IS QUANTITY OR QUALITY ESSENTIAL FOR THE YOUNG POPULATION?

If we consider the power through the young population, my personal opinion would be quality. Because even though we are at the top of the list of countries in terms of population when considering the young population around the world, we are always at the bottom of the rankings in terms of action.

According to the first data of 2023, the total population of Turkey is 85 million 279 thousand 553 people.

The population defined as the young population in the 15-24 age group is announced as 12 million 949 thousand 817 people. While our country ranks 18th among 194 countries in terms of population size, it constitutes 1.1% of the world's total population. Although the age range defined as young is determined as 15-25 by UNESCO, the youth period in our country is based on the 15-24 age range determined by the United Nations Organization (UN).

Although many issues arise when we consider the young population from a sociological perspective, what draws attention is whether this population is important in quantitative or qualitative terms. There is a belief in our society that has survived from the past on this subject.

"We are strong if we are many, we cannot be strong if we are few."

So is it really like that?

So are we really strong if we are many?

Or is being strong related to being numerically numerous?

What is meant by being strong?

Can quantity, if not quality, change the balance of power? Questions like these are some of the first questions that come to our mind. Being strong means having the ability to do something. Being strong is not just having the power to destroy. There is power in understanding things, there is power in winning a war, there is power in getting a degree in a competition. Power is not a relative concept, but it is important in understanding the purpose for which power is used. If we consider the power through the young population, my personal opinion would be quality. Because even though we are at the top of the list of countries in terms of population when considering the young population around the world, we are always at the bottom of the list of activities. So why? Since we always evaluate the obvious issue in quantitative terms, we cannot get anywhere in terms of quality.

What matters is quality. Even though we have a large young population, we have very few young people who are self-educated, experts in their fields, have made a name for themselves, built a career, and made their reputation known to the world. Although everything progresses and changes very quickly in our age, we can only keep up by coming from behind. Our youth must improve themselves qualitatively. It is not important to have many children, the important thing is whether we can educate our children adequately and get them somewhere, that is the real issue. When I say getting promoted, I don't mean just studying and getting a diploma and getting a job as a civil servant somewhere. Supporting our child in an area that suits his/her own structure and characteristics, where he can give 100% of his talent, is to help him progress on that path and make him an expert in his field. Look, in the near future, we will not even be able to find a master to do repairs. From where? Because everyone wants their child to be a doctor, teacher, judge, prosecutor, etc., but only a few of them want to choose the professions you target, or let's say you made them choose the professions you target, but let's say they don't have the talent in that direction and can't get anywhere, and then they live their most productive life as unemployed people with a diploma. He wastes his life for the sake of stubbornness and then, before he can get anywhere, he either works as a waiter, a driver, or runs away abroad, etc... In other words, your child should determine the goal, not you, you should only help him in choosing his goal.

Let's say that a career choice has been made, is the issue closed? Never. The child is just starting to realize that he needs to progress in that field, and he needs to be constantly alert so that he can perform a profession properly and have a peace of mind. Do not forget that the important thing is not too many children, but well-equipped children. There is no rule that everything will be fine when there is a majority. Look, when you listen to the life stories of people who lived in the past, our elders, you always hear difficulties, always scarcity, always contentment, but when you ask, those people enjoy even talking about those times and express that they are happy, because happiness is not brought by the abundance of things, but by being valuable. . Today, people's living standards are much higher than in previous years, but our people are more unhappy. The opportunities are much greater than in the past, but today the action is less. The population is much higher than in previous periods, but today the experience is less. The diversity of professions is greater than in the past, but today there are fewer qualified personnel. Children's education opportunities are greater than in the past, but considering the opportunities and rates, the level of education is lower today. Our population is large, our army is stronger than in previous years, but considering the conditions of our age, our technological development and power are less. Our educational diversity is greater than in past periods, but common sense is less today. Technology has advanced a lot. Nowadays, we can do a job in ten minutes, which used to take an hour. Our opportunities have increased. We do our jobs faster than in the past, but nowadays we can find less time.

To put it briefly;

If you spend overtime, the amount of time you spend is the quantity, the quality you produce.

Life may be quantity, but your life is quality.

If there is no quality, the existence of quantity is in doubt.

"It's quality rather than quantity that matters."

Stoic thinker (Seneca)