In present day Canada and all over the world, there is a generation of young adults facing new problems and overcoming new obstacles that previous generations never had to worry about such as the effects of global warming, the use and abuse of drugs, sex and even obesity.
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans due to the increase in greenhouses gases. Although global warming is not a relatively new idea but it is being focused on more in this generation then any before. Due to global warming there are heat waves and patterns of unusually warm weather and the rising of sea levels. This warm weather causes the melting of arctic and Antarctic glaciers and ice caps which well later result in increased sea levels worldwide causing in the flooding of many countries and coast lines! Also, this can be deadly for our generation because ultra violet rays are being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and this can result in many of us getting skin cancer. The changing in weather patterns can also end up causing dramatic and horrendous hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts and heat waves. Furthermore, the change in climate causes changes in ecosystems and animal migration. Insects and animals that prefer heat will move to warmer climates and vice versa. This can and will cause the spread of deadly disease such as malaria. Previous generations did not have to worry about this but we do because our generation has to take preventative actions to prevent the speed at which the earth warms.
With the advances in technology that are being made daily, it is easy for many teens to succumb to the use of this technology. Usually this technology was made to be beneficial but placed in the hands of a young adult who may not know well it can also be a distraction or used inappropriately. In this generation, many teens and young adults experiment with drugs although many deny this allegation we must also take into consideration that alcohol and cigarettes are considered drugs until someone reaches the legal age limit. So for many of us, who attend those Friday or Saturday night parties and drink underage, you are breaking the law and that is substance abuse! There are reasons as to why alcohol is illegal, some statistics prove that 40 percent of those who started drinking at age 13 or younger developed alcohol dependence later in life. Besides alcohol and cigarettes other drugs that teens do are street drugs which are very dangerous. Street drugs come in many varieties and forms and can be cheap or expensive. It is reported that 20% of 8th graders have tried marijuana and 28 percent of teens know a classmate or friend who has used ecstasy. This is a staggering rate considering the fact that in 1979 only 31% of the population tried drugs compared to 2001 with 41%. The problem leading to drug use is many parents don’t know the warning signs or are unaware of the fact that their child does drugs. Breakdown in communications causes our generation to act rash and act immaturely.
Also, in previous generations the bond between parent and child was strong and many previous generations could relate to their parents, although our generation cannot because we are the generation in which there were many technological breakthroughs and we learn to depend on those as opposed to our family. Because of the lack of communication many teens learn to depend on the media and societal standards. Often the media today over exposes the issue of sex! Sex is plastered everywhere nowadays! On TV, news, and even at schools. Often, we can’t rely on our parents for advice about societal standards because they did not face the same pressures as we do today. Because of this many teens have sex; statistics prove nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year. That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day. Also, for every 1000 live births there are 30 abortions for teens age 15-17. In previous generations, many parents could talk to their children about sex and instill many morals and values into the children while in this generation many teens rebel and consider the media as more of a role model then their parents. Sadly, our generation must learn about the reality of sex, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.
Lastly, a MAJOR battle that this generation is fighting is the one against obesity! Because of the technological advances in society many teens spend much of their time in front of the TV or computer screens. Back in previous generations many kids spent their free times running outside and playing sports while our generation is on facebook or msn. According to Canadian statistics in 1979 15% of kids were overweight or obese while in 2004 26% of children were overweight or obese. This shows the dramatic increase in obesity in children and this is a new obstacle our generation has to handle.
In conclusion, our generation faces many obstacles which previous generations never faced such as childhood obesity, teen pregnancy, sex and sexually transmitted diseases, the use of drugs and finally the phenomena of global warming. All of these obstacles we must work hard to overcome in the forth coming years.
