Young people who are increasingly fragile, families called upon to become a point of reference once again, and a community that cannot expect to solve everything through bans and laws alone. The intervention by Emily Lazzari and Oliver Ronci of Generazione Libera takes as its starting point the recent case of a 12-year-old hospitalized in alcoholic coma at the State Hospital (Ospedale di Stato), broadening the discussion to mental health, alcohol consumption among the very young, and the educational role of adults.
The starting point is the image of a lighthouse in a storm. “For centuries, the lighthouse’s task was never to stop the storms. No light could calm the sea, flatten the waves or remove the rocks,” write Lazzari and Ronci. “Its function was something else entirely: to allow those sailing through uncertainty to know where the coast lay, which route to follow and, above all, how far it was safe to venture when everything else became indistinguishable in the darkness.”
Generazione Libera applies this metaphor directly to the relationship between parents and children. “Being a parent doesn’t mean eliminating every wave from your children’s course, nor stopping them from becoming independent, but it does mean being present, listening, accompanying them and, when necessary, having the courage to set a limit.” Even a “no,” they argue, can have a precise role: “A ‘no’, when it stems from responsibility rather than authoritarianism, doesn’t extinguish freedom — it gives it coordinates.”
According to Lazzari and Ronci, the risk is that the absence of boundaries gets mistaken for freedom, precisely during the years when children and adolescents most need points of reference. To back up this reflection, they cite data from the international WHO/HBSC survey, according to which the share of adolescents reporting high levels of family support fell from 73% in 2018 to 67% in 2022.
Generazione Libera also references figures from Aifa’s OsMed Report on the use of psychiatric medications among children and adolescents, showing prevalence rising from 0.30% in 2020 to 0.57% in 2024 and 0.64% in 2025. “It would be a mistake to identify psychiatric medication itself as the problem, because when clinically indicated it represents a fundamental therapeutic tool,” Lazzari and Ronci clarify. “The real question concerns what comes before the treatment — namely, why a growing share of young people end up needing it.”
The reasoning then turns to adolescent mental health. “The World Health Organization estimates that one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 lives with a mental health disorder. We are not looking at a generation to be judged, but one to be understood.”
Bringing the discussion directly back to San Marino is the recent episode involving the 12-year-old who ended up at the State Hospital after consuming alcohol. “This is something that cannot go unnoticed,” they stress, “given that we are talking about a very young girl who hasn’t even finished middle school, yet has already had immediate and dangerous access to alcoholic substances.”
Particularly in the spotlight is binge drinking — the consumption of large quantities of alcohol in a short time with the aim of quickly reaching a state of intoxication. Generazione Libera also cites a recent statement by group leader Michele Muratori, according to whom first experiences of alcohol abuse are being recorded as early as age 13, if not earlier.
A first line of defense has been put in place by raising the legal age for purchasing alcohol from 16 to 18. Lazzari and Ronci describe this choice as “an essential regulatory step to draw a boundary and raise community awareness.” But, they add, it cannot be enough on its own: “Laws alone are not sufficient unless they are accompanied by collective responsibility, widespread controls and a constant educational presence.”
Hence the commitment announced by Generazione Libera to look further into the phenomenon. “As Generazione Libera, we intend to examine these dynamics in depth without giving in to easy alarmism, but by tackling the issue at its root. The mental health and emotional wellbeing of the new generations must become an absolute priority.”
The closing message returns to the image chosen at the outset. “Helping young people understand that asking for support is not a sign of weakness, but an act of profound awareness and maturity, is the first step toward rebuilding that safety net. The task of a community is not to promise young people a sea free of storms, but to ensure that, when the waves rise, there is always a shore to steer toward and a lighthouse lit to show the way.”
