The social development of young people is a single, continuous process, the objective of which is for young people to absorb the social experience accumulated by preceding generations and to renovate that experience in qualitative ways and transmit it to future generations. In as much as it is a component of more general processes of the reforming of society, the "social development" of young people has a number of characteristics that stem from the specific place that this group occupies in society. Based on surveys conducted by these authors, it was found that the young citizens of Kazakhstan are not sufficiently included in the system of social relations. Some of the reasons for this are: (1) limited opportunities for self-realization as a subject of social relations; (2) low social status; and (3) the lack of legislative support for the social welfare of young people. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)