Problems Faced by Present Generation Teenagers: A Study

This essay delves into the multifaceted problems confronting teenagers of the present generation, contrasting them with the challenges faced by earlier generations. The author highlights the impact of technological advancements, evolving societal attitudes, and the changing environment on teenagers' lives. The essay identifies key issues such as cyberbullying, social media insecurities, and employment concerns, which were largely absent in previous generations. Through personal reflection and referencing various sources, the paper examines the generational gap, exploring its causes and effects. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding these issues, particularly in the context of a liberal society where generational differences may be less pronounced, and aims to provide insights that could aid in addressing these challenges. The essay uses various sources to support its arguments, discussing unemployment, social media issues, and family dynamics as significant problems faced by today's youth.

Running head: PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
Problems faced by Present Generation Teenagers
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
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.

2PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
I live in one of the largest as well as one of the oldest democratic countries of the
world. 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.
I have a number of friends in my class as well as over the social media who are not
only from different countries but also from different cultural and social backgrounds and it is
through them that I have come to know that social framework within their nation and culture
is not as supportive or liberal as the one which I enjoy in the United States of America. They
tell me that the generational gap in their country is a very prominent thing and the people of
the older generation rarely understand the problems faced by the people of the younger
generation. As a matter of fact the problems faced by the teenagers belonging to the younger
generation are often duped as unnecessary fussing as well as whining of the teenagers. They
are not at all supportive of the problems which the teenagers belonging face and the support
which these teenagers are very meagre. Society plays a very important in the life of a
particular individual and it is generally that the quality or the kind of life which the person
leads depends on the kind of society in which he or she dwells in. Thus, I feel that I am very
lucky to be born in a liberal society where the generational gap is very rudimentary and the
people belonging to the older generation understand the problems faced by the younger
people and even try to help them out.

3PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
I am hoping that the people who will read my paper will be able to understand the
factor of generational gap and the problems which teenagers like me face in the present day
society. Some of these problems were not face by the people of the earlier generations and
thus I am hoping that they would try to actively help teenagers like us.
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 authors Sharlene Gale and
Graeme Codington in the article “Facing the Youth in the 21st Century” dwell on the
problem of 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

4PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
the older generation. 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. I
have placed this source at the very beginning since it this particular 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 authors Richard, Fry, Ruth Igielnik and Eileen Patten in the article
“How Millennials today compare with their grandparents 50 years ago” dwell on the problem
of unemployment which is being faced by the present generation people. It is generally seen
that the people belonging to the current generation are more educated than the previous
generations and in a way more skilled. Yet they are being unable to find adequate jobs as per
their qualifications and this has contributed in a significant manner towards the large number
of problems which they face in the present times. Furthermore, the authors are of the opinion
that the introduction of women folks in the workforce has greatly enhanced the level of
competition and this has adversely affected the prospects of many teenagers
Thus, the primary reason for the particular problem faced by the teenagers of the
present generation can be attributed to the unhealthy food which they consume. I have placed
this source as the second position since after the earlier source provided an overview of the
concept of generational gap and so it is only apt that the second source should state the

5PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
problems faced by the teenagers of the present generation which the teenagers of the earlier
generation did not face.
Moreover, Fry, Igielnik and Patten are of the opinion that the primary reason for the
problems faced by the teenagers of the present generation is “become they are more detached
from major institutions such as political parties, religion, the military and marriage”. I have
placed this particular source at the third position since along with the problem of obesity this
is another major problem faced by the teenagers of the present generation which was not
faced by the teenagers of the earlier generations.
The article “Madhuka published in Test big site in the year December 2013” also
dwells on the problem of unemployment faced by the people of the present generation and
states that unlike the earlier times when having adequate educational qualifications and skills
was enough to get a good job it is not so in the present times. Furthermore, the article also
states that the increasing population of the world has also added in a significant towards the
level of competition faced by these teenagers in field of job procurement. I have placed this
particular source at the fourth position since just like the earlier source this particular source
also states that unemployment is one of the major problems faced by the teenagers of the
present generation and the article considers the increase in the population of the world as one
of the major reasons for the increasing rate of unemployment among the teenagers of the
present generation. The author Derek Thompson in the article “Are Today's Youth Really a
Lost Generation?” refers to the teenagers belonging to the present generation as a lost
generation. The author also states that the present generation of teenagers had to face a lot of
problems which were not faced by the people belonging to the older generation. Thomson has
stated that “Young people are struggling in record numbers to find work, leave home, and
start a family, according to 2010 Census figures released today”. This is one of the major

6PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
problems which the people belonging to the present generation face the people of the older
generation did not face in their time.
The authors Carroll Jennie and others in the article “Problems faced by the youth
today. The youth of today has been widely outclassed “dwell on the generational gap which
exists between the people belonging to the older generation and the teenagers belonging to
the present generation and the problem which inevitably arises because of this. The major
factor which contributes to this particular generational gap and the resultant problems faced
by the teenagers is the communication gap which exists between them. Carroll et al. has
stated that “The main problem is the communication gap between them and their elders —
the former believing themselves to be old enough for taking their own decisions for matters
personal or social while the latter just refuse to hand over this responsibility to them”. I have
placed this source at the fifth position since it provides the reasons for the problems faced by
the teenagers of the present generation which were not being faced by the teenagers of the
earlier generations.
Teenagers have developed their own mechanism to take care of the problems which
they face and do not really believe in taking the help of the people belonging to the older
generation. I have placed this particular source at the last position since it provides an
overview of the manner in which the teenagers of the present generation try to overcome the
problems faced by them.
To conclude, the problems faced by the teenagers of the present generation are more
in number than the problems faced by the teenagers of the earlier generations. There are
various reasons for this particular aspect like the advancements in the field of technology,
landscape and others however the major one is the communication barrier which exists
between the teenagers and the older people. This communication gap can easily be bridged

7PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
over by little effort from both sides. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the problems faced
by the teenagers of the present though more numerous can be solved by effective cooperation
with the people belonging to the older generation.

8PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS
References
Carroll, Jennie, et al. Problems faced by the youth today. The youth of today has been widely
outclassed. February09, 2008; Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International
Conference on. IEEE, 2018. www.dawn.com/news/965881
Greatergood.berkeley.edu. "How Teens Today Are Different From Past Generations."
Greater Good. N.p.,
2018.Web.19June2018.https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/itemhow_teens_today_are_dif
ferent_from_past_generations
Madhuka published in Test big site in the year December 2013.https://www.testbig.com/ielts-
essays/some-people-feel-young-people-face-more-pressure-today-equivalent-age-groups-
did>. [Accessed on 20th June 2018]. 2018
Richard, Fry. Ruth, Igielnik and Eileen, Patten. “How Millennials today compare with their
grandparents 50 years ago.” Factank. (2009): n.pag.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/16/how-millennials-compare-with-their-
grandparents/
Sharlene Gale S. and Graeme Codington, Facing the Youth in the 21st Century. May
1999.pp.1- 133. www.researchgate.net/publication/301647194
Thompson, Derek. “Are Today's Youth Really a Lost Generation?” Business. (22 Sep. 2011):
n.pag. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/are-todays-youth-really-a-lost-
generation/245524/

9PROBLEMS FACED BY PRESENT GENERATION TEENAGERS