Today, while thousands of young people spend hours on social media, the fact that bookstores, theaters, and movie theaters remain empty points to a much deeper issue: the gradual weakening of young people’s connection with culture and the arts. One of the main reasons for this is that access to cultural and artistic activities is becoming more expensive every day. When book prices range between 200 and 250 TL, concert tickets between 500 and 1000 TL, and cinema tickets between 150 and 200 TL, young people are inevitably pushed toward cheaper and more easily accessible alternatives. Even a student who wishes to read a book, attend a concert, or go to the cinema just once a month has to allocate a serious budget. This makes regular participation in culture and the arts almost impossible.
Due to financial barriers, young people are confined not to the true face of culture but to the superficial and often artificial world of social media. They are forced to read books as PDFs, watch films on illegal websites, and wait for free events in order to attend concerts. This situation negatively affects not only individual development but also the cultural future of the country. Because a generation that does not engage with art struggles to develop creativity, to see the world from different perspectives, and to express itself.
At this point, ministries, municipalities, and relevant institutions carry significant responsibility. Projects, campaigns, and special support programs that increase the participation of young people aged 16 to 26 in cultural and artistic activities must be implemented urgently. In addition to educational scholarships, creating culture and arts scholarships and providing young people with free or discounted access to events through monthly quotas would make a serious difference.
Moreover, the inequality of opportunities between the eastern and western parts of our country constitutes another important dimension of this issue. The fact that most concerts are held in metropolitan cities and that newly released films first reach cinemas in these cities restricts access to cultural activities for young people living in smaller Anatolian towns. The concentration of culture and art in major cities effectively leaves young people in other regions outside this sphere.
Yet culture and art are indispensable forces not only for individual development but also for the progress of society as a whole. In order for young people to step into this world more easily, economic, geographical, and social barriers must be reduced. More affordable ticket prices, traveling theater and concert projects, festivals organized in smaller cities, and student-oriented subscription systems can all play an effective role in addressing this issue.
In short, rebuilding a strong connection between young people and culture and the arts is of great importance both for their personal development and for the future of the country. Therefore, offering young people not only financial support but also a fair and sustainable system through which they can access culture and the arts should be a shared responsibility of us all.
Tugay Şen
Yücel Kültür Vakfı
Volunteer Writer