In a society where young people's voices are often under heard and valued, the insights provided by the next generation are invaluable. In this interview I will be speaking to Joseph, a twenty year old about being a young person today and how it feels.

Hello, could you tell me a little about yourself?

My name is Joseph and I am almost twenty- one. I live on the outskirts of London with my family and have lived in this area my whole life. I like to spend my time playing football, seeing mates but above all going to see live music. Since I was about fifteen I have been going to gigs and I love music. In fact, music is probably the main thing that kept me at school as I took music technology A- Level.

You didn’t like school?

I love learning but school with the endless testing was just never for me. I didn’t feel interested in what I was learning so I didn’t work hard which meant I left with results which weren’t great. Its okay though, as it all worked out in the end.

What did you end up doing instead of going to university?

I spent a year or two working for a company which gave me time to figure out where my passions lay. Then, before starting the apprenticeship I am on now, I went travelling for a few months with one of my best mates. It was an amazing feeling to properly be free and just enjoy myself after years of early mornings and late nights. Though I was really excited to start this apprenticeship.

What would you say is the biggest issue affecting your generation?

On a personal level, I would say the cost of housing is one of the biggest issues affecting myself and the people I know, especially here in London, even to rent a studio is extortionate. I worry that I won’t be able to move out until I am much older which is an issue generations before haven’t had to face. In terms of the bigger picture though I just generally think our generation is frustrated by what we see in the news with the violence going on overseas and here in England. The future seems very unstable as technological improvements mean certain jobs will become obsolete so it’s hard to know what life will hold in a year or two let alone ten which is equally terrifying and exciting. Whereas, former generations had the security of a career for life as well as the ability to buy a home.

As a consequence, would you say your generation have grown up much later?

In some ways you could say that but I think young people’s focus on having fun has always been there but it’s only now that the pressure to marry and have children is lessening that we able to let this side out. Especially with the uncertainty that I mentioned earlier, a lot of young people want to live in the short- term and enjoy themselves rather than always focusing on the future. Whereas 50 years ago, people saved their wages for the future now I would rather have a great night out with my mates.

The ALMR (the licensing company for nightclubs and other businesses in the UK) recently revealed that half of nightclubs have been shut down since 2005, have you felt the effects of this?

Definitely, some of my favourite night clubs have been shut down which is so frustrating as it feels like councils have a vendetta against youth culture. Yet simultaneously wonder why knife crime and other anti-social behaviour is on the rise. They show an utter lack of consideration for our interests.

What is the one thing you’d like to let readers from other generations know?

Society is changing so rapidly that young or old, we can all find it hard to keep up. Looking back to how things ‘used to be’ (an idea heavily tainted by nostalgia) is extremely dangerous as it allows people to forget that there have always been issues. It is often easy to label things as politically correctness gone mad but many young people are sick of the status quo and are fighting for a change that will mean better lives for all.