The Cost of Silence: What Happens When Young People Stop Speaking Up

The Cost of Silence: What Happens When Young People Stop Speaking Up - By Patricia

When the Filipino Youth Fall Silent

In my country, adults often say, “Mga bata pa lang naman ‘yan, ano magagawa nila?” (They’re just kids, what can they do?). There was a time when young voices filled the rooms: loud, restless, and impossible to ignore. But today, in many spaces, that sound is fading. Do the youth no longer care? They do. But speaking becomes exhausting when no one listens. Silence does not arrive suddenly; it grows until one day, the voice that once fought to be heard stops trying.

Young Filipino students live under constant pressure to succeed, pushing forward even while exhausted by overwhelming academic demands. In the country’s premier state university, the University of the Philippines (UP), only 17,996 out of 135,236 applicants passed the UPCAT: an acceptance rate of roughly 13% across nearly ten campuses. Meanwhile, private universities in the country can cost thousands of dollars a year, far beyond the daily wage of 13 dollars for an average Filipino worker.

This reality turns education into a fierce competition for limited and affordable opportunities. Over time, the pressure breeds burnout, especially for students whose strengths lie beyond standardized exams. When a system feels impossible to challenge, many grow silent—not because they agree, but because the struggle becomes the norm.

Fear also deepens the silence. Some young people who attempt to speak out face red-tagging, the act of labeling activists and critics as alleged enemies of the state. Reports from Amnesty International note that social media, such as Facebook, have been used to monitor and intimidate young activists, limiting their freedom of expression. Incidents involving missing or threatened human rights defenders have further intensified this fear. As a result, many choose silence over vulnerability. But silence, while safer, carries its own severe consequences.

When young people withdraw, participation fades. A 2024 study in Manila found that only 15.6% of youth respondents participated in Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) activities, despite SK being the primary platform for youth governance. Many cited time constraints, lack of engagement, and limited focus on real social issues. When participation declines, voices that could address poverty, inequality, and justice grow quieter. One disappearing voice makes others question whether theirs matters at all, creating a powerful domino effect.

Yet young people still care deeply. We see injustice, feel frustration, and hope for a better Philippines and a better world. But caring becomes exhausting when one feels powerless. Many are aware of corruption, from misused public funds to questionable infrastructure projects, yet feel too small to challenge systems that seem immovable. Silence, then, is not surrender; it is survival. Many grow silent not because they have given up, but because they are trying to preserve what little strength remains.

Still, history reminds us that youth voices have never been insignificant. During the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ended the Marcos dictatorship, young Filipinos stood among those who demanded change. Their courage proved that transformation does not begin with perfection, but only with urgency and truth. Even today, the spirit of questioning, resisting, and hoping lives on within the Filipino youth. Because silence may feel safe, but it has rarely changed anything.

In the end, speaking up does not require certainty, loudness, or fearlessness. Sometimes it begins with a small thought that refuses to disappear. The world does not need perfect voices, only honest ones willing to exist. Remember, the youth are not silent because they do not care, but because fear weighs heavily upon them. The question now is simple: despite that fear, will the Filipino youth choose to speak again?

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