In this day and age, the rate of young people in the 15 and younger age group has been increasingly prevalent in many nations, creating an intensive debate about its merits and demerits. This essay will evaluate both sides of effects in the present and the future before proposing my perspective.
In the short-term, one might argue that the growth of the youth can stimulate the development of national infrastructure. As the under-15 age demographic surges, the government will prioritize improving essential public services and infrastructure to meet the high demands, including education and healthcare systems. Nevertheless, this line of reasoning fails to mention a potential lack of existing resources. This seems reasonable since the booming of the younger population might lead to overcrowding in many industries, triggering a strain on the government’s coffers. Education systems, for instance, often struggle with insufficient classes because of a huge number of young students, being inextricably linked to low-quality education. As a result, this phenomenon can hinder the development of individuals, becoming the root cause of inequality growth in society.
In the long term, the dramatic growth of the population aged 15 and under will bolster socioeconomic development. This is because the dominance of youngsters in the future demographic will provide an enormous younger workers in the workforce, which is synonymous with the heightened productivity in the overall economy around the world. However, this viewpoint overlooks the substantial adverse implications for job opportunities in the long run. There is a convincing assumption that if this phenomenon is not managed properly, it will result in a competitive job market, leading to high rates of unemployment among young people. Another serious repercussion is that the invasion of the youth is associated with environmental degradation. For example, with a larger population in the 15 and under age group, it will require a huge fuel consumption for transportation and other industries. As a result, this accelerates the degradation of the natural environment and intensifies the global climate crisis by releasing a colossal amount of carbon emissions. These explanations are a testament to why the increase of children aged 15 and younger has more harmful effects in modern society.
In conclusion, while acknowledging the benefits of this phenomenon in the current and the future, I firmly believe that its drawbacks should not be overlooked, particularly the overload in public services, the competitive professional market, and the erosion of the environment.