TEENAGERS TODAY
Anonymous said that the strength or the power of a country can be assumed through their teenager’s behaviour. But, who is a teenager? What do teenagers have that their behaviour represents their country image? What are they doing now? Why do their attitudes bring harm and benefits to the world?
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word ‘teenager ‘ means a person who is between thirteen to nineteen years old. In our country, teenagers are the students in a secondary school, from form one to upper six form. Most of the teenagers are said to be aggressive and dare to do something different. This is because the teenage years are the time for them to find their own identity. Because of that, many teenagers are always trying something new and do many things that they have never done before. Teenagers are the future leaders and the most valuable asset of a country. They are the persons who will lead and head the country later. If they have bad manners, this means that the country failed in their effort to shape their attitude and consequently, their government will fall down one day. That is why it is said that teenagers’ behaviour represents their country image.
Teenagers today are very different from the teenagers in 1970’s. Teenagers today are exposed to advanced technologies which bring them the internet and online video games. They lead a modern but unhealthy lifestyle. Some of them are able to avoid the unhealthy worldly temptations and use the convenience intelligently but the rest of them are unable to do so. For example, a student in the final year of his secondary school, who is going to sit for an important which will determine his future by the end of the year, still spends most of his time chatting on Facebook. He leads an unhealthy lifestyle as he is always engrossed with computer. It harms his eyesight. He forgets to have proper meals and lacks physical exercises. The teenagers in 1970’s meanwhile would go out to play football or do something relaxing to their mind when they were tired after doing their studies and revision. It is a fact that teenagers today spend their time in negative activities compare to the teenagers in 1970’s.
Besides, teenagers today seem to shy away from courtesy and good manners. They are selfish and always demand something. They will do anything to get what they want and sometimes, their behaviour bring troubles to others. If we rewind back to the life twenty years ago, we will see a situation where Ahmad, a teenager for example, cancelled his dream to study at the best school in town due to the costs which very high and his family could not afford it. He himself wanted to give his younger siblings chances to be better educated. He did not mind if he must sacrifice himself for his brothers’ and sisters’ happiness. But in these modern years, it is rare to find a teenager like Ahmad. If Ahmad’s dream was to study at the best school in town to be a doctor one day, I believe that teenagers’ dreams nowadays are not dignified as Ahmad’s. Teenagers today would not listen to their parent’s advice anymore but instead run away from their home and their family if they cannot get what they want.
In addition, teenagers today are always following the trend of the entertainment world even though it is wrong and opposite the local social norm. For example, teenage girls nowadays in Malaysia are dressing like the western people which are in a tight, sexy and indecent attire. They are not following the rules of Islamic dress code and also invite mishap to themselves. When a girl wears sexy clothes, the bad guy will be attracted to them and finally make them as his victim. Once he noticed the sexy girl alone, he will kidnap the girl and do what he want like raping and maybe even killing the girl to ensure that he will not be caught for his deed.
Luckily, there is still hope. Although some are deviant by spending most of their times at the mall doing nothing, finishing their parents money and chatting on Facebook, there are still teenagers out there who are concern to the things happening around them. They respect each other and try to be the role model t their friends. There are kind, helpful, and ambitious. These types of teenagers are the future leaders of the country.
In a nutshell, everyone, including religious, educational and social institutions, as well as individuals and the media, must cooperate with the authorities to fight against these ills afflicting the teenagers. But the system of a country cannot work smoothly with the commitments from the leaders only. They also need the co-operation from everyone to achieve the best for the country. It is also important that people, especially youths, do not get into the rut of moral decay. There should be proper strategies to channel the teenagers today towards a healthier lifestyle.
(843 words)
this is actually for a competition.
mya had send it..
btw,,
Alhamdulillah..
thanks a lot to pn ramlah as she is my guardian angle on writing this.
my sis, she gave me a lot of ideas on this title hehe thank you dear
dats all for now!
salam~ ^^
