“The children now love luxury.” (Socrates) Most of my generation tends to be stereotyped as lazy, helpless, inefficient, and dependent. For some, this is a false assumption. But, for others, this is a very accurate label. In order for teenagers to become independent, they need to obtain four main realizations. One, if we as a generation aren’t careful, we will become increasingly lazier. Two, technology and the media has held back youth from allowing their own voice to be heard. Three, everyone tends to be inefficient and chooses to have others be efficient for them. Lastly, we allow ourselves to be accustomed to having our parents around to spoon feed us the needed knowledge we should already know. I believe that a majority of youth today rely on others to fulfill their needs.

Every generation increasingly becomes lazier. My parents and grandparents tell me stories about their high school experience. They did not have computers or the internet. As my mother stated, “when I had to write a research paper, I had to take a trip down to the school library and use books to do my research.” They had the simple pleasure of thinking for themselves and not being brainwashed by other ideas and beliefs. Our generation tends to rely on the internet for almost everything we do in school. “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” (Einstein) If we don’t know how to feel about a topic, we will typically go right to the internet and rely on someone else to make up our minds for us. This is just being plain lazy. We don’t take the time to figure out our own beliefs and discover who we truly are.

Technology and the media has confined youth from speaking out. “The internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.” (Brown) Technology has started to brainwash the youth of today. It has persuaded us to stop thinking for ourselves and rely on the internet for our own beliefs. Some people tend to have their own opinion until they read something on the internet and happen to change their mind. They don’t want to sound unintelligent or be embarrassed by their own thoughts. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” He is stating that the best information comes from your own brain. There was a time when technology was beneficial in advancing the human race. It is starting to be too important in our generation which detains our society from speaking out.

Everyone has the same idea of waiting for someone else to take charge and get the job done first. “I get plenty of young men in their twenties who come in here and expect everyone else to do their job for them.” This is what my dad says almost every time he starts a new job. My dad is a carpenter and is the boss of every new building his company gets contracted with. The young men that my dad deals with is just one relatable example of people slacking and being inefficient with their time. I believe the workers in their twenties who expect other people to do their job for them have always had the same mindset and have always lived the same lifestyle.  If teenagers start this bad habit in high school, it will carry on with them into their work community and they will not be successful.
We allow our parents to do things for us that we could easily do ourselves. Parents tend to shelter their children. Children ask for help from their parents no matter what the size of the task is.  “Too many adults wish to protect teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.” (Edwards) Most parents will “baby” their children which prevents them from growing up to their full potential. Once their children move out of their house and go to college, they need to be prepared for the real world. Parents have the most power in a child’s life in preparing them for the outside world. Teenagers allow this action to take place which sets back not only their own independence, but brings them to a new state of vulnerability when confronted with the outside world.
I believe that a majority of youth today rely on others to fulfill their needs. This does not apply to everyone, but the majority of my generation has become lazy. We can’t break the pressure from technology and the media to speak out for ourselves. If we want to become more independent we need to start believing in our own ideas and take action. Being dependent on someone is like waiting for something good to happen. My generation relies on other people to get their job done for them. We have become sheltered by our parents and expect them to hold our hands throughout our whole life.  If we want something to get done, we need to do it for ourselves. Be the change in our generation and fulfill your own needs.

Works Cited
"Andrew Brown Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d.
Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
"Quotes About Teenagers And Parents." (18 Quotes). N.p., n.d.
Web. 16 Nov. 2015.