Essay 3

Jake Alexis

ENG 092-08w

Essay3

Step 5

What is it like to be a teenager in America in today’s world? Teenagers today don’t take for granted how lucky they really are. However, there are many teens that live in a fantasy world. This is shown in, “Teenagers in Dreamland” by Robert J. Samuelson. With new technology coming out everyday, many teens have become lazy with schoolwork and their everyday lives. Teenagers today need to understand that they need to get good grades in high school, learn the value of money by having a part time job, and learn how to properly use technology for the greatest benefit. While there are a percent of teenagers that do well in school, many do not. The average high school student puts in less than an hour of studying at home. A survey that was conducted placed 13 year old American is last place compared to six different countries; Korea being the first. When I was in high school, I honestly never put in any effort for the work I did. I would skip class everyday just to slack off and hang out with friends in the cafeteria. When I was in high school, grades didn’t matter to me. At the time I thought my grades didn’t matter for college, I would just get accepted to the school I wanted to go too. That was not the case; after I graduated high school my choice of schools was very limited. Now, that I’m out of high school, I regret not doing well everyday of my life. Today, I give advice to people in high school to do well and get good grades. Your only in high school once, you need to get the most out of it. As for other teenage Americans, High school is very important. You need to do well in high school to go on the a good college and get a good education. As time moves on, people start to become independent working civilians in the world. In America, teenagers are becoming more and more independent. By high school, the majority of teens have there own cars and cell phones. Not all American teens are lazy. By junior year, about 40% for teens have there own jobs and incomes. I have been working since the age of 14 when I first got my middle school working papers. My first job was detailing cars at a car wash and once I turned 16 I worked at toys r us. I feel that it is good for all teens to get jobs in high school. Ever since I was a kid my dad always taught me how to save my money. I owe my dad for everything I am today because of this. Throughout high school, I worked and saved my money, invested it, and made a significant profit off of it. Teens’ working in high school teaches responsibility. It shows that you need money for everything in life. While some kids are lucky and get spoiled by there parents, those kids will never understand the value of money and the satisfaction of working up to the things you want. In some cases, parents feel that school is a teens job and that working is not important. No matter what parents think, I high school job is important to teach teenagers the value of money. Technology plays an important role in every teenagers life. In high school, whoever had the newest phone or the fastest car was more important than the best grades as a student. Because of new technology, teens have become more lazy. In todays world, it is not uncommon for six year olds to have iPhones and iPads. Even I have to admit, technology has mad me a lazy person. Literally everything can be found with an iPhone. I never have to move if I want to find something out on the internet. I can also get wifi almost anywhere I am. My Xbox now has the Netflix app so I have an unlimited amount of movies and T.V. shows whenever I want. If this is how advanced technology is today, picture what it will be like 10 years from now. Teenagers in America today have it easy. They have the greatest technology and get to grow up in the greatest country in the world. However, teens today are becoming lazy due to new technology, slacking off with grades in high school, and the few that don’t find high school jobs to teach them the values of hard work and money.