Old people love to say that the younger generation is “weaker” or “lazier” compared to themselves. However, that is not the case. Each generation has their own definition of strength.

The comparison between the older generation and the younger generation is almost always inaccurate. In this generation, we value education and consider someone with higher education as someone who deserves more respect and authority.

Why old people think teens are weaker

Old people consider teens to be physically and mentally weaker compared to themselves. However, over the years, the definition of strong and weak has changed. Here are a few reasons why older generations think my generation is weaker, and why they are wrong:

Teens do less physical activity than previous generations

Teens now have to adapt to an increasingly competitive learning environment. Logically, teens need to learn more than their parents and grandparents did. The extra time needed for learning does not magically appear out of thin air. Teens often need to sacrifice some time, including exercise time, in order to study.

Additionally, the main reason why teens are not getting enough exercise is because of how the older generation, including our parents and our school administrators, makes teens sit in a classroom and listen to lectures nonstop. If we had a choice, we would be outside exercising.

Old people think teens are mentally weaker

The older generation thinks that the younger generation is being coddled by everybody around them because we are not able to endure school pressure and often complain.

Whenever we feel exhausted from school and slack off, our grandparents or relatives always say, “back in my day, we always had a lot of homework and the learning environment was way harsher than yours. Our teachers used to hit us whenever we scored low on a test, so you should be grateful.”

While it is true that the education system used to be a lot harsher when it came to punishments, the educational system has changed drastically over the years. Teens are not required to endure the harsh punishments and learning environment that schools used to put the older generation through. Not only was the education system unnecessarily harsh, it also amounted to abuse and trauma. Hitting kids is child abuse. The school system has changed to make teens mentally healthier, and that doesn’t mean that teens are mentally weaker.

The educational system is also changing into an environment where students need to learn to work together as a team and become innovative thinkers instead of test-taking machines. The older generation values toughness when facing heavy workloads, like tests and homework. My generation values different things like teamwork and leadership. Our parents and grandparents should not be quick to judge the values of this generation and force their own values onto the younger generation.

An outdated stereotype

The older generation always thinks that the younger generation is weaker. However, this is not true. The environment that we live in now needs this generation to become a highly educated workforce that is capable of adapting to the technology around us.

Our generation has different values and standards that we are trying to meet. Having different standards does not mean that this generation is weaker. No generation is weaker or lesser compared to any other generation.