In an environment where fear governs speech, even the mind learns to hesitate.

“They are Young – Youth is impulsive”

And with that, an entire generation is dismissed.

At first, standing up for truth became intolerable. Then speaking openly was no longer tolerated. Now, even thinking critically feels unacceptable. In this atmosphere, young people are left questioning what space, if any, truly available for them.

Younger generations find themselves constrained by frameworks shaped and designed by boomers – whose worldview mirrors the system itself: entrenched corruption, habitual flattery, unquestioned obedience and a culture of patronage where accumulation was prioritized over accountability – This generation’s legacy is not merely administrative failure, but a deep contribution to the country’s long-term political, moral and institutional collapse.

Today’s youth think differently from previous generations because they are growing up in a radically different reality. They live in an age of instant information, global exposure and relentless visibility. Social media, digital platforms and unrestricted access to knowledge have exposed them to questions that earlier generations were never allowed – or never dared – to ask.

Earlier cohorts were largely matured within environments defined by tradition, fear and quiet compliance. Stability, endurance and compromise were seen as virtues. In contrast, young people today directly experience inequality, psychological distress, identity crises and systemic failure. As a result, they question, resist and search for meaning rather than simply adjusting. They no longer accept “this is how it has always been” as an answer. They demand reason, transparency and justice.

In Pakistan, this questioning spirit is often sidelined through age-based dismissal. Rather than engaging with the substance of young people’s arguments, their perspectives are undermined by reducing them to emotional impulsiveness. In the absence of reasoned response, age becomes a convenient justification for silencing dissent.

Our society equates age with wisdom, even though experience does not always produce conscience or insight. Power remains concentrated in older hands and listening to youth feels like a challenge to authority. Moreover, young people are the first to suffer from policy failures, economic collapse and institutional neglect. When they speak about these realities, their voices are labeled rebellious rather than rational.

It is truth that today’s youth carry a fire, a restlessness and a depth of questioning that has the power to expose the system for what it truly is. They ask real, uncomfortable but necessary questions – questions capable of unveiling the state’s true face. They are able to engage in honest, knowledge-based intellectual and religious debates grounded in truth and reality.

Whether it is someone in power, an Islamic scholar, a professors, parents or relatives, young people have the courage to challenge authority. They can demand answers from everyone, expose hypocrisy and place falsehoods in the dock. That is precisely why they are silenced first.

They are told to, “Stay quiet, elders are speaking,” as if age alone guarantees wisdom. But the truth is that many of those labeled as elders are the very ones who have damaged this country and corroded this society. If speaking truth is labeled disrespect, questioning is called rebellion, and thinking is treated as a threat, then the sanctity of such authority must itself be questioned.

Why has the thinking of young people become such a threat? Why is their questioning treated as a problem, when the real crisis lies elsewhere? The concern should be that a nation’s youth is being wasted; that talent is leaving the country in waves through an accelerating brain drain; that unemployment continues to rise while ambition is forced into idleness. The concern should be the growing number of young people driven to suicide, the deepening mental health crisis among those who are barely holding on and the reality that those willing to work are being compelled to sit at home, denied both opportunity and dignity. Instead of addressing these deep-rooted failures, the response has been control: silencing critical thought, muting voices and treating repression as a solution.

Can imprisoning minds truly be the answer to problems that demand courage, accountability and change?

A society that fears the questions of its youth is not protecting stability; it is protecting decay. Make your heart courageous. Expand your mind and your thinking. Cultivate acceptance within yourself. Listen to the ideas of those younger than you, with courage and conviction. Give even the smallest voices respect. Thought cannot be criminalized without consequence. If young minds are forced into silence, the cost will not be order but a future hollowed of purpose and possibility.

as Noam Chomsky had stated:

“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion”.

The writer is an Anthropologist, exploring social and cultural issues affecting youth today.