Why are youngsters so lazy nowadays!
79Are they?
Are kids really lazier? Or are we just more aware of the kids we didn't necessarily cross paths with when we were younger?
I know that when I was in high school, about half of the students went to a vocational/technical high school. Those kids learned a trade early in life, graduating with a certificate and a diploma. But quite a few of us were separated from that segment of the population.
But let's suppose that kids are becoming lazier. I have a few theories, but none hold true under all circumstances.
I have noticed that an increasing number of parents are becoming busier (both parents working and/or with two jobs). I have noticed that free time is being spent in front of the television and/or video game console. I have noticed that parents are exhausted and are grateful for the respite that "plugging in" our children provides.
Recently, I was a mother to an exchange student for four months. I was shocked by the amount of vigilance necessary to provide a nurturing an educational environment for the girl. I am a teacher, and I still struggled to help her organize her time to minimize hours on homework. She absolutely wanted all of the good things in life with the absolute minimum of work. Don't we all? But I cannot imagine that most parents have the time, energy, or awareness (of the current educational system and all of its safety nets) to be able to successfully guide a flailing youngster towards success.
In addition, "Jeopardy", "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", the lottery, and other get-rich-quick schemes permeate our lives. We know that it is possible to find wealth without working like a dog. So many of us try. We can get from here to there in a matter of seconds by turning the key in the ignition and stepping on the gas. What a shame. Very few of us are walking, cycling, or using any alternative form of transportation that might actually help us become more fit. Our children are following in our footsteps, but the consequences are more visible.
They don't remember the grandparents we had who had to work hard, who knew how to save. Those stories have been lost. Although it sounds strange, maybe even awful, I am grateful for this economic downturn. I believe that this will help wake people. I think people are starting to realize how easy they have had it. I believe that people will start working together. I believe that people will start investing in their neighborhoods, their communities, their families.
We are all we have. We must work hard together to succeed. We must not rely on the fortunes of the past. And we must invest in our children.
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I agree and not just kids are affected , my hubby still thinks a good fairy is going to 'bling' into his life lol
I noticed your comments about kids and laziness. It's a good article, but you forgot one thing. It's not just that parents are busier because in order to make ends meet, both parents need to work full time to buy all the things kids' need for school, but they're not teaching their kids good study habits, which is paramount to doing well in school.
And it's not just television and video game consoles that are distracting kids, but cell phones, ipods, and computers as well. There are so many more things for kids to do now, than they did 50 years ago, and the problems have not changed. Parents still want schools to babysit their kids without being able to discipline their children when they do something wrong. Not all parents and not all kids are like this, but there is definitely a good portion of them that are like this.
I dated a guy in the mid-1980's. He thought his son was the smartest kid ever, so forced his son into all the top notch programs he could bully him into...and with dire results. The son never did well in this top notch program because it was way beyond what he was capable of, and even when the teachers told him that his son was out of his depth--he still pushed to keep him in the program. He failed and was depressed all the time. If he was in the general group instead of the really smart group, he'd have been happy and doing well.
Too often, the lines of sanity are pushed by the parents (trying to get what's best for their kids) and the schools (trying to get what's best for the kids). How many of the "lazy" kids are either over-challenge or under-challenged? Both can be detrimental if the child is in the wrong class and the parents aren't paying attention.
I am a former teacher and have seen all types of students as well as observing the children in our neighborhoods and my own nephews. I think a lot depends upon the values parents have taught their children and the example parents have set. Sometimes as parents we have to go against the grain to do what's best for our children. We never had a TV, so our kids played outside more and we walked every night after dinner as a family, read aloud together about people who were good role models, and tried to teach our children skills they would need as adults. Neither of our children was lazy and both enjoyed physical activity. They weren't always motivated to do math or other subjects they didn't particularly enjoy, but they found they could not pursue the activities they preferred until they had finished the required things -- chores and studies. Soem parents do push their children into things they aren't ready for, but too many others try to protect their children from anything that demands their best efforts.
I am in 8th grade, I noticed that people from vocational high school were offering applications during lunch. And I also noticed that all the lazy fagots signed up. So I asked one of the kid why he signed up. He siad that he's said that he can get a good job at 10th grade if he go to vocational high, and I didn't agreed with him becuase I told him that I will earn 3 times as more when I graduated from college. I think most of teacher in my school agreed that the real high school is a good place to started if you want a good job, but they don't say it. I think they probary will get fired if they Judge which school is better .
