Opinion: Why are teenagers expected to know what they want to do with their lives?

Jodie Ojofeitimi

By the age of 16 to 17 there are societal expectations of knowing your career path and journey.

But how can teenagers be expected to know their career paths if they are still exploring who they are and their role in society?

There is a rush to push young children out
into the world before they are fully prepared, and I want to understand why.

Where does the pressure come from?

This pressure may be mostly influenced by extemal influences.

Through socialisation, children leam the needs of society by being asked what they want to do in the future. This influences them to strive to place themselves in job sectors that don’t truly align with their views and interests.

The problem isn’t asking them questions, because as adults, their responsibilities are to nurture and give children advice and help them to grow but certain persuasions or misleading questions may pressure children to conform or pick a certain
answer.

Why does society want teenagers to start thinking earlier?

It could be argued this pressure from the home exists to prepare teens for independence and the harsh realities of the world (as London has the highest rate of unemployment among 16 to 24-year olds in the UK at 24.6% according to BBC London).

However, it may be at the expense of their true passions and desires in life. Society needs to understand that encouraging teenagers to think about careers isn’t bad but what is wrong is making them think there is one fixed career path to take in life.