Up until recently, I’ve tried to keep my teenage life and my Substack life separate for the most part. There’s plenty of reasons I don’t want a lot of my high school peers to know that I do this. Substack gives me an outlet to express my ideas in ways that could put me at odds with some of my fellow classmates. So, until the last few months, I kept it mainly a secret on a teenage level.
Towards the end of the previous school year, however, I realized I didn’t want to be entirely alone on this path. I wanted some trusted friends to encourage me and aid me in my endeavor, usually just through subscribing. Some of those I told didn’t really care, while others are currently undergoing the process of reading every single one of my 42 complete previous posts.
It was from some of these people I began getting a lot of praise and attention. One even went to say they’d pick me to be “the voice of our generation.” Even though I don’t think I exactly stack up to that kind of exaltation, that statement got me thinking.
Substack has given me, a teenage boy, a voice I wouldn’t have had without Substack. What if, through me, I could give a voice to some of my friends?
I’ve gotten a lot of attention from you readers just for being a young voice on this platform expressing my beliefs and observations. Perhaps I can encourage that by helping other young people express their beliefs and observations.
There’s many ways I can do that, and I plan on using these friends more for Substack ideas in the future. I’ve even encouraged a few to start their own Substacks, so we’ll see where that takes us. In the meantime, while I brainstorm ways to properly present the views and opinions of other teenagers, I decided I’d experiment with this idea through asking some of them a very important question.
What concerns you most about the world?
It could be a political answer, a cultural answer, an environmental answer, even a personal answer. The issue or topic could be worldwide or within yourself. What I wanted to know was what these teens were concerned with the most about the world they live in.
And I believe you should too. Some of the people I interviewed will be voting in November. Some of them will be entering the workforce soon. Some of them already have. These are people who are becoming more and more important members of society, and knowing what concerns them most is important for our society going forward.
Now, a few disclaimers, I did my best to present the exact answers I was given as they were. Some might be altered slightly from the original form to better fit the Substack format and/or to fix typos (as many of these answers were ones I got over text messages so I could go back and refer to them while writing this). I did my best to make sure the exact intent of the people saying this was preserved. It is also for that reason that I will state that these answers don’t express my beliefs necessarily but the beliefs of others.
With that said, I’d like to mention that the people I asked weren’t from some random sample group I compiled, but rather very trusted friends of mine. For that reason, they are likely to have very similar opinions to me, and also do not properly represent our generation as a whole. But with that said, I still believe it is very important to get their voices out as they do matter and do make an impact.
Finally, I want to make it clear that the identities of these individuals shall remain entirely anonymous for their protection. This allows them to express their true feelings without the fear of peer or even family retaliation. I feel it my duty to protect their identities and will not give any extra clues to who they are besides maybe extremely generalistic descriptions. It is also for those reasons that I ask you to respect their opinions, even if you do not quite agree with them.
Now, without further ado, on with the question.
What concerns you most about the world?
Person One
“The biggest one (worry) is probably big businesses and their involvement in the government and the fact that they hardly bother hiding that their sole reason for existing is to make the rich richer; not to help their workers or the people they serve.”
Right off the bat with a political answer.
I think it would please many of you readers to hear someone else my age so passionate about political and economic corruption, even more than I am. And I mean a lot more. This person in particular is very fascinated in the ways the government, the economy, and history works. While I spend time studying dinosaurs or watching Godzilla reruns, they are actively researching these topics not just because it concerns them but also just for fun. Person One might be someone you hear more from in the future for those reasons.
Continuing, let’s dive into the answer Person Two gave.
Person Two
“Just how women are treated unfairly compared to men and how some women are terrified to go outside alone because of some men; and just how some men just see and talk about women as objects and don’t see them as real people.”
Another deeply social and political answer.
Being a teenage dude, it is hard for me to understand the world through a woman’s point of view. I’m glad that maybe through doing Substack projects like these, I might get the words of more young women out into the world.
