Problems Faced by Present Generation Teenagers Compared to Earlier Generations

Tong Wu
Molly Ubbesen
English 102-205
July 13, 2018
A12
The lifestyle as well as the environment of the world has changed in a significant manner over
the years and this has affected in a significant manner the kind of life which the people of the
present generation lead. Technology, recent innovation and the change in the attitude as well as
the thinking pattern of the people and others have contributed in a significant to bring about this
change. Thus, it is generation that the lifestyle of the people of the present generation, especially
the teenagers, is drastically different from the lifestyle of the people and the teenagers of the
earlier generations. However, with this change in lifestyle the problems which the teenagers of
the present generation, especially the teenagers have to face are starkly different from the
problems faced by the teenagers of the earlier generations. As a matter of fact, some of the
problems like cyber bulling, social media insecurities, job related issues and others which the
teenagers of the present generation had to deal with were unheard of among the teenagers of the

earlier generations. It is a general misconception of the people that the recent changes have
greatly simplified the lives of the teenagers however that is not the case.
My intended goal in this paper is to show the problems which the present generation of teenagers
face in comparison to the teenagers of the earlier generations. The paper will also try to shed
light on the generational gap which exists between the teenagers of the present generation and
the teenagers of the earlier generations while explaining at the same time the possible reasons for
the same. The paper will also take the help of various sources and will give an outline of these
sources to drive home the point which I am trying to make. I have a personal interest in this
particular concept since I also belong to the same group of teenagers who are facing the kinds of
problems which were unheard of in the earlier times. My interest in the topic therefore is a
personal one and stems from my personal experiences and the problems which I face as a
teenager belonging to the current generation.
I studied in America for a long time, people in this country are very liberal and can proactively
express their opinion as well as the way they feel about certain things. In addition to this, it is
generally seen that the people from various generations interact freely with each other and as a
result the generational gap is not much of a factor in this particular regard. I would like to add in
this particular context that my parents and other members of my family and others in my social
circle are very supportive of me and they generally stand by the decisions which I have made and
even totally respect them. Furthermore, they totally appreciate the problems which I face because
of the changes in the landscape of the world and even help me to come with relevant solutions
which are likely to help me to get over them.
Unemployment is perhaps one of the major problems which the teenagers belonging to the
present generation face. It is true that the number of companies as well as business organizations

in the present times have increased in a significant manner than they were in the earlier times
however the population of the world has at the same time also increased in a significant manner.
Social media and other electronic media issues are another significant problem which the present
generation youths face. Social media have become an indispensible part of the present day
youths and it provides various kinds of benefits to them. However, at the same time there are
various negative aspects of the usage of social media as well cyber bullying, hate crimes and
others which the youths need to deal with. Family issues are another significant problem which
the youths need to take care of. This particular problem mainly arises because of the generational
gap which exists between the parents and their children.
The article “How Teens Today Are Different From Past Generations” by
Greatergood.berkeley.edu focuses on the concept of generational gap between the people of the
older generation and the teenagers belonging to the present generation. The author states that one
of the major reasons for the generational gap which exists between the people belonging to the
older generation and the teenagers of the present generation is because of the self-centeredness of
the youths of the present generation. The article “How Teens are different from Past
Generations” focusses on how the generation of the present age is formed owing to the social
along with the political events. The lives of the teenagers are greatly impacted by the advent of
mobile technology along with the social media (Greatergood.berkeley.edu.). The source
elaborates on the role that new media has played in making the teenagers depressed and anxious.
Is it the cell phones and the use of the internet that is driving the youth of the present generation
towards depression? Is the spending of around six hours by texting and web surfing is leading to
their mental health problem? The national rise of the mental health problems of the teenagers can
be said to be synonymous with market penetrating of that of the i-Phone. The source throws light

on the fact that the students who enter the college at the present times are afraid of making
mistakes as they have been over-parented. The teenagers of the present age are close to that of
their parents but “income inequality that demoralizes their hopes for the future”. The inequality
that the young generation perceive causes havoc in their life and is a cause of misery of their life.
The authors Sharlene Gale and Graeme Codington in the article “Facing the Youth in the
21st Century” has however talked about a different aspect pertaining to the young generation.
They have talked about obesity and state that this is one of the major problems which are being
faced by the teenagers of the present generation which was not being faced by the people
belonging to the older generation (Sharlene and Graeme). According to these authors, obesity
disrupts the mental equilibrium of the young generation that the people of the previous
generation did not have to face. The authors attribute this particular fact to the insistence of the
teenagers belonging to the present generation to eat more fast foods as well as readymade foods
unlike the people of the older generation who used to depend on the homemade foods. Sharlene
and Codington said that “this is one of the reasons for the ever decreasing life span of the present
generation people”. The author further states that the teenagers of the present generation do not
take much heed of the opinions as well as the suggestions of the people belonging to the other
generation and are highly confident about themselves and this has contributed in a significant
manner towards the generational gap that exists between them. This source provides a clear idea
about the concept of generation and I believe that an understanding of this particular concept is
important before we can undertake to understand the problems faced by the teenagers of the
present generation in comparison to the people of the older generation and the causes for it. The
article, “Facing the Youth in the 21st century” talks about obesity and how it leads to health
repurcussions for the teenagers of the present generation. The source has brought to light the fact