Is life for teenagers today easier or harder than in the past?

Question

Hey Guys
I have to write an essay on the topic "Life for teenagers today. Our Future" and I just wanted some other peoples opinions on the topic.

Do you think teen life is easy and carefree or do you think it is a much bleaker picture for teenagers than many people realize. Try to present some examples of how a teens life is hard or easy.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks heaps guys,
Luke O

Answer 1

Over the last ten years I've had a lot of them come to me asking about my advice about problems in their life's because they seem lost and without hope. And about ten of them have killed themselves also, so I'd say things are very bad.

Answer 2

Life is always difficult for teenagers. The specifics change, but the reasons for the challenges stay the same.

Teenagers are trying to find their independence. They believe their peers are more important than their family. If the family values were clear as the person was growing up, it is easier to intellectually make good decisions but harder emotionally because there is so much pressure. If the family values were unclear, it is very easy to make poor decisions. This hasn't changed over any decade.

Teenagers also have hormones changing their emotions. Before, they played. Now girls worry about boys. Boys worry about 'the code' and girls. Male and female relationships are hard enough without adding the extra pressure of sex (which has always been around). If they have a good support system, they fair well. If not, poor choices are made.

Being a teenager isn't easy. You are trying to define who you are but don't realize that you aren't the people around you. Choices are based on emotions that change quickly. Pressures keep mounting. This is the biggest test of your life. Think!

Answer 3

Teenagers In The Past

Answer 4

My opinion is today is much more difficult for teenagers than it used to be. Today teens are faced with the obvious drug use problems, the lack of after school jobs for American teens since they have almost all gone to others. Schools have had to cut after school programs and sports. Schools are extremely overcrowded not to mention that public schools today are no place that kids should be. And last but not least of things that make life for todays teen harder than ever is the way some of the girls dress. It must be extreme stress to dress like cheap hookers. And I don't mean that as an insult. I don't think that the girls even realize how they are demeaning themselves. Considering all of the problems faced by teens today I think that overall teenagers do a terrific job of dealing with everyday life and I have real hope that the future will be brighter and better because of our teens.

Answer 5

Well, in the past a teenager was not even a word, children were just mini-adults, and once you got to be around 12 or so bam you were then considered a full grown man or women, get married, get a job, etc....or go to war. So I would say no, its just a media spin basically, to say the teenagers today have it so much harder then in ages past. We are all human, and we all have had to deal with the pain of growing up or not. I believe that life has been much the same for humans throughout history as experienced through each individuals life.

Answer 6

Yes, unfortunately what you have mentioned in your question (internet, technology, information at our finger tips) they have been most of the reason for this cause of more teen-aged peer pressure, bullying and self harm. If you look back and compare this generation to the past kids now a days are obese, have more family problems due to less jobs not enough pay or plain ignorance. Today was a lot harder than yesterday for a lot of teens, teens today suffer mostly from psychological problems back then teens suffered from child labor, and being abused but some how managed to became great leaders and look at teens today, they easily fall into depression with problems that are no comparison to what people back then had to endure (such as slavery) they easily give up and join gangs, do drugs, get pregnant, cut themselves and even commit suicide. I'm a teen. and even I know my generation is pathetic.

Answer 7

Life for ANY teenager is hard because they're making the transition from childhood to adulthood... In our Western society, this segment of a person's life is stretched over too far of a span in years, in my opinion... If they were granted rights sooner - became responsible for their actions sooner - things would get a whole lot better sooner...

But, yes... It IS harder today because of the increase of EVERYTHING that we live in these days... The kids are being bombarded with farrrrr too much stimuli and information and there seems to be only time to react - not any time to pause, sort the information, reflect, come up with various options, and then decide on a course of action...
For all this technology that's supposedly designed to give us so much extra time to do stuff, we seem to fill any void with a whirlwind of activity... We - as a people - are far too busy doing things of little consequence... Hence, our relationships have become so shallow because we fail to take the time to develop and enrich them... Our society, as a whole, is caught in a downward spiral and until we turn to God, will continue in decaying further... Very little has changed since the 6th chapter of Genesis...

Answer 8

I think teenagers today are very spoilt
most get all they ask for like computers etc
& the clothes they wear are so cool!!
but at the same time they do have a lot of unnecessary worry
about what subject to take at school & if its the right decision etc
should they go to uni or tafe will there be enough money
will they find a job or even a girl
some have bully worry
should they move out of home besause joe blow moved out
then theres all the worry about war etc
& all the drugs, sex pressure all the murders that happen
all the worry about the enviorment & global warming etc
so yes they do have a lot of stress
so todays teens have it harder I think

Answer 9

It's harder for the kids because their jerky parents make them run around 20 hours a day. I don't see kids playing in the streets anymore which saddens me greatly. I can't imagine the future of this world.

Answer 10

I def think its harder now. As a teen myself I see that the media has more of an affect on how teens think. I mean, think about how rappers talk about women and how women look in a lot of videos. Perfect example. And the guys have to grow up thinking that having ice, whips, and girls are the greatest things. And the girls have to feel as though they have to be in the video for some rapper shaking their butt.