This is a good subject for discussion because the future is at stake. Your hub is good and I agree with what you have written. The comments are also good because the diverse perspectives show that there are different reasons why our kids tend to be more lazy now. There are too many useless distractions for our kids...video games, reality shows, designer clothes 'must haves', and keeping up with the trends that exploit kids for the sake of making money. It's the clueless parents and the greedy product makers that are part of the problem with kids being lazy. Parents should be aware that the positive and constructive deterrents need to be taught to children early. Parents who spoil a child while a baby or toddler don't realize what they are setting themselves up for as the kid ages.
I am a 'kid' and I think most kids are lazier now because there is loads of technology and games consoles to use so they use them! Also i dont think kids do acctualy realise the reality of working and that if you do fail at school you will not go very far in life! We are not told about the reality of working life until it is almost too late! Loads of the boys at school just spend the whole day just mucking around and some of them do acctualy want to do well.. but they still dont get it! We should be told and tuaght about reality earlier on, we should be taught about the goverment and about people who dont do well! this would ensure most kids to want to work hard. Also I think adults underestimate kids, there are children today who are cleverer that lots of adults, they understand things lots of adults wouldn't and they are still looked down on just because of there age! I think adults should listen to children more and respect their opinions more, they may acctualy be more willing to work that way!
i really like this article and i agree with everything i am actully doing something like this in my english class no if you have more tips for me plase write back!
I am inclined to blame the culture of instant gratification. I have lived outside this country and I know how differently average people live in Russia and Armenia compared to average people here. Also, read"The 50th Law" by Robert Greene. The book explains the apathy of a person's mentality very well.
Im a kid also and I think its not that we are lazier. Its just things are easier. Since the nomadic times people got "lazier" since they didn't have to work as much. We will grow up one day and we will be adults like you guys. I just don't think this article is about lazy kids but uncaring parents. I study for more than 3 hours and back then it was hard to move around. We need cars and technology. We aren't going to walk 3-5 miles everyday going and coming back from school. And I do not think many grown ups would want that too. Also consider yourself lucky to be in this period of time.And the get rich quick they dont give us any ideas. We know our parents will help us and provide for us until we grow up. Now think I wasn't lazy to write all this now was I?
Are kids necessarily lazier nowadays? Or is it that times have changed and they don’t need to work as much since it has become easier. People back then went to Vocational/ Technical High Schools because they wanted to get done with school and start on a job. Maybe people back then were lazier enough to want to start a job and not stay in school. Also back then like the article said people walked to work or they rode a bike. Today we can’t afford being late to our jobs or classes because we would be paid less or loose a class. We aren’t going to walk for miles to get to our schools or jobs. That would make this world slower and we wouldn’t be able to learn anything. Our grandparents worked more because that’s how the world worked back then. Today everything is simpler.
Sure we need to exercise but sometimes that’s the parents fault for not taking care of their children. Sometimes parents think it’s easier by letting their children “plugged in” to games or computers etc. But anyways students still exercise at school during gym. That’s why there is a mandatory gym class for every school. I think that people should not blame this generation into being lazier. Even grownups are lazier these days, it’s not just kids. Parents are busy these days working double jobs to meet their needs. We are not all rich so we could afford losing time. Sure we walk during the weekends also. We are not always locked at home just by playing. We also study. I think many students would rather go to technical high schools not to study. Now that’s laziness. By going to school we prove that we study a lot and maybe more than our predecessors. Our predecessors would rather finish school and work than study.
The parents work double jobs to provide us with our needs but they do not teach us the good study habits. And if you push students too much into studying they will be more against it. If they had good study habits things would be easier. Forcing kids into stuff like advanced classes shows that maybe they can’t handle it. I think we would rather work on our own pace and try as much as we can.
Also we have more things to do than people let’s say 20 years ago. We aren’t the same as people back then. We use many devices to entertain ourselves and we also read books. Students back then had to work for the farms etc. They weren’t the same as us today. We do not need to work as much as them. Times have changed and people don’t see that. We have technology that does things for us instead of us working a lot like back then.
I do not agree with you xD
Maddie Ruud Level 5 Commenter 3 years ago
I think you're onto something, as far as the get-rich-quick and instant-celebrity phenomena having a huge influence on the way youth see the world. We're a society heavily dependent on instant gratification, and that shows, not only in our consumer culture, but in our work ethic as well.
Good hub.