I am not a scary person; as much as I would like to pretend otherwise, no one is fooled. I have an affable face and there's nothing I can do about it. Unless I'm riled, my demeanor around strangers tends toward the polite, friendly innocence of a youth "raised properly". Which, to my intense irritation, leads to comments like "isn't he sweet" or "what a nice young man" (I'm not as nice as I appear). Let me make it especially clear to all girls out there, no matter how old you are: calling any male above the age of thirteen "sweet", "cute", or any other demeaning, insulting adjective will instantly and categorically destroy any chance of even friendship with that person. Seriously, don't do it.

Anyone who knows me well will be able to tell you that I often walk around with my face set in a tough, jaw-clenched squint. This is an attempt to counteract the "wouldn't hurt a fly" vibes I seem to unconsciously emit. It doesn't work. The best I can hope for is to look like a "nice", "sweet", "innocent" guy in a really, really, bad mood. Although for anyone remotely well acquainted with me the illusion (and illusion it is) soon wears off; if you saw me in the street you wouldn't be nervously fondling your cars keys for self-protection. Or so I had thought.

Last Wednesday found me huddled under a small tree, trying my best to weather the torrent of water that seemed determined to seep through every tiny gap in my jacket. It was my lunch break (work-experience week) and I'd arranged to meet a friend of mine, an aspiring lawyer and science whiz, on the church lawn. He was late. Bored, I was staring about me for something to look at, when I spotted a church propaganda poster on a message board some 50 meters away. Curious- I'm not religious but I find Christianity fascinating - I wandered over to investigate.

As I neared the sign, my path crossed close in front of a middle-aged woman carrying her shopping home. Preoccupied with the rain and my destination, I didn't even notice her until we almost collided. At our closest proximity I glanced up, and so did she. She started in surprise, and what I can only describe as terror clouded her face. It was over in an instant, yet I suspect that she thought I was going to attack her. But why?

We've already established my un-threatening persona. I was clothed respectably (my WE placement sported a formal dress code), the very vision of a responsible youth. Yet the moment I accidentally step into the path of a vulnerable adult, I'm a mugger, a yob, a thief...or god knows what else. That incident illustrated to me just how much the reputation of Britain's youths has suffered in recent years. The ever-increasing gap between the growing-older generation and the changing younger one is becoming a real problem within society.

You only have to read the letter section of a newspaper to hear about the "disintegration of the moral fabric of society, due to the breakdown of the British family". This seems to be a common explanation for the problem, although since, if that is the reason, it is incurable, I can't understand why they bother speculating. The issue is not the cause, but the consequence. Knife murder, street crime, muggings, drug abuse and other activities synonymous with youth are only minor problems compared to the ripple effect they cause. The major reason for concern is the feeling, spreading quickly through the public (especially the older generations) that young people can no longer be understood.