Decoding the Equation of Youth: The Complexity of Younger DaysYouth is like an indecipherable cipher. This period that everyone experiences at least once is a complex entanglement of joy, pain, and infinite possibility — and grasping its full picture is an extraordinarily difficult task. Yet when viewed through the lens of data, we can find clues to decode at least some aspects of this cipher. The reason youth feels like "an eternal cipher" may lie in its many-faceted nature, and in the difficulty young people have putting their own emotions and experiences into words.Youth Lasts Until Hope Is Lost — and You Can Still Be Young at 80Riku Onda's words — "youth is always a cipher" — succinctly capture the complexity, opacity, and difficulty of decoding adolescence. Just as a cipher yields no meaning without the right key, youth too is a period in which multiple elements intertwine in intricate ways: the individual's own inner transformation, relationships with those around them, and interactions with society. Its meaning is not easily read.The phrase "youth lasts until hope is lost" carries a profound insight — that the end of youth is not merely a chronological boundary, but is deeply tied to one's inner state, and in particular to whether "hope" is present or absent. If youth is a "cipher," then perhaps the passion to decode it, the spirit of inquiry that seeks unknown answers, is itself the very source of hope. To lose hope is to exhaust that spirit of exploration and to give up on seeing possibility in the future.From this perspective, the question "can one still be young at 80?" is deeply suggestive. If youth is defined by hope and a spirit of inquiry, then it need not be confined to any particular age. As long as one remains curious, faces new challenges without fear, and continues to look forward to the future — transcending the physical constraints of age — a person can remain in their "youth" indefinitely. This is a universal truth the question illuminates. It is both a challenge to conventional perceptions of aging and a philosophical proposition that expands the possibilities of how one might live at every stage of life.More specifically, this idea suggests several dimensions. There is the openness of possibility toward the future: youth is filled with a vague sense of anticipation toward a self not yet fully formed, a future that could be anything. This hope in "what is to come" is the driving force that propels young people forward. Even at 80, taking up a new hobby, deepening one's learning, contributing to society — these forward-looking actions are proof of hope. As long as one does not stop questioning oneself and the world, opportunities for new discovery and growth never run dry. To lose hope is synonymous with ending this journey of exploration and placing a lid over one's own potential. A lifelong commitment to learning and continuing to confront one's inner self is precisely what we might call a youthful spirit of inquiry.Young people have the power to recover from failure and setback, and to find renewed hope. But when even that resilience is worn away by repeated hardship and the harshness of society, hope dims and youth may come to an end. Yet this resilience is an inner strength that can be maintained regardless of age.Hope is not only an inner state — it is also shaped by the social environment. A society pervaded by a sense of stagnation, or conditions that obstruct challenge, can strip hope from young people and hasten the end of their youth. Conversely, if more opportunities exist for older people to take on challenges, and more spaces for intergenerational exchange are created, a society in which even an 80-year-old can flourish in their youth may become a reality.An Age of UncertaintyAdolescence is a time of standing at major crossroads in life. The road leading from high school to university and then into society is filled with infinite choices and uncertainty. One survey found that approximately 60% of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 reported feeling a vague sense of anxiety about their future (Cabinet Office, "Survey on Youth Attitudes," 2022). This figure vividly illustrates the complex state of mind of young people confronting challenges spanning career paths, employment, and human relationships. They witness social changes that their parents' generation did not face — the collapse of lifetime employment and the fading of seniority-based systems — and find themselves in a situation where it is difficult to draw a firm blueprint for the future.Economic pressure further amplifies young people's anxiety. Another survey found that roughly 40% of Japan's youth reported feeling anxious about achieving financial independence — a comparatively high figure even among developed nations (Nikkei, "Youth Economic Anxiety Outstanding Among OECD Members," 2023). Factors including student loan repayment, the rise of non-regular employment, and price increases all intertwine, making it difficult for young people to plan for a stable life ahead. These economic constraints have a significant impact on their career choices and development, and may even obstruct the path to self-actualization. As Riku Onda's writing suggests, the vague "sense of unease" they carry is deeply connected to changes in social structure. This highlights what might be called the "paradox of freedom" in contemporary life — no matter how hard individuals strive, their freedom is constrained by the great "cipher" of social structure. Young people feel that even as they seek freedom, their choices are being narrowed by invisible social forces. In such circumstances, maintaining "hope" becomes extremely difficult.Interestingly, data also shows that approximately 75% of this age group feel they have "not yet found where they truly belong" (Benesse Educational Research Institute, "Survey on High School Students' Career Awareness," 2021). This figure reveals the reality of young people searching for identity between themselves and society, and continuing to question their own purpose. In a constantly changing environment, they are desperately struggling to establish their own values and goals. This sense of "not belonging" often arises from the gap between social expectations and their own desires. It is also an expression of existentialist questioning — the fundamental search for self: "Who am I?" and "Where do I belong?" In a world where established values are wavering, they are compelled to re-examine their own reason for being.Light and Shadow of the Digital Native GenerationToday's young people are digital natives — a generation for whom the internet and social media have