'Young people today are fortunate.' Is this true of young people in your country?

'Young people today are so fortunate.' Is this true of young people in your country?

Singapore has managed to advance from a mere unknown fishing village to a global cosmopolitan hub over decades. with the rise in the standard of living, more and more Singaporeans are gettting affluent, especially for those born in the post-war era. As a result, it is understandable that young people experience lifestyles of better quality in Singapore. However, I feel that its is not true to a large extent that young people today in Singapore are so fortunate.

From the perspective of education, the statement is not true of young people in Singapore to a large extent. Although the quality of education has improved significantly over the years, young people in their schooling years are experiencing stress. According to a survey recently conducted by one of the local government bodies in 2004, students aged from six to sixteen are having less sleeping time. 80% of these students attributed it to stress from increasing workload in schools. In Singapore's education system, students are categorised according to their academic abilites, from as early as Primary Three. In a country that emphasises on meritocracy, it is understandable that young schooling people are subjected to stress by parents and teachers. Most of these parents and teachers want these students to do well academically and survive in the meritocratic society. Although their intentions are good, under such conditions to gain knowledge, are young people today so fortunate in terms of education? I doubt so.

Again, from a social viewpoint, young people today are not so fortunate to a large extent. In an open-minded and cosmopolitan society, like that in Singapore, there is a never-ending influx of foreign products and good. This is accompanied along with cultures, both good and bad, from other countries. As a result, there are more choices and temptations around for young people to cope. It is very crucial, especially for parents, to guide them along so as to prevent them from going astray. What makes it worse is that, with an increasing number of working parents in the recent years, parents are unable to supervise and guide their children, leaving them to fend on their own. This can be further supported by statistics. In Singapore, the number of crimes committed by junvenile delinquents in 2005 has significantly risen by 30%, as compared to that in 1995.

From a cultural viewpoint, the statement is not true of young people in Singapore. Indeed, young people have missed out first-hand experience with the authentic Singaporean culture. Accompanied with the exponential development in Singapore, some old buildings and artefacts may have to make way for future developments, take for example, the old National Library. Most of these buildings depict a part of Singapore's history, contributing to a certain degree of tinge to the Singaporean culture. Furthermore, as I have mentioned earlier, the rise of globalisation is everywhere in Singapore. With the influx of cultures from other countries, the genuine Singaporean culture is further diluted as a result. Although certain critics may argue that young people in Singapore can get to learn the history and culture of Singapore in textbooks and muesums, what actually matters more is the first-hand experience, in which I believe that young people in Singapore will learn more.

However, there are certain aspects that are able to show two sides of the argument. One of them is technology. Young people are fortunate, in a sense that they are able to have access to the Internet easily to look for desired information. Singapore is now well-known to be the 2nd most network-ready country globally, where more than 70% of the Singaporeans have access to the Internet. With such a great advantage,young people in Singapore are able to gather more information and be more well-informed about the current affairs around the world. Viewing from another perspective may prove otherwise though. With easy access to the Internet in Singapore, young people are more vulnerable to temptations lurking in the World Wide Web. With a click, young people may even be able to surf websites that promote unhealthy cultures, such as violence and pronography. This may be worsen by the fact that there is an increase in the number of Singaporean working parents in the recent years. This signifies that some of these young people may not even have their parents' guidance and assistance.

In terms of economy, young people today in Singapore are fortunate. With the economic advancement in Singapore, the standard of living of Singaporeans has risen. This is seen in the great rise of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore, from $66.9 billion in 1990 to $159 billion in 2004. This certifies that more young people are able to afford basic necessities of higher quality, and also able to live in better environments. However, with the improvement in the standard of living of Singaporeans, more Singaporeans get affluent. This results in a trend whereby everyone, including young people in Singapore, compete each other in climbing up the economic ladder. Without doing so, young people are unable to keep up with Singapore's economic growth in future, and hence unable to thrive in the increasingly competitive society. As we can see from here, young people are not so fortunate, in a way that they will face tough competition in the future.

In conclusion, young people in Singapore are not so fortunate. It is understandable that young people are able to enjoy the luxury that can only be found in the dreams of the older generations. However, to claim that young people in Singapore are so fortunate just because of this is being myopic. As I have mentioned earlier, by viewing it thoroughly from different viewpoints, we can point out that the statement is not true of young people in Singapore to a large extent. Given the fact that Singapore is a country that lacks natural resources, global competition is inevitable in order for it to survive. It may not be very probable for young people in Singapore to escape from their own fate.