development, has been following over 2000 children, born shortly after Nelson Mandela?s release from prison, for the past 14 years. This year Birth to Twenty embarked on a study to explore young people?s view of national identity, a study funded by the South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD).

National identity and future orientation

In the context of global points of reference, young people struggle to find a place for themselves between the poles of alienation and isolation on the one hand, and involvement and responsibility, on the other. The world can appear to threaten and engulf teens in anonymity and to render them insignificant and powerless to act. Simultaneously, however, the same conditions provide them with opportunities that can stimulate maturity and social engagement. Opportunities for social and civil involvement are important for young people as such engagement ameliorates tendencies towards passivity and apathy on the one hand, and/or violence and criminality on the other. The way that young people envisage themselves and their future within their country and national group, specifically, their hopes, fears, expectations and plans, play a vital role in the paths that they choose to take, and how they conduct themselves along the way.

It is a psychological truism, first articulated by the American psychologist, William James that we can alter our experience of our environmental conditions by the way we think about them. Furthermore, international studies highlight the importance of hope (a dimension of future orientation) in avoiding negative emotions, including depression, and in promoting individual well-being and strong national identity. In light of the importance of hope, the lack or loss of hope can be expected to have decidedly negative consequences on how young people plan and enact their future social and economic lives. Furthermore, it has been postulated that national identity can either exacerbate or buffer a sense of hopelessness.

Indeed, conditions are challenging for young people in South Africa. In the 1996 Census, 8% of youth were recorded as having no formal education. Only 21% of all young people currently complete secondary school, and a mere 6% go on to higher education. Two out of every five young people are out of work and it is estimated that more than half a million young people were unemployed during the period 1994-1999. HIV/AIDS is a specific threat to young people. Nearly half (45%) of the HIV prevalence in South Africa occurs in the under 24-year-age group. Social conditions associated with race, gender and class cause threats to well-being and tend to be unequally distributed in the population. For example, young women are more likely to drop out of school than young men, largely because of pregnancy. By the age of 19 years, 35% of women have been pregnant or have given birth to a child. Young women are up to 6 times more likely than young men to be infected with HIV. At a population group level, young Africans are significantly less likely to complete school, further their education and get a job than White youth. This means that social position and group membership are likely to have a strong influence on the future expectations of young people as well as national identity.

Study results

In the first part of the study, close to one thousand 13-year-old children from varying socio-economic backgrounds and participating in the Birth to Twenty study completed a questionnaire about their views on several topics.

Some of the questions and their responses are detailed:

What do you like most about South Africa?

• 26% said the people
• 24% said the natural beauty
• 15% said the government
• 12% said the large quantity of natural resources
• 12% said democracy
• 11% said the great climate

What would be the first thing you would do as the President of South Africa?

• 26% said create more jobs
• 24% said reduce crime levels
• 15% said provide more housing
• 9% said provide free education and build more schools
• 7% said combat HIV/AIDS
• 6% protect the environment
• 5% provide better medical care
• 5% assist street children and orphans
• 3% protect democracy

Are you proudly South African?

• 95% said YES
• 5% said NO

How do you see your future in South Africa?

• 89% envisaged a positive future (hopeful, optimistic)
• 11% envisaged a negative future (pessimistic)

If you won the Lotto, what would you do with the money?
The top five responses were:

• Buy a house for my family
• Give part of the money to charities
• Use the money for education and university fees
• Buy a car for my family
• Financially support my family

Take home message

In this preliminary study, it is startling how aware and astute these teenagers are concerning the challenges facing South Africa, and despite these challenges, the overwhelming majority are proudly South African and hopeful of their future. However, will their views change as they get older, and how their views will impact their decisions and outcomes along the way to adulthood, these are some of the questions the study hopes to investigate over the coming years as these teenagers become young adults.

It is clear that government, teachers and parents need to promote and harness the optimism and hopefulness of youth, and empower them to effect change and realise the ?South African dream?.

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Contact person: Carmen Basson
Phone: 011 4883246
e-mail: bassoncd@medicine.wits.ac.za