Kind of breaking from the giant, broad social problem streak, let’s hear from someone with a far more personal answer.
Person Three
“You know, I would say climate change, but that feels unfair to say. I don’t know enough nor do I take enough action. So, I’ll go with…my future. It’s scary. And it’s scary to think that I have so much control with the choices I make everyday. And I just wonder if the choices I’m making are wrong. And you know, side concerns like my mother’s relationship, my weird whatever is happening in my love life, and I dunno, I guess I’m always scared I’m never doing the right thing. I won’t get anywhere. I try, I really do. But it never seems to be enough.”
This one I feel big time.
I’ve been worrying about my future recently as well. I’ve been trying to find my place in the world, like so many other people my age. And I’m sure people far older than anyone my age are still trying to find their place. While the political and social answers are important, I think these personal answers are very important as well.
And on that note, let’s go into an even more complex personal answer.
Person Four
“I know that this may sound stupid, but my biggest thing is judgment and inequality. I say this because I see this constantly no matter who it’s from. Especially from my own family and even my friends. It’s something that everyone does and what sucks the most is when someone does it that you are about and love. Because, like me, if you want to be someone that takes away that judgment and make everyone feel like they belong, it hurts you as a person. Especially when you are getting judged by your own family or friends; the people you love and care about. This has been a problem for a very long time, and, honestly, the fact that it’s still a huge thing makes me sick.
“It’s changed a lot, but it’s still something that is part of everyone’s everyday lives. You can get judged for something as small as having glasses, or a single freckle on your face. And everyone says they aren’t judgemental, but they are. And I know that getting rid of it completely is obviously very illogical, but even just taking it down a notch would make a big difference; getting rid of it to the point where it’s not in everyone’s everyday life; where people can be happy being themselves; and being different from one another without having the fear to even leave your house because you’re gonna get judged for it. I see this in my 11 year old sister’s life; even in my 9 year old brother’s life. Kids that are so young, that should still be able to express themselves, are terrified to be themselves because of the fear of being judged even by their own family.”
Wow.
Just. Wow.
I could attempt to make commentary, but I don’t feel the need to. Person Four explains themselves entirely. They really took advantage of getting their message out by making sure they gave me a good message. Now to go to someone who maybe wasted an opportunity on getting their word out, or maybe not.
Person Five
My discussion with Person Five went differently from the others, mainly because they didn’t give me a block of text but rather two short answers.
“Gun violence, and its rise in children.”
And when I asked them to elaborate, they were confused on why I needed more.
“Idk, I don’t want people to die?”
Well, guess I can’t argue with that logic.
Before I end this post, Person One actually gave a bonus answer that I wanted to share to close off. It is probably the most relevant and important answer in relation to the creation of this post. And before I finish, if you have any ideas for how I can help get young voices out into the open, please feel free to comment on how. If you have constructive criticism, please share it in the comments. If you just liked the post, first of all, actually physically like it (press that little thumbs up button), then comment on whatever. If you want to help promote these young voices and spread them farther (or just want to support my column), share this post. And as always, please subscribe and/or follow.
Now, for Person One’s second answer.
Person One Cont.
“Another (worry) is young people’s lack of presence in politics and the fact that most are either radicalized and extremists in their political views or just don’t bother because politics are too radicalized and controlled by older generations who have none of our interests in mind.”
I believe practicing strong listening skills is a key to helping people find thier voices and speak. Put down the electronic device and just listen, deeply enough to repeat back, to that person's satisfaction, what they just said. A great question is something like,"Did I just hear you say ... ?" Or what i just hears you say was ... .
And then wait for thier clarifying response.
This clarifying and listening again is slow and sometimes clumsy, but it works. Best of all, it's not about me.
When another person feels heard, a relationship is born or strengthened.
I applaud you for sharing the views of other young people. You have no idea how important all of you are. You are the future. Keep it up and hopefully others will join and share their perspectives.