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Youth

For other uses, see Youth (disambiguation)

Youth is defined by Webster's New World Dictionary as, "The time of life when one is young; especially: a: the period between childhood and maturity b: the early period of existence, growth, or development."^[1]

Usage

Around the world the terms "youth", "adolescent", "teenager", and "young person" are interchanged, often meaning the same thing, occasionally differentiated. Youth generally refers to a time of life that is neither childhood nor adulthood, but rather, somewhere in-between. Youth also identifies a particular mindset of attitude, as in "He is very youthful". The term youth is also related to being young.^[2]

"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease." - Robert Kennedy^[3]

Youth is an alternative word to the scientifically-oriented adolescent and the common terms of teen and teenager. Another common title for youth is young person or young people.^[4]

Age limits

The age in which a person is considered a "youth," and thus eligible for special treatment under the law and throughout society varies around the world.

• "Youth... those persons falling between the ages of 15 and 24 years inclusive." - United Nations General Assembly^[5]
• "Time in a person's life between childhood and adulthood. The term "youth" in general refers to those who are between the ages of 15 to 24." - World Bank.^[6]
• The Commonwealth Youth Programme works with "young people (aged 15-29)."^[7]
• "A person... under 21 years of age." - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration^[8]
• "People between the ages of 20 and 25." - Government of Tasmania^[9]
• "People between the ages of 14 and 21." - Wilson School District^[10]

See also

• List of youth topics

References