Category: Youth

To what extent is the present celebrity culture harmful or beneficial?

Everyone wants to be the next Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber or Bill Gates. Most people have dreams of being a superstar. This is because of the present celebrity culture which is fuelled by media. From movies to advertisements to dramas to television shows, more than half of the content on media is on celebrities. Therefore celebrities have impacts on people. They are role models for people so they can have beneficial impacts on people. However present celebrity culture is harmful as celebrity styles foster unrealistic aspirations, media devotes too much to celebrity culture and the star-struck people are too overawed over celebrities. Therefore present celebrity culture has negative impacts on people. negatively impacts people.

[Since question is asking you ‘To what extent”, this would be a good time to say “it significantly impacts people.”]

Celebrities are role models compared to others because they appear on media every single day and have greater influence on people. Present celebrity culture portrays celebrities in their best appearance. They are public figures who can bring large impacts on people. A lot of celebrities set a good example. For example, Michael Jackson was the founder of Heal the World Foundation where he has donated millions of dollars to disadvantaged children. He was also named as the pop star who has supported the most charity organizations. Other than pop stars, people like Bill Gates has made contribution to society. He set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. People can learn from them and the fans of these two people will definitely follow their idols in contributing to society. However celebrities make mistakes at times. Celebrities cannot be role models to people as there are a lot of scandals about themselves. Paparazzi are everywhere to expose celebrities’ scandals. For example, Michael Jackson was sued for child molestation. This has created an a negative impact on people. Other than Michael Jackson, Bill Gates stole ideas from Apple Company to start up his own company, Microsoft. These are all inappropriate examples set by celebrities. Therefore celebrities are not role models to people and they bring negative impacts to people.

Present celebrity culture may foster unrealistic aspirations on people. Media always portrays celebrities in a perfect look. Almost everyday, celebrities appear on magazines, newspapers and television shows with a slim body. This causes a large impact on people. They bring about unrealistic aspirations. People may force themselves to lose weight in order to achieve a slim body like the celebrities. For example, there was news report that a young lady went on diet to achiever a slim body and died because of malnutrition. This is the result of unrealistic aspirations of people on slim body. Most of the celebrities are slim so this causes people to have the mindset that one must be slim in order to look pretty. However not every celebrity is endorsing on a weight loss advertisement. People cannot put the fault on celebrities that cause those cases of people going on diet and died but celebrities are very influential. They appear everywhere and people see them everyday. Their influence about slim body on people is very large too. Therefore present celebrity culture is harmful.

Other than unrealistic aspirations, present celebrity culture may create stereotypes on people. People see every celebrity in their best look every day on television or in magazines. Celebrities are being portrayed as beautiful ladies or handsome men. This leads to the result that many people having the stereotype of being beautiful, one needs to look like a celebrity. People are mistaken about the definition of beauty. To them, beauty seems to be all about the appearance or the outside. For example, some people spend lots money to go for plastic surgery so as to like some celebrity. To me, no one is ugly. It all depends on people’s definition of beauty. A beautiful woman with an evil thought is considered ugly but a normal-looking person with a kind heart is beautiful.

Media devotes too much to celebrity culture as celebrities are always appearing on television, magazines or other mass media. Celebrities appear almost everywhere. Their life seems to be exposed to the public. Whatever they do, wherever they go, there will be reported on newspapers or television. Media mainly focuses on celebrities’ gossip and neglects important issues. For example, in the period of Tiger Woods having an affair, media was filled with this news almost every single day. People would only focus on “unhealthy” news instead of world news. However, there are not many celebrities having an affair like Tiger Woods so media would not be filled with this type of news every day. Coming back, Tiger Woods is a public figure and is a well-known professional golfer so his impact on society is large. Therefore media was always reporting on him so media devotes too much to celebrity culture nowadays.

Present celebrity culture has caused media to be not educational.  The content of media is always showing celebrities’ life or gossip. Media is a tool of education. People gain knowledge though media. Due to the present celebrity culture, media is becoming more and more not educational. People can only know gossip of a celebrity through media. For example, some news about celebrity can even go on headline news. This causes media to be “unhealthy” and does not give educational content to people. Therefore present celebrity culture is harmful.

In conclusion, the present celebrity culture is harmful to a large extent. It causes people to have unrealistic aspirations. Media is filled with celebrities’ news every day and becoming less educational. Media should not always report gossips and should focus more on important issues like economy or politics. Celebrities need to take responsibility and try to maintain their good image to the public so as to bring good impacts to people.

Education is the most powerful weapon that can make the world a better place. Discuss.

A majority of governments across the world have recognized the importance of education as a tool to boost progress and make a world a better place. For example, the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations place priority on providing quality education. The administrators of SDG also validate their mission by attesting the number of people that have got out of poverty due to education. Supporters of education suggest that it is the most powerful weapon to bring change and it can help people to do greater good for the world.

