The London riots, which have kicked off over the past three days, has led to the tarnishing of the image of young people in the media. The images of young people brandishing pieces of wood, looting shops and clashing with police have fuelled a frenzy of stereotyping

However, it seems that youth clean-up campaigns have been overlooked. Organised under the tag #riotcleanup, social media networks have been used to mobilise young people in cleaning up the riot mess.

In addition those who have written about this issue seem completely out of touch. Clive Bloom, writing for The Financial Times, has coined a new term, classifying an ‘underclass’ of youth as the ‘Nando’s Generation’ and defined by consumerism.

Here at Live, we have up to a hundred young people from inner-city/ lower socioeconomic/ disadvantaged/difficult backgrounds (stereotype as you want) getting involved in writing, photography, graphic design and online journalism – defining themselves through positive volunteering. We work with various organisations, including the aforementioned popular dining hang out, to encourage good citizenship amongst young people, improve financial literacy, develop technical skills or gain pathways into employment in the media or elsewhere. 

It is that kind of rhetoric that works to suck the aspirations from the minds of young people – forcing them into a violent cycle of self-defeat and failure (a far more probable motivation for the rioters) and exacerbating the real causes behind the rioters and the problem as a whole.

Only by providing the communities of rioters with real motivation and aspiration can we solve this issue. Government funding cuts for youth centres, voluntary organisations and youth projects will only make this problem worse.

It is time for journalists, politicians and the public at large to pay more attention to young people and what they have to say – rather than dismissing and stereotyping us as the ‘hoodie’-donning ‘Nando’s generation’.

Written by Rizwan Syed.