“Life has never been so good.” To what extent is this true for young people today?
In today’s seemingly peaceful society, it is not uncommon to hear elderly family members or relatives express their firm beliefs in how young people today have it easy in life. This leads many to question whether young people today really have as good a life as some claim. While it is true that times have changed and that young people today are spared from facing certain problems which had plagued past generations, it is also only fair that one should take into account other considerations before deciding to agree with such a statement. In this essay, I intend to refute the commonly-held misconception that young people today definitely have a good life, by addressing some problems faced by young people, aged below 35, on the individual, societal and international levels.
A very common problem faced by young people today is stress. Stress can originate from many sources, be it the rigours of school life, or the demanding work life in the case of young working adults. A survey conducted on teens in
Another problem faced by young people today is the competitiveness of the society. The unforgiving nature of any society causes stiff competition for people, in particular young people. A slip-up in the strive for success in the society could prove to be a costly mistake. A report published by a Malaysian national newspaper in 2006 reveals that 70% of all public university graduates in
Indeed, it can be seen thus far that life might not necessarily be good for the young people of today. What more, with the rising threat of terrorism in the world. Terrorist activities are on-going problems and they have increased dramatically over the past decade resulting in a huge concern about the safety of all people, not just young people. The most devastating and terrorising attack being the “September 11 Incident”, involving the hijacking and crashing of two planes into the World Trade Centre in
Critics of this stand may argue that with rising standard of living in most countries, young people today actually have an increasingly comfortable life. However, having addressed the problem of stress and competition in the society faced by young people, one would hasten to state that a higher standard of living actually indirectly causes these two problems. This is mainly due to the fact that with a higher standard of living, people are under more stress to maintain it, also resulting in an increasing level of competitiveness in the society. Hence, a higher standard of living does in fact indirectly add to the problems faced by young people today, and might not necessarily result in a better life for young people today.
Others may also argue that the world is generally more peaceful today, compared to the past which had seen the World Wars and other hardships. This shows that young people today have a better life compared to past generations. However, while there may not be an on-going World War like in the past, young people today face other problems of their own. These problems cannot be compared to past problems in the same way. There are problems of widespread sexually-transmitted diseases and famine in
In conclusion, the idea that young people today are having it easier in life may seem inviting at first, but after examining some of the problems faced by young people today on the individual, societal and international levels, it would be unfair to say that life today has never been so good, especially for young people.
Upon request by Alicia. (:
