Young people have challenged conventional expectations about marriage, saying the decision to marry should be based on personal values, compatibility, readiness and the ability to build together rather than simply meeting social expectations.
The views emerged during a special 18th anniversary edition of Springboard, Your Virtual University, which gave young people an opportunity to speak openly about marriage, dating, friendships, mentoring, networking and the pressures that shape their choices.
The broadcast, themed What Young People Are Saying, deliberately moved away from giving young people prescribed answers and instead invited them to share their actual views, including areas where they were uncertain or disagreed with one another.
One of the most striking debates centred on whether young people should wait until they were financially established before getting married.
One participant said he would want to have his own house, a vehicle, sufficient money and a trust fund for his future children before marriage. He said he would have no problem getting married at 50 if that was what it took to achieve those goals.
The position, however, was challenged by Charles Karim Bosomprah, Chief Executive Officer of Prymage Consultancy, who argued that marriage could also be a partnership in which two people build their future together.
Mr Bosomprah said young people could find the right person and begin building together rather than waiting until they had completed every personal and financial goal. He explained that couples who understand the journey they are beginning together can achieve more by building as partners than by trying to complete everything individually before marriage.
The discussion also raised questions about whether young people are placing too much emphasis on physical appearance when choosing partners.
While some participants prioritised values, another openly admitted that physical attraction would come first because a person needed to be attracted to someone before taking time to discover their values.
The debate over marriage also extended to age, with participants offering different views on the appropriate time to marry and whether a partner should be older or younger. Rather than settling on a single answer, the discussion highlighted the increasingly individual nature of decisions about marriage among young people.
The broadcast then turned to another area of concern: how young people build relationships and professional networks. Participants debated whether relationships should be deliberately targeted or allowed to develop organically.
While some supported deliberately approaching people whose experience or networks could contribute to their growth, others warned against approaching relationships solely for personal gain. One participant said young people often focus on what they can get from accomplished people without considering what they themselves can contribute.
Mr. Chris Diaba, a People Capability leader and coach who participated in the discussion, similarly stressed the importance of becoming valuable to others in building meaningful relationships.
He said people who value relationships should not focus only on what others can do for them, but should also consider how they can support and add value to those relationships.
The discussion formed the second part of the special anniversary series, following an earlier edition that focused on themes including leadership, career development, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and technology.
For host Pastor Albert Ocran, the decision to place young people at the centre of the anniversary conversations was deliberate. He said Springboard could not assume that intelligent, ambitious and accomplished young people did not have ideas of their own, stressing the importance of allowing them to express those ideas freely.
He also encouraged participants to remain open to changing their views when new knowledge and life experiences challenged their earlier positions.
The special broadcast marked 18 years since Springboard, Your Virtual University began broadcasting on August 4, 2008. Pastor Albert Ocran used the anniversary to acknowledge the programme’s listeners and viewers, resource persons, sponsors, media partners and production team, whose support has sustained the programme over the years.
The anniversary conversation ultimately revealed a generation that is willing to question established expectations about marriage, financial readiness, relationships and personal development.
Rather than presenting one definition of what young adulthood should look like, the young participants offered different perspectives, openly acknowledged uncertainty and challenged one another’s assumptions.
For Springboard, Your Virtual University, the significance of the 18th anniversary was therefore not only a celebration of how far the programme has come, but also an opportunity to listen to the generation it has spent nearly two decades speaking to.
Watch full episode here… https://www.youtube.com/live/aSkI9sLvTUw?si=DdWNgwLkSNXezpqE
About Springboard, Your Virtual University
Springboard, Your Virtual University, is a weekly motivational and personal development broadcast produced by the Springboard Road Show Foundation and hosted by Pastor Albert Ocran. The broadcast airs every Sunday at 7 PM on Joy 99.7 FM and on Springboard Channel (YouTube) and at 9 PM on Joy News TV.
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