This week, a study from the Health Foundation, a charitable foundation from Great Britain, found that millennials in the country were likely to be less healthy than their parents. According to the study, young British citizens lack appropriate skills and qualifications, defined as “academic or technical qualifications needed to pursue their preferred careerâ€; personal connections, including “access to social networks or mentors who were able to offer them appropriate advice and guidance on navigating the adult worldâ€; financial and practical support, encompassing “direct financial support from their parents, being able to live at home at no cost with parents, as well as practical assistance such as help with childcareâ€; and emotional support, meaning “having someone to talk to and be open and honest with, who supports their goals in life.†The impact on the health of British millennials is severe, the study suggests.
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But the deeper and more abiding problems, other than changeable and changing economic conditions, remain social and cultural. Lack of family and support structures have led to the destruction of the social fabric necessary to undergirding a stronger civil society. Lack of cultural focus on meritocracy and effort have led to a decline in performance, and thus in health.
Virtually all of the elements missing from the millennial experience used to be provided by family and church; now nearly all of them are filled with one sort of government program or another. Take, for example, the lack of appropriate skills and qualifications. Educational variances in different communities in the United States can be in large part attributed to cultural differences: Asian-Americans, for example, excel academically because of a widespread cultural focus on education.
A large-scale study from Amy Hsin of City University of New York and Yu Xie from University of Michigan found that income differentiation didn’t explain the academically superior performance of Asian-Americans. The work ethic, they found, was the deciding factor—and that work ethic was inculcated by a family and community support structure. “Asian-American youth,†Hsin explained, “are more likely to attribute intellect and academic success to effort rather than innate ability.†Yet in Britain, as in the United States, heavy focus is placed on supposed institutional barriers to success, rather than on inculcation of a meritocratic mentality and the construction of non-governmental social systems.
http://www.newsweek.com/ben-shapiro-why-millennials-are-falling-behind-opinion-989596
