Why does the bond between young people and history matter? Using Hattusa as an example, read about adolescent identity, roots, the future and tips for parents.
"Why do we even have history lessons? What use is any of this to us?" Few parents or teachers have never heard this question from a teenager. For a young person growing up in Çorum, the question has an interesting twist: the Hittite capital they see in their school textbook stands just a short journey from their home. The relationship between young people and history is not only a matter of exam success; from a psychological perspective, it is also connected to identity, belonging and feelings about the future. In this article we take Hattusa as an example and look at what building a bond with the past means in adolescence, how this bond may affect a sense of the future, and what parents and teachers can do.
Young People and History: What Do the Figures Say?
Let us first state a limit: no study could be found that measures how well young people in Çorum know Hattusa, how many have visited it, or what they think about the city's historic heritage. The data we have is therefore indirect.
According to local news reports based on the Provincial Council Tourism Committee report, Boğazköy Museum and the Hattusa archaeological site received 56,833 visitors in 2023. The total number of visitors to Çorum's three main museums and archaeological sites was 117,424, and around 92% of them were domestic visitors. These figures do not include the age breakdown of visitors or the number who came on school trips; however, the strong predominance of domestic visitors suggests that school trips and family visits may play an important part in people's contact with heritage sites.
There is other data suggesting that Hattusa can be "current" rather than "old" for young people:
- Hattusa has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986; the Boğazköy tablets are on UNESCO's Memory of the World register.
- Excavations that began on the site in 1906 entered their 120th year in 2026. In the same season, 105 local workers worked alongside 55 scientists.
- In September 2026 it was announced that a fragment of a new Akkadian copy of the Treaty of Kadesh had been found at Hattusa.
- The excavation at nearby Alacahöyük, which began in 1935, is regarded as the first national excavation of the Republican era.
The fact that local workers take part in the excavations is also a meaningful detail for young people: this heritage is being brought to light not only by experts from afar but also through the labour of the region's own people.
So Hattusa is not just a photograph in a textbook; it is a living site where new findings emerge every year and where scientists and local workers labour together. This knowledge can be a starting point for changing how young people see history.
Why Does It Feel So Distant? A Sociological Reading
Several possible factors may lie behind young people keeping their distance from history. It is better to consider these not as definite causes but as factors worth reflecting on.
Exam-focused learning. Preparation for the LGS and YKS (Turkey's national high-school and university entrance exams) often turns history into a list of dates and names to be memorised. In this situation, the past can stop being a story to be curious about and become a burden.
Screen culture and speed. For a generation growing up among short videos and fast content, the "silent" world of stones thousands of years old may not seem attractive at first glance. This is not a deficiency; it is a sign that attention is being shaped in a different way.
Anxiety about the future. Finding a job, economic uncertainty and plans to move to a big city often keep young people's minds occupied with the future. The feeling "I don't have time to bother with the past" may be a natural result of this pressure.
Migration and disconnection. Young people who leave Çorum for education or work may limit their ties with their hometown to holiday visits. The city's historic heritage may not come up during these short visits.
Ownership of the narrative. History is sometimes presented to young people as a subject belonging to "grown-ups" or "experts". When they cannot find a space where they can ask their own questions and make their own interpretations, it becomes harder for them to form a personal bond with history.
Looking at these factors, the distance between young people and history can be seen less as a problem of "lack of interest" and more as a reflection of the conditions young people live in. This perspective makes it easier for adults to try to understand young people's world instead of blaming them.
Roots and Identity: The Place of the Past in Adolescence
Adolescence is a period in which identity formation is experienced intensely. The psychologist Erik Erikson described this period in terms of "identity versus role confusion": the young person searches for answers to the questions "Who am I, where do I belong, what do I want to become?" The answers to these questions relate not only to the present and the future but also to the past.
Roots can serve as a foundation in building an identity. The answers to questions such as "Where does my family come from, what has the city I grew up in been through?" can help young people see themselves as part of a larger story. But for this bond to be healthy, the young person also needs to be able to question the past. The past becomes more meaningful when it is presented not as a heritage to be accepted without question but as a resource from which young people can draw their own meaning.
Roots are not there to keep a young person in place, but to stop them toppling over as they grow.
In adolescence, the search for identity sometimes shows itself as rebellion against the past. A young person who says "What have I got to do with this city?" is actually trying to find their own way. This pushing back can be part of a healthy process of separation; it is important that parents see it not as a rejection but as a search. We look at the process of identity in adolescence in more detail in our article on identity in adolescence.
There is also a place identity dimension. Scannell and Gifford's (2010) model considers place attachment in three dimensions: person, process and place, in other words, who forms the bond, how the bond is experienced and which place it is directed towards. Adolescence is the first period in which this bond is consciously questioned. The city that was taken for granted in childhood is re-evaluated in adolescence as "boring", "small" or, on the contrary, as "my place". Which way this evaluation goes is closely linked to the experiences the young person has accumulated in that place. A trip with friends, a summer job or a memory of a festival can change the meaning the city holds for a young person.
How Does a Bond With the Past Affect a Sense of the Future?
It is thought that there is a psychological bridge between the past and the future. Someone who can feel the continuity of their own story can also imagine the future more easily.