existed since birth. They can obtain information in an instant and connect with people around the world. According to one statistic, approximately 90% of teenagers use social media every day, with an average usage time exceeding three hours per day (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "White Paper on Information and Communications," 2023). This shows that digital space has become indispensable infrastructure in their lives.However, this connectivity is a double-edged sword. Glimpsing other people's seemingly brilliant lives through social media sometimes fosters in young people a sense of comparison and inferiority. Research has shown a correlation between excessive social media use and declining self-esteem and increased feelings of loneliness among young people (National Institutes of Health, "Research on Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health," 2020). Data also shows that among young people who spend long hours on social media, roughly 40% feel their happiness is low (Dentsu, "Youth Awareness Survey," 2022). This suggests that digital connections may be weakening real-world connections and placing a mental burden on young people. Superficial metrics such as "likes" and follower counts obscure the depth of genuine human relationships, and may actually deepen feelings of isolation. Behind the complex human relationships of youth depicted by Onda, there may be the shadows cast by this kind of digital interaction. Young people, growing accustomed to relationships mediated by screens, may be losing opportunities to develop direct communication skills and empathy. This symbolizes a contradiction of modern society — "isolation in an age of connection." Technology narrows physical distance while widening emotional distance and making true empathy more difficult. This situation risks robbing young people of the chance to find hope within genuine connection with others.The Search for Self-Expression and CreativityOn the other hand, digital space is also an important arena for young people's self-expression. Through video posting, blogging, and online communities, they broadcast their interests and talents and find like-minded peers. One survey found that approximately 70% of Generation Z responded that "self-expression online is important for understanding oneself" (Pew Research Center, "Survey on Gen Z's Digital Life," 2022). This can be seen as evidence that they are using digital tools to establish their identities and cultivate their creativity. The ability to express the world through their own filters — unbound by existing media or frameworks — and to connect with others who share their values is a great strength of this generation.For example, a survey conducted by a group of young entrepreneurs found that approximately 55% of young people aged 18 to 29 said they "would like to run their own business in the future" (Recruit Works Institute, "Survey on Youth Career Awareness," 2023). This reflects their strong desire to cut their own path into the future, unconstrained by existing frameworks. They are taking full advantage of the benefits of an information society and striving to create new value. Young people who use new methods such as crowdfunding and social media marketing to give shape to their unique ideas are, in a sense, decoding the "cipher" and forging a new era. Their creativity holds the potential to break through social stagnation. This can also be interpreted as a manifestation of what Nietzsche described as the "will to the Übermensch" — the vital drive to transcend one's own limitations and create new values. As long as they continue these challenges, hope will not be lost, and their youth will continue.Hints for Decoding the Cipher, and SocietyThe key to decoding the cipher of youth is probably not a single one. This is because, just as each young person possesses a different individuality and set of experiences, diverse interpretations exist. But as the data suggests, the search for self amid uncertainty, coexistence with digital society, and the drive toward new creation emerge as common themes.In order to understand young people and help them decode their cipher, we must confront the facts that the numbers reveal. It is important to receive the anxieties they carry, encourage healthy engagement with digital spaces, and above all, believe in their infinite potential and support their challenges. Society as a whole is called upon to provide an environment in which young people can safely fail, learn from that failure, and rise again. The educational system too should shift away from simply filling students with standardized knowledge, and move toward cultivating critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and psychological resilience. This also connects to the philosophical challenge of "balancing the respect for the individual with coexistence." It is essential to explore a path in which young people pursue self-actualization while society as a whole supports and coexists with them.Young people in adolescence live amid emotions and impulses they cannot put into words, and in the midst of complex relationships. Data can objectively reveal the social factors and behavioral patterns behind those emotions, but decoding the inner "cipher" of each individual young person still requires dialogue with them directly. By gaining deep insight into the true intentions behind their complex states of mind and behaviors, we can come to understand even greater depths of the intricate cipher that is youth. And ensuring that young people do not "lose hope" — keeping that light burning across society as a whole — may be precisely what enables each one of us, regardless of age, to sustain our own "youth." The growth in numbers of people who continue to hold intellectual curiosity and a desire to take on new challenges even at 80 will also contribute to the vitality of society as a whole. Perhaps the time has come to redefine youth — no longer as a period belonging to a specific age group, but as a concept denoting a state of mental and spiritual activity.SourcesYouth Is Always a Cipher — Riku Onda Cabinet Office, "Survey on Youth Attitudes" Nikkei, "Youth Economic Anxiety Outstanding Among OECD Members" Benesse Educational Research Institute, "Survey on High School Students' Career Awareness" Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "White Paper on Information and Communications" National Institutes of Health, "Research on Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health" Dentsu, "Youth Awareness Survey" Pew Research Center, "Survey on Gen Z's Digital Life" Recruit Works Institute, "Survey on Youth Career Awareness"