Education brings equality to society and allows social mobility regardless of status. Education systems around the world have changed their systems to bring equality among people. An example of this can be the education system in Finland, where there are only one standardized test and all students in the same classrooms and provides extra educational assistance to those who need it. Moreover, private schools in Finland are non-existent. This ensures that students have equal access to education regardless of socioeconomic background. Thus, education is a social leveller and by bringing us closer to equality it makes the world a better place.

Education also empowers people and gives them the power to question those in power. In recent years there have been many student activists’ protests to question the authorities. An example of this can be the students from more than 130 countries, who skipped school for the global climate strike which gained widespread attention. Another notable example can be of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, where students organised protests and rallies against gun violence. The protest aimed to spread awareness about gun violence.  Critics might point out that it is idealism that leads to this social change and not education. However, they should not forget that education is the tool that enables them to know about these issues and gives them the courage to stage these protests. Therefore, education makes the world a better place by giving students and youth power to question those in power.

Education, when controlled by governments, can be used as a tool to gain control over people. An example of this can be seen in Indian history, where Lord Macaulay, replaced native texts with English texts and also proclaimed that they wanted to create a class of Indians, that were Indian in race and blood but British in taste and morals.  In present times, North Korea uses similar tactics where education is used to brainwash people. The children throughout their education learn about leaders like Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il and their greatness is emphasised in the books.  In Pakistan, students are taught that India is the aggressor and they should do everything possible to counter India and its politics. Thus, education makes the world a difficult place to live in when it is used to dominate people.

While education makes the world a better place by bringing equality, rationality and giving power to the voiceless, education can have a negative impact on society when it is used for wrong reasons. Education, when used for wrong purposes, can lead to the subjugation of people. Thus, it is necessary to develop educational systems in a progressive way so that education in all senses makes the world a better place. By and large, education is the most powerful weapon to change the world for the better as it has reduced poverty and brought about greater equality among people.

Young people today never had it so good. Is this true of Singapore?

There is a widely held view that Singapore’s youth has grown up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living – a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome.

The young never had it so good. There is a widely held view that Singapore’s youth has grown up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living – a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome. While this view is not an unreasonable one, we must also consider the fact that youths today face challenges in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain. The prevailing set of challenges in the political, economic and social domains may be radically different from those in the past, but they are no less daunting and pernicious. It would be superfluous to agree that young people in Singapore lead easier lives than ever before.

Proponents of the view that young people have never had it so good until today point to the abundant education opportunities made available to youths today. It is undoubtedly true that compared to past generations, youth enjoy far greater access to learning in today’s day and age. In Singapore’s context, the government has gradually introduced a greater number of education bursaries and scholarships offered to students from less-privileged backgrounds to ensure that the education system remains a meritocratic one that rewards those who work hard, while not denying access to those who may not afford education. This is a vast improvement from the past where it was not uncommon for young people to skip school because of the need to stay at home to look after their siblings or to work in order to contribute to the monthly household income. In recent years, the government has created diverse education routes and pathways. The musically or artistically inclined can now choose to pursue their secondary education in the School of the Arts (SOTA), while budding athletes can opt to enrol in the Singapore Sports School.   In this sense, today’s education landscape in Singapore has made life for young people much more accessible and empowering. If strictly measured by this yardstick, then we can say that young people never had it so good.

Apart from better education opportunities, young people in Singapore today enjoy higher standards of living compared to the generations that came before them. Rapid urbanisation and modernisation in the last few decades have witnessed attap-roof houses and family farms being replaced with high-rise flats, high-technology buildings and manicured streets lined with trees that are regularly pruned to prevent overgrowth. While communal public toilets, non-air-conditioned buses and potholes on muddy roads form a bulk of the memories of many older generations in Singapore, many Singaporean youth today cannot imagine sleeping without air-conditioning or deprived of the many creature comforts they have now. Many, as such, view the young people today as a mollycoddled bunch who are unable to survive physical hardship and discomfort. In addition to increased standards of living, the increase in spending on luxury and branded items amongst the young in Singapore today lead many to regard this as evidence that youth today have a much easier life as compared to before.

However, when one takes into account the circumstances and the new set of challenges that our young people have to face, the perspective that young people never had it so good before appears one-dimensional. In the economic sphere, the vicissitudes of what has been termed the ‘roller-coaster global economy’ has led to much fear and anxiety over jobs, inflation and economic uncertainty. The oldest millennials born in 1981 would have entered the workforce at a time when the global economy was suffering from an unprecedented collapse of the financial sector, and research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis go as far as to suggest that these millennials might be unable to accumulate sufficient wealth for retirement. Younger millennials born in the 1990s and 2000s have to contend with economic uncertainties like the US-China trade war, the implications of climate change on supply chains, and rapid unprecedented rates of technological disruption to traditional industries. This is a vast contrast to the situation in Singapore’s early days of economic development in the 1960s and 1970s which saw the creation of large numbers of jobs in the rapidly growing manufacturing industry, and strong and sustained economic growth rates. Young people in Singapore today thus face greater pressure to remain competitive and employable, contrary to the perception that they lead smooth-sailing lives with their whole lives charted out for them. From an economic perspective, young people today never had it so good.

