- Ajay Sooklall
- Schenectady, NY
- United States
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Do you think our current generation is a bunch of lazy and privileged bums?
Exactly what the title reads. Many people are ignorant and will say "Kids Today are a bunch of lazy privileged bums" and not even know what they are saying. I am doing an English project and my job is to disprove that statement. I am supposed to reach at least 50 people and convince one person that this statement is not true.
About 40% of all young adults ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in either a two- or four-year college in October 2008. How can we be privileged when we are plagued with high levels of student debt? The economy took a big hit from the recession and our generation is expected to pay for the mistakes of others. The average high school student is expected to pay more than 10 thousand dollars to help make the economy stable again. Given all the things we have to pay back I say we are far from privileged. That not even mentioning how hard it is to find a stable job. Our generation is forced to pay the highest gas prices ever in the United states.
The typical grade-point average in college rose to about 3.11 by the middle of the last decade, from 2.52 in the 1950s. Grades rising are proof that we are not lazy. The share of college students working full time generally grew from 1985 onward. Between 1989 and 2006, the share of teenagers who were volunteering doubled, to 26.4 percent from 13.4 percent. Volunteer work is the ultimate sign of someone not being lazy. i care about this because I am part of this generation and do not want to have any of these labels. Have I convinced any of you about this generation not being lazy? Please let me know in the comments. Last thing, if I was lazy would I have taken the time to write all this?
Charles Curt
Gordon Barker 10+
What I see today and have seen since the early 60's is generation after generation growing up in a world unlike the one their parents inhabited.
From the middle of the last century and earlier, young adults grew up in the world they were going to inhabit.
Since then, every generation has had to start out from square one, and find their own way. Looking back you can see each generation creating their own path.
I did that once and would not want to do it again, certainly not today.
So - if the youth today actually make it (check back in 20 years) then they were at least as good as us.
Probably better.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
I don't know where you live, but volunteer work is not, I think, "the ultimate sign of not being lazy." One change in the time period you note is that secondary schools have continuously increased their service hours requirements. It still is a commitment of energy- work, of course, but the increase is partly motivated by the fact that it has become a high school graduation requirement often to volunteer perhaps 60 or 80 hours during the high school years.
Again, I wrote below that I think young people today work extremely hard at their activities, as far as I have observed, and I know no one who thinks your generation is lazy.
Colleen Steen 500+
It does not seem realistic or accurate to catagorize an entire generation with any lable. Based on the young people that I know personally, those I interacted with at the university, and conversations I've had with many young people here on TED, I have a great deal of hope for our future, because I see young people asking questions and seeking solutions.
Farokh Shahabi Nezhad 10+
Just b/c they have different goals and different behavior form their parent and that generation doesn't mean they're lazy
They are productive and responsible for their own goals.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Your hardest job, I think, will be to find people who right now believe your generation is lazy.
ZX Style 10+
Because grades who are raised are no proof of anything at all.
Teachers might be lowering their standards. You know, john did his best i'll give him an B+.
In the old days they wouldn't let the feeling of guilt drive them.
I think a way to prove we are not lazy is by showing the amount of side jobs has grown.
Or show them the amount of hours they put into their studies each day.
(but i think this has only decreased)
Or you can show the amount of hours people are not doing anything.
(But this will only show you that kids don't hang on their couch anymore but rather spend time on the PC/cell phone).
Now you can choose to show only the one side of the bullet you prefer and show them some proof.
But i think it's better if you show both sides of the bullet.
For example, we are less lazy because we have more side jobs.
But on the other hand our time put into school has decreased.
Nuance and the truth!
Gail . 50+
What I mean about not having a job (outside of some small chores perhaps): Until my generation came alone, the typical family depended on children to help with the family's survival. We were a largely agrarian culture, and it took a lot of work to keep the farm going as well as a house - that didn't have pre-processed foods, microwave ovens, clothes dryers, cheap pre-made clothes, fancy vacuums, electric freezers & refrigeration, and a host of other aides. Even in the fields, things are so different as machines now harvest crops that were once harvested by hand.
The baby boomers (post WWII) were the first generation of children that weren't necessary for a family's survival. Those who grew up before us remembered working hard as children and saw us as living soft lives. By comparison, they were, but that didn't make us lazy. That simply offered us different opportunities & choices that our parents didn't have. Your generation is in a similar place.
Bottom line: You can't convince me because I never believed that. to convince me, I would have had to have first believed that about your generation. In fact, I've never heard it. Your generation faces a tough row to hoe - of its own kind.
I am saddened that you believe that this is how your generation is perceived. I really wonder where and how you got such a notion. Lift yourself up, oh ye young adult. Don't let anyone convince you that you are less than you are.
george lockwood 20+