The article discusses the basic global risks which concern youth in their everyday life and experiences. A tectonic shift in life orientations of youth occurred in the 1990s: private life (family, friendship, partnership) became the most important value. Young people are searching for private, biographicalanswers to structural problems. They are being forced to make early and well informed decisions about their life course, and the period of dependence or semi-dependence on their families of origin is being prolonged. In an era of "new individualism" youth is deconstructing itself into a crowd of individuals who privately seek the best possible life position while avoiding any collective action and thus missing the chance to become politically relevant
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