I’m not sure if Ian has picked up on this, but in amongst a whole load of bad press about young people, BBC Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton has blogged Ten Reasons to Cheer Our Teenagers.

Number one on the list, and a point to be bearing in mind in amongst talk of ASBO’s is that teenagers are much more likely to be doing voluntary work than people from any other generation, indeed they are ten times more likely to be volunteering in our communities than regularly being antisocial in them.

Needless to say some of the statistics quoted have produced negative comments – the record levels of teenagers achieving 5 GCSE grades for a start had produced accusations that the exams are now easier, however the article finished up with an important comment putting the list into context:

This list doesn’t mean teenagers are all little angels. They aren’t and they never have been. But it would be a shame to demonise a social group that is actually happier, achieving at a higher level, with better health and more opportunity for travel, sport and cultural activities than any previous generation in our history.