Month: November 2019

Social media divides more than it unites. Do you agree?

Social media has enabled people to make friends from all over the world. Social media can take various form, from photo-sharing apps like Instagram and Tumblr to user-generated content platforms like Twitter and YouTube. Social media has become widespread and has a lot of influence on people today. Some quarters opine that social media divides. But it is more of a uniting force because it can go beyond boundaries, share different opinions that can lead to a healthy debate and has the power to highlight issues which have not come to light due to various reason. In these aspects, social media is more of a uniting force.

Detractors to the view suggest that social media enables people to make friends from various social classes and cultural backgrounds. People can connect with each other from across the world and also maintain a relationship with friends and families who have moved abroad. For example, through websites like Facebook, people can send a friend request to people with similar likes and interests. Furthermore, sites like Tumblr enable a person living in Singapore to become friends with a person living in Paris. When people form friendships with people from other cultures than they can become sensitive and understanding of other cultures. Additionally, video calling and live streaming services on apps like Instagram, Facebook and Skype can allow people to connect with people through video calls. This can allow them to witness events like New Years Eve fireworks, Weddings and Graduation ceremonies if one cannot be present physically. Thus, social media has indeed made the world a small place and has also reduced the gap between people.

Another positive view is that social media also allows healthy debates by ensuring that people can express their varying opinions. Many people have access to social media apps today. People can use these apps to offer their different views. Social media empowers people to put forth their opinions and views and comment on various social and political issues.  For example, many governments understanding the rising use of social media have started putting polls and asking for feedback on various issues. Singaporean government created a website called eGov2015 in a bid to ensure that feedback from Singaporeans from all walks of life can be heard and to facilitate greater co-creation and collaboration between the government and the people. Thus, it can be said that social media acts as a unifying force in bringing people together by means of differing opinions.

Social media has helped in shedding light on issues that otherwise would not have come to the front. As social media is used globally, it can spread the news on a global level and make people aware of the situation around the world. For example, The Ice Bucket Challenge brought forth to the issue of ALS and successfully raised $100 million for the ALS association. Another example can be the Me-Too movement, which became a worldwide phenomenon. Started by actress Alyssa Milano, it became a simple yet powerful way to express solidarity with victims of sexual harassment and shed light on the power imbalance that exists between men and women within societies across the world. The more recent Trashtag challenge also brought to the front the issue of plastic pollution. People from across the world have participated in the challenge from children in Congo to adults and teenagers cleaning beaches in Mumbai. Thus, social media unites people and brings them together by striking a chord between them to work for the greater good of society.

Despite all the benefits, social media has created a bubble for the youth of today. Social media significantly influences their impressionable minds and help them find information that supports their political or social views. It also makes them blind to look at the issue objectively and make decisions based on facts and reasoning. Third-party cookies and algorithms of apps like Instagram and Facebook present only that information to people that they are interested in seeing.  For example, people are more likely to follow and like pages which align with their views and ideologies rather than pages that show facts. This trend of streamlining and showing information based on online behaviour may have a negative impact in the long run. This is because it may give rise to confirmation bias and may give people the false beliefs that their views are correct while the opposing views are wrong or skewed. Moreover, if they do come across counter-views they might become defensive of their own views and would not accept the truth. In this respect, social media divides.

In conclusion, social media is more of a uniting force rather than a dividing force. Though it might create rifts between the young and the old, the older generations are catching up to using social media. The social media also helps people to connect with friends and family and form new friendships with people from different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, social media holds great power in influencing people to take action on various issues and in this sense becomes a uniting force than a dividing force.

Do you agree that good parenting is increasingly challenging in your society today?

People always try to do what is best for their children. Good children are a result of good parenting, is what people often say. However, people have always struggled to raise children and have also tried hard to understand what makes a good parent. In Singapore, it is true that raising children has become increasingly difficult because of technology and also because more parents are working longer hours.

People who believe that raising children today is easier, often argue that parents today have a lot of assistance. It is especially true in Singapore, where the government has come up with various policies that help people in their journey of parenthood. Earlier, parents were supposed to take care of their children’s need by working extra hours or working on weekends. They did not get assistance for raising good children. However today, government policies assist parents the moment a child is born. These policies include cash bonuses¸ medical benefits in case the child or the mother gets sick and even benefits on library and basic transportation benefits. The Singapore Government offers all these grants and policies to ensure that parents raise good and healthy children.  Being assisted financially for children’s education or healthcare has helped parents significantly. Based on this factor, one can agree that parenting today is easier than earlier times, at least in terms of needs like education and healthcare.  

With the advent of technology parents, today get enough guidance through various websites, blogs and columns on multiple aspects of parenting. Parents today can discuss whatever bothers them with other parents on parental forums and Facebook pages. Parents often follow these websites to seek answers about their children’s well-being. In Singapore, these websites do not disappoint, either. For example, websites like smartparents.sg guides parents on aspects like the health of the child, their education, suggestions about schools and activities, and also on aspects like their diet and nutrition. Similarly, the Kiasu Parents website is like a social media platform for parents. On this website, parents can interact with other parents and get parental advice on educational and enrichment programmes. These websites include tips from experts in the field of child psychology and early childhood care. Parents can follow advice on these websites, blogs and forums to become a good enough parent for their child. Thus, technologically, people are more equipped to become a good parent than in the past, where parents relied on advice from their parents or friends.

