The way of life and needs of young people in the villages of the Pčinja area: The example of the villages of Tibužde, Rataje and Vrtogoš

Abstract

The majority of rural youth do not see their strengths and opportunities for progress from socially rooted family relationships, as well as from the place of living. As such, together with the city's youth, is on the edge of Serbian society's system. Faced with numerous problems and accompanying phenomena, such as the prolonged youth due to education or the economic dependence on parents, the feeling of deprivation dominates among the rural youth, i.e. the state of completely or insufficiently fulfilled psychological, social or emotional needs. Migration of rural youth is generally one of the biggest issues of rural areas all over the world, including Serbia. A number of reasons attract rural youth population to the city (so-called pull factors): better livelihood prospects, a greater offer of jobs, higher level of earnings, entertainment contents, better opportunities for professional success, anonymity as well as a variety of goods and services, etc. The repulsive factors found in the countryside (the so-called push factors) are: shortage of arable land, unemployment, low and uncertain income and level of earnings, social control and dependence, monotony and boredom, insufficiently diverse offer of goods and services, etc. On the other hand, those who do not speak in favor of resettlement see the village as a place of greater freedom and peace.