The Future Is Young

Children are the new consultants on the block at least where buying decisions regarding technological items like computers and mobiles are concerned. That's according to a survey - conducted by market research firm IMRB International for Disney's KidSense - which says that children are increasingly being consulted by their parents on what to buy. The implication is that children are far quicker to adapt to new technology than their parents. Indeed, a separate survey by the NPD group earlier this year indicated that children begin using electronic devices at approximately seven years of age. These surveys indicate just how fast the world is changing. The pace of technological innovation today is astounding, which is why children seem particularly adept at making gadgets a part of their everyday lives.

This survey comes on the heels of the India Labour Report 2007, which does not paint a very pretty picture. It has found that 90 per cent of Indian youth are unemployable. For a country currently experiencing a demographic bulge, with a large part of its population under 35, this is not good news. The majority of quality jobs in India are skill-based, which most young people lack. Only 8 per cent of Indian youth are unemployed, but lack of vocational skills means that more than half of Indian graduates earn less than Rs 75,000 a year.

A major cause of this skill shortage is that only a very small percentage of children who complete the primary level of education continue to the diploma level. An even smaller percentage goes any further. The focus should be on providing our young people with the skill sets necessary to transform potential into benefits for themselves and the economy. However, Indian leadership has long put education on the back burner, with only about 5.2 per cent of the GDP being spent on education. Moreover, it's a sector where socialist-style regulation still rules.

Technology is merely an indicator how out of touch our politicians are with the world today. The reason children quickly adapt to the latest digital devices is because they have no fear of learning and unlearning. But our policymakers are constrained by their orthodox approaches to problems, a side effect of their age and reluctance to adapt to changing realities. The solutions they propose are suitably staid. The dichotomy between India's young population and geriatric politicians has been thrown into sharp relief. If India is to progress and our economy keep pace with our aspirations, we must assimilate more young people into the realm of decision-making.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2536260.cms

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