41 Percent of World’s People Under Age 24: Guardian

More than 40 percent of the world’s population is under age 24, and many hold concerns about globalization, rising inequality, corruption, fewer democratic protections and a warming climate. So the young, like so many from history hungry for change, are protesting. “Yet while younger people, in any era, are predisposed to shake up the established order, extreme demographic, social and political imbalances are intensifying present-day pressures,” explains Simon Tisdall for the Guardian. “It is as if the unprecedented environmental traumas experienced by the natural world are being matched by similarly exceptional stresses in human society.” Many of the young are based in developing economies of Asia and Africa, and many witnessed their families endure the 2008 debt crisis and harsh austerity measures. Each year, more young adults enter the workforce with high expectations, and those in democracies can vote. They also know how to connect and speak out about denial of basic rights, Tisdall explains. He connects protests around the globe, cautioning governments and elites to address the concerns or risk instability. Countries that prohibit protests and free speech are unpleasant places to live, Tisdall concludes: “What helps protect us is the noisy, life-affirming dissent of the young. – YaleGlobal