Learning English through Social Issues
To raise awareness of social issues, the school principal is inviting students to contribute their opinions about such issues to the school newspaper. This week, the topic is about the young generation of Hong Kong: born in material wealth and preoccupied by consumerism and competitions with peers.
Write an article giving your opinions on the above topic and describing how it affects people in Hong Kong.
Being part of the young generation in Hong Kong, it is not hard for me to notice some of our general characteristics — born in material wealth, preoccupied by consumerism and competitions with peers. Teens carrying luxury goods around and students competing for a single degree are common sight. There are some reasons leading to the phenomenon. While we may be used to the circumstances, this could actually bring adverse effects not only to the youngsters but also the people in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has certainly become a prosperous city, which has made lots of us born in a relatively wealthy background. Our economy has thrived and we continue to uphold our status as the global financial hub. In return, our living standards have upgraded for levels. Many of us are no longer workers in garment factories, but specialized elites. Back to the current young generation, we do not have worry about food and accommodation. Born in the digital age, many of us even started playing with glamourous digital gadgets in childhood. It is inevitable that we enjoy material wealth along with the development of society.
What do people do with their wealth? Buy. Consumerism is another term representing the young generation. Smartphones and brand-named products are on the top of the shopping list. We gain satisfaction through spending money and the sensation of owning a product. Whenever there is a new trend popping up, we follow suit and make the purchase. There are also some contributing factors to the situation. With the rapid development of the Internet, purchasing items is right at our fingertips. It is also not uncommon to see advertisements of loans and credit cards, targeting the young generation to buy more.
Apart from the money talk, fierce competition with peers is another signature of us. Starting as early as kindergarten, children already have to compete in order to get to a good school. Parents push their kids to attend numerous interest classes and tutorials to boost their competitiveness. When it comes to university places, all things just exacerbate. We, the young generation, are experiencing a highly pressurized education system with eternal homework and examinations. It is almost like a caged fight to compete in public exams to receive higher education.
The above situation is typical in Hong Kong, but it has infiltrated and influenced our lives without a sound. Not only does the young generation suffer, but the whole society is affected.
First of all, young people born in material wealth may tend to have lower resilience. As we already get what we want without hard work, we may not be able to face and overcome difficulties. We are also less grateful to what we own, as if it was taken for granted. The young generation will grow up and eventually become the pillars of society. It is not promising if the society is supported by some spoiled youngsters, instead of young blood who are passionate and hardworking.
On the other hand, consumerism leads to unwise financial management skills. Consumerism always causes impulsive shopping, with people blinded by their desires for the products instead of assessing their real needs and financial abilities. It is usual to see university students owing a considerable amount of debt just because they buy too many things. It is even saddening to see advertisements justifying such actions and encouraging us to borrow more money. This idea of spending future money is undoubtedly unhealthy. Eventually, this sick money concept may spread to the whole society.
Last but not least, competitions with peers undermine the young’s mental health. A lot of pressure is induced by the fear of losing out and not meeting the expectations from families and teachers. Such a stressful environment is certainly not good for our well-being, and in extreme cases, some young people even resort to killing themselves. Just in the recent months, there were already several cases of student suicide. If the situation prevails, not only will more lives be gone, but the whole society will be loomed by distress.
Our young generation should have many opportunities to thrive, but we need all sectors from society to help put us back to the right track. We students, being part of it, should take up some responsibilities and not to blindly follow the trend. Let us try to make more positive changes to our generations!
Yuen Yin Kiu Christy
6E 2015-16