Global Challenges and the Future Prospects of Youth In the Global South: Youth Experiences In South Asia

Global level political, economic, social, cultural and ecological changes over the last half a century have created both opportunities and threats to youth in the global south. Increasing opening up of national boundaries as part of increasing globalization (Giddens, A. 1999) , Little, A. and Hettige, 2013)). facilitating youth mobility for education, employment and permanent migration across continents, in particular from the global south to the developed countries in the global north has had serious development and other implications for both the developed as well as developing countries alike. Yet, the actual impacts on both receiving and sender countries have varied widely dependent on country level public policy environment (Cote, J. and Picard, eds. 2022, Gellner, D. ed. 2009, Kumar ,K and Oesterheld ,J. eds. 2009 , Hettige, S., 2014). Though studies in different countries may indicate diverse outcomes at country level in recent years, there exist not many studies that examine patterns across countries and regions with regard to socialization, growing up, internalization of instrumental values, aspirations, identity formation and behavior patterns of youth in the era of hyper mobility, climate change, AI, and runaway consumerism, with particular attention to generation Z. In this context, sociologists concerned with youth related issues need to compare research evidence at regional and global levels as such studies can shed light on the recent trends with respect to the above phenomena in South Asia. Such a comparative analysis would help identify important implications for youth in the global south, particularly in South Asia.