Prompt: Today’s teenagers have more stressful lives than previous generations. Ċ Discuss this view and give your own opinion. Ċ Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

It is often argued that youngsters these days suffer more stress than people in earlier times. Although today’s teenagers have to cope with a lot of stress, I believe that their stress level does not exceed that of those in the past. Ċ There are several reasons why adolescents are said to feel more stressed than their ancestors. First and foremost, they are in competition with their peers not just in their academic performance but also in social status. When it comes to sitting an exam, they have a burning desire to outperform their classmates as their future prospects are going to be dictated by those results to a certain extent. Secondly, apart from parent pressure, they have to keep up with their schoolwork. They have to make commitments in extra-curricular activities as well in order to win popularity among friends, which leads to excessive stress. This means that they do not have enough time for their hobbies and relaxation. Thirdly, social media magnifies social comparison in today’s modern consumer society, which results in growing stress. For example, when teenagers cannot afford pricey products like iPhones or PS 3, they are more likely to come in with anxiety and depression as they would not get the attention they desire. However, that pressure was not that intense for the community in the past as they led a simple life without access to any information about how other people were living. Ċ On the other hand, the fact that teenagers are going through a difficult time does not necessarily mean that older generations didn’t experience lower levels of stress. People in earlier times would have faced stressful situations in order to meet the basic needs and support the family because there were not as many job opportunities in the past as there is today. Furthermore, if only simple machinery had been used in industry, they would have relied heavily on physical labour. As a result, it would have been stressful for previous generations to work in massive production industries. Some workers might have had to work in unsafe environments such as construction and mining. In addition, due to limitations in internet access and transportation as opposed to today, getting the mails and products delivered to the clients in time would have caused physical workers high levels of anxiety. Ċ To sum up, young people feel under pressure as a consequence of competition, a heavy workload and social comparison but their stress level is not stronger than that of earlier generations.