Additionally, while young people today are generally more educated than past generations, the overall increase in education standards means that there are greater expectations to do well academically and it is even more difficult for one to stand out amongst a sea of university students, especially when 4 in 10 Singaporean youth will eventually be degree holders. Moreover, the influx of foreign talents in recent years has raised the bar for many graduates, making it more competitive in getting jobs. As a result, young people, despite being given more education opportunities, now face greater difficulty in getting their desired jobs, and often have to make do with jobs that do not match their qualifications or aspirations. A recent research study conducted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute suggest a pernicious, worrying underbelly of underemployed millennial graduates, some of whom are earning less than $2,000 a month from their full-time jobs despite their education qualifications. This suggests that young people in Singapore may not necessarily be better off compared to past generations when we take into consideration the increasingly competitive and uncertain job landscape in which they have to survive and thrive in today.

In our world which is increasingly fraught with fear, insecurity and uncertainty, the young are living in a Singapore that is beset with novel challenges that previous generations did not have to grapple with. As the famous historian R G Collingwood once said, “every new generation must rewrite history in its own way”. In this light, when assessing this or any generation, both the positive and the challenging aspects must be taken into account. Therefore, notwithstanding the better education or job opportunities available to this generation, it would be inaccurate to say that the young in Singapore never had it good if we understand also the myriad issues surrounding today’s generation.

Higher education is no longer necessary for success. Discuss.

For a majority of people, higher education undoubtedly remains key to achieving success. Not only are degrees badges of acquired skill, they are sometimes even status symbols. In addition, the experience of going through higher education often proves to be greatly important if one seeks a successful career. Higher education still plays a vital role in the pathway to success.

For a majority of people, higher education undoubtedly remains key to achieving success. Not only are degrees badges of acquired skill, they are sometimes even status symbols. In addition, the experience of going through higher education often proves to be greatly important if one seeks a successful career. Higher education still plays a vital role in the pathway to success.

It is easy to see why there has been increasing optimism of attaining success through means other than higher education. First, the rapid growth of online courses offered by Coursera and Phoenix University have led to the argument that the advent of the Internet has made it such that individuals no longer need higher education to obtain the skills they require for their jobs. Second, people often lament that despite obtaining degrees, they are unable to find work, and cannot pay off college debts they have accumulated. Third, mass media platforms have recently painted pictures of how individuals like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg reached the very peak of what it means to be “successful”, without ever needing the support of higher education. This leads to the claim that higher education has lost its ability to deliver some measures of success. These three arguments present the case that higher education is no longer necessary for success.

However, it is overly assertive to claim that the skills that people learn from university education are irrelevant, even with the aid of the Internet. Instead, it is more reasonable to believe that higher education provides greater opportunities for learning. Though it may be possible to obtain the same access to information, it is only at universities that individuals of similar interests are able to gather in a classroom, exchange thoughts and ideas with each other, and learn under the tutelage of professors at the forefronts of their fields. Comparatively, those who do not attend higher education do not have that same opportunity to ask peers or professors for help when they run into problems understanding the content taught. Especially for specialised fields like biotechnology and law, the skills and knowledge necessary for the future remain largely accessible only to those who have undergone higher education. From this, it is clear that university graduates have greater propensity to gain skills and knowledge than non-graduates.

In addition, the university degree itself is a badge of acquired skill, reassuring employers that these employees have learnt the content, and are able to handle the work assigned to them. This means that graduates are more likely to be hired than non-graduates, which often translates into higher salaries. Furthermore, the trust that employers have in graduates’ ability to perform better often translates into greater financial remuneration. Today, bachelor’s degree holders can expect median lifetime earnings of about US$2.3 million, as compared to US$1.3 million for workers with just a high school diploma. Ultimately, higher education does in fact bring about greater financial success for graduates.

It is also fallacious to argue that higher education has stopped being a necessary part to being successful just because there have been exceptions to it. Not only were Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates intellectual geniuses and visionaries who had foreseen and grasped business opportunities, they were born into circumstances which ultimately facilitated their success. Courses offered at universities could not offer advice to these entrepreneurs embarking as pioneers of a new field. On the other hand, an overwhelming proportion of individuals do not enjoy the same kind of privilege, be it financial or intellectual. Hence, for most, the likely route to success is higher education, which sets them apart from other job applicants.

In fact, for most occupations excluding degree-blind jobs such as entrepreneurship and advertising, higher education plays an integral role in assimilating graduates into their future workplaces. Upon entering the workplace, university graduates depend upon the ties they had developed to help them along, and this often stems from their higher education experience. For example, specialists often depend on the referrals of other doctors to obtain a base of patients. In such a situation, getting to know others who are in the field is incredibly important for one’s career advancement prospects. Thus, higher education is not just about the content and skills involved, but also the relationships graduates develop with each other. The social advantage that higher education offers hence allows graduates to get a leg up over non-graduate.

In essence, higher education remains necessary for success. This is not to say that all graduates are necessarily more successful than all non-graduates, because of the multitude of factors involved. However, university graduates do indeed benefit greatly from higher education, a crucial factor contributing to being successful.