I don't believe that things are as bad as Donal MacIntyre (Letters, July 27) would have them. I think the idea of a "lost generation" is fatuous, and I consider that those who indulge in reportage about young people should show respect to all young people by weighing their headlines carefully. That word "academic" doesn't make MacIntyre a disinterested observer.

Hilton Dawson, chief executive, Shaftesbury Homes and Arethusa

Wednesday August 10, 2005
The Guardian - Letters
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1545545,00.html