A frequently cited study on this subject comes from Canada. In their study of Canada's First Nations communities, Chandler and Lalonde (1998) found that youth suicide rates were markedly lower in communities that took steps to preserve cultural continuity. This finding cannot be applied directly to Çorum or to Turkey; the historical and social conditions are very different. However, in the research literature it is regarded as an example of the idea that being able to build a sense of continuity with one's own past may support a sense of the future and psychological resilience.
We can describe this bond in everyday language like this: the feeling that "people on this land faced difficulties before me and carried on with their lives" can give a young person the message "I can overcome the difficulties I face, too". The fact that Hattusa was founded thousands of years ago, fell, and is being rediscovered today can be a powerful symbol of both fragility and continuity.
Let's say a young person preparing for the YKS, with intense worries about the future, sees the team excavating at Hattusa on a school trip and realises that archaeology is a real profession. Perhaps they will not become an archaeologist; but the idea that "I can turn something I'm interested in into a career" can add a sense of curiosity alongside their anxiety about the future. We look separately at anxiety about the future in young people in our article on young people's anxiety about the future.
Building a Bridge Between Young People and History: Suggestions for Parents and Teachers
Trying to "get young people interested" in history often backfires. What works better is opening up spaces where they can approach the past with their own questions. The following suggestions may offer some guidance:
- Plan the trip as an experience, not an obligation. Let the young person bring a friend of their choosing, take photographs or decide on their own route.
- Encourage asking questions. Questions such as "What would a young person living here have thought?" or "Who built these walls?" turn history into human stories.
- Make current connections. Talking about how excavations are still going on and new findings are emerging shows that history is not something "finished".
- Talk about family history. Grandmother's and grandfather's youth; which village or district the family came from... Family stories build a bridge between big history and personal history.
- Connect it with the young person's interests. For a young person interested in games, films or music, Hittite mythology, ancient scripts or excavation technologies may be engaging.
- Leave room for a critical view. Allow the young person to say "This is all exaggerated" or "This is no use to me", and listen to these views with curiosity.
- Avoid mythologising. Presenting the past as a flawless "golden age" can make it harder for a young person to form a realistic bond.
For teachers, designing school trips not just as a list of "places to see" but as an experience in which students follow their own research questions in small groups can help deepen the bond. We look at the meaning of growing up in a historic city in a broader context in our article on growing up with history in Çorum.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Young people not being interested in history or in their hometown is not a problem. However, the search for identity and anxiety about the future can sometimes reach a level that makes a young person's daily life difficult. In the following situations it may be helpful to talk to a professional:
- If the young person has for a long time been using expressions such as "I don't belong anywhere" or "I have no future"
- If anxiety about the future has noticeably disrupted their sleep, appetite or study routine
- If they are gradually withdrawing from friends, family and activities they used to enjoy
- If outbursts of anger, withdrawal or persistent unhappiness have continued for weeks
- If they talk about thoughts of harming themselves or show behaviour in this direction
The last point is an emergency: if there is a risk of the young person harming themselves, support should be sought without delay, and in an emergency 112 (emergency services) should be called. You can find more information on difficulties during adolescence on our adolescent counselling page.
How Are Identity and Anxiety About the Future Approached in Therapy With Adolescents?
The first step in therapy with adolescents is to build a safe relationship in which the young person can express themselves without being judged. Many young people may be distant at first because they think adults will try to "fix" them.
Within the framework of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), thoughts such as "There's nothing for me in this city" or "Whatever I do, I won't have a good future" are examined together. Breaking the young person's anxiety about the future into small, manageable steps, and reviewing the balance between exams, career choice and family expectations, can be part of the work.
On identity, the young person is helped to explore their values, interests and the story they tell about themselves. Their family history, the place they grew up and their feelings about these can also be discussed as part of that story. The aim is not to impose a particular identity on the young person but to open up a space where they can find their own answers.
For some young people, expressing themselves through art, writing or drawing can be easier than talking directly. In therapy, a young person drawing their own "life map", placing important memories and dreams on a timeline, can help them build a personal link between past and future. This work can help them see more clearly both where they come from and where they want to go.
Where needed, sessions can also be held with parents; this makes it easier for the family to understand and support the young person's search. These sessions can take place in Çorum face to face or online.
Frequently Asked Questions
My child has no interest in history at all. Is that a problem?
No. Every young person's interests are different. However, there can be different ways of building a bond with the past; family stories, links with subjects the young person is interested in, or new discoveries can spark this interest.
Do school trips really make a difference?
School trips are important opportunities that give young people their first contact with historic places. Designing the trip not as an obligation but as an experience where questions can be asked and things discovered can increase its impact.
Is it true that cultural ties protect young people?
A study in Canada showed that youth suicide rates were lower in communities that took steps to preserve cultural continuity. However, this finding belongs to a different context and cannot be directly generalised; cultural ties are only one of the factors that may be protective.
How should I support a young person who wants to get away from their hometown?
A young person's wish to find themselves in another city or a different life can be part of a healthy developmental process. Rather than pushing them to connect with their roots, listening to their wishes and keeping the door open strengthens your relationship.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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