Despite all these advantages, parents today increasingly face difficulties in raising their children. With economic development and growth, Singaporeans are working more than 45 hours a week.  Working long hours in Singapore has been a time-honoured tradition and the work obligation does not allow parents to spend enough time with their children. Even on weekends, parents are occupied with household chores and office work. So, while they may be physically present, they are mentally absent and technology can be blamed for this disconnect between parents and children. Parents also have a tendency to reply to work emails and go through work-related documents while at the dinner table. It is thus evident that the availability of smartphones and tablets have disrupted the work-life balance and have made life harder for parents and children. Thus, good parenting in Singapore is more challenging today than ever before parents are struggling with work and home.

Mass media is another reason, why parents are struggling to raise good children. The media today has penetrated every corner of our lives. Media today comes in forms of mobiles, laptops, television or newspapers. Parents today are using media to parent their children; this is evident from the fact that children from a very young age are given phones. By giving children access to phones and tablets at a very young age parents make an attempt to distract them and keep them busy. However, unbeknownst to them it has a severe impact on the parent-child relationship. Parents who allow children to use video streaming channels like Youtube, do not realise that the autoplay function may play related or unrelated videos which may have a negative effect on the children. For older kids, inappropriate content, violence and substance abuse are promoted repetitively in the mass media. Though these ideas might not be what the parents believe in they come at blame for allowing children to use these technologies. Therefore, good parenting today is more difficult due to media which threatens the well-being of children and exposes them to wrong ideas.

With changing times, the definition of good parents has changed significantly. While parents in the past had the liberty to take a more relaxed approach towards parenting. Parents today do not have that liberty. Today being a good parent means not only to be involved in academics but also take care of the activities they take up at school, hobbies they pursue and also their playtime. While parents today have access to various websites and blogs, which have assisted them. These same websites and blogs have also led to severe confusion in parents who get different views on various websites. In Singapore, this has led parents to become more competitive and has led them to enrol their children in various enrichment classes. Thus, with the bar set so high, parents are expected to wear multiple hats and raise their kids. Hence, it is evident that raising children is very difficult today in present times.

In conclusion, the concept of good parenting has completely been redefined in present times. With access to Mass media in various forms and Long working hours, parents today have lesser time to spend with their children. Though the government has assisted parents by providing them grants and bonuses for raising children. It cannot be denied that good parenting is still very difficult in Singapore.

Consider the view that formal education has done little to prepare students for today’s challenges.

Traditional forms of formal education do little in preparing students for today’s challenges.

Education has been considered as an important step towards success. However, with advancements in technology, the job market today has changed dramatically. Moreover, new job roles and designations are created every year. Considering the changing work scenario, it is important that there is a paradigm shift in which education is provided. In present-day society, formal education is still the same as many years ago where students’ intelligence is tested by the same standardised tests. The significance of formal education has declined in recent times. However, formal education has been instrumental in preparing students for today’s challenges as education systems are getting diversified.

Opponents of formal education often argue that it is theoretical in nature and fails to prepare students for contributing to the global economy. Most schools and colleges today teach students subjects and topics that are quite outdated and theoretical in nature. The lack of proper practical training in subjects leads students to lack real-life skills. This is especially true in the case of India where many aspiring engineers are left unemployed because of the course-work that is outdated and not job-centric. In fact, the lack of employability skills leaves many students to take up jobs in fields not related to engineering. Similarly, in Singapore, young graduates face higher unemployment levels compared to older peers. Education, therefore, has not equipped students with practical knowledge and the qualities they achieve through education are not indicative of students’ ability to reason and creative thinking. Thus, formal education has failed to prepare people to face the challenges of the global economy.

However, education has diversified its ways to impart knowledge to students. Formal education is adapting to keep up with the changes of today. Northern European countries like Norway, Finland and Denmark lead the way in providing formal education along with vocational training which ensures that the students remain employable. Similarly, in countries like Germany and Singapore, there are a myriad of vocational courses that people can undertake. Moreover, in Singapore people can enrol themselves in polytechnics instead of universities to get a more hands-on experience within a dynamic environment. In developing countries like India, vocational education and training are steadily gaining momentum. Indians today are not only getting educated in conventional fields like medicine and engineering.  Today, they are also gaining education to become trained electricians, plumbers and fashion designers. When students are trained vocationally, they can be beneficial to the economy as they can earn higher wages and contribute to economic growth. This is the reason why many countries have recognised the importance of skill-based learning and are investing in vocational training. Therefore, formal education helps students become ready for today’s economic challenges, as education systems are diversifying and adapting to global changes.

Formal education is also instrumental in minimising the divide between different races and religions. Many countries today are facing challenges in forms of racial and religious divides. Formal education systems are important in diminishing these divides as most educational systems emphasise on the holistic development of students. This is evident through the various activities and programmes that are available to students at school and university level. An example of this can be seen in the US where students are enrolled in the Child Development Project (CDP) in multiple states. The programme helps to foster children’s ethical, social and intellectual development. Furthermore, in-school educational systems enrolling in extra-curricular activities like dance, drama, music, art and debate helps children to collaborate with a diverse range of peers. This helps in building skills like teamwork and resilience which are very much necessary in today’s volatile job market. Extracurricular activities also help in promoting lasting friendships among students from diverse backgrounds and fosters social integration which helps the children to become a responsible citizen in the future. Thus, formal education plays an important role in the overall development of the children in the form of extracurricular activities and prepares people to face the challenges of today.

In conclusion, traditional forms of formal education do little in preparing students for today’s challenges. However, education systems across the world are adapting to the changes in present times. Formal education today is emphasising on development of children not only to prepare them for the job world but also to face social challenges. Therefore, formal education cannot be easily dismissed as irrelevant to students today.