Teenagers Today Are More Worldly Wise Than Their Parents — Argumentative Essay

Agreeing with this statement would amount to casting aspersions on the wisdom of parents, whom all teenagers look up to. The teenagers’ knowledge may be significantly more on a particular subject, but with respect to being worldly wise, they are far behind their parents. This is because parents have knowledge blended with years of experience, that makes them more worldly wise than the teenagers, who have no experience of life.

Years of experiencing the many ups and downs of life, make parents a better judge of human character and nature. They can evaluate people more accurately without being wavered by superficial factors. Teenagers on the other hand lack in an experience, get swayed by superficial, irrelevant factors, which may be a facade and far away from reality.

The information explosion in the print and electronic media, may give them more information, making them knowledgeable but not more worldly wise than their parents. The knowledge obtained from such sources are primarily confined to what they see, hear, or read. The parents on the other hand use this knowledge better, by blending it with their personal experience in life. It is because of this, teenagers look up to parents for advice, on important decisions relating to work or career.

Being young, teenagers are more enthusiastic and optimistic by nature. This is because they see the brighter side of life only, being protected from its harsh realities by parents. They are therefore prone to take decisions in haste. Parents on the other hand, being seasoned and cautious by nature, take a balanced view of things and hence make more rational decisions. They know the virtue of patience and tolerance, which enables them to evaluate options more logically and practically, before arriving at a firm decision. Their advise is thus more practical and useful.

Though optimistic, teenagers’ actions are often emotional. They have a tendency to follow the dictates of the heart, rather than the mind. They are easily moved by superficial considerations of colour, looks, or aesthetic appeal. On the other hand parents take decisions on merit, with time tested logic, using their mind which are therefore less prone to error. It is because of this that successful teenagers seek the advice of parents, in matters concerning their career or future. On the other hand, there are numerous instances of teenagers ruining their lives, because of the misconception of being more worldly wise than their parents.

Teenagers today may be better informed but they can never be more worldly wise than their parents. They lack experience, and wisdom, which comes with age. These attributes are possessed by the parents in ample measure. They must therefore make proper use of this invaluable resource to enrich their lives.