UHLB2123-ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS

SECTION 52

READING REFLECTION (20%)

STUDENT NAME MATRIC NO.

NUR SYAIRA BINTI MOHD ZUKI A19BE0200
NUR FATIHAH BINTI MOHAMMAD ZAMNI A19BE0195
ARTICLE 1

6 REASONS YOUR TEEN’S LIFE IS MORE STRESSFUL THAN YOUR OWN

I am the father of four very patient teenagers, two still living at home. They indulge my
stream of dad jokes with a wry, sympathetic smile. My unfavourable comparison of their
music tastes to the golden age of late-’70s classic rock is generally tolerated, perhaps with
the occasional eye roll. But one day, their patience finally snapped after I delivered a
particularly eloquent rant on how easy their lives were compared with my stress-filled adult
existence. I wanted to swap!

My daughter and son staged what can only be described as an intervention. They sat
me down at the dining table and explained just how stressful their lives were. It was an eye-
opening experience.

Despite living with these young people and observing the ups and downs of their daily lives,
I had still failed to grasp many of the sometimes subtle pressures — biological, social and
psychological — that make being a 21st-century teenager so complicated. True, they may
not have mortgages or dependents of their own, but that’s not to say their lives are always
easy.

Here are just a few of the reasons your teenager’s life just might be more stressful than
yours:

Teenage sleep deprivation is real. “Sending kids to school at 7 a.m. is the equivalent of
sending an adult to work at 4 in the morning.” — William Dement, professor of psychiatry
and behavioural sciences at Stanford University. According to a study carried out by Brown
University School of Medicine, ninth- and tenth-grade students should get nine hours of
sleep each night to maintain optimal alertness. However, after surveying 3,000 high school
students, researchers found that, on average, students managed only about 7.5 hours of sleep
on a school night. This sleep deprivation was even more pronounced in high school boys
than in girls.

Part of the problem is that even if students try to achieve nine hours of sleep each night, their
own bodies may be working against them. Studies show that teenage circadian rhythms run
around two hours behind those of the average adult, turning them into night owls who
struggle to wake in time for school each morning. For this reason, early school start times
are associated with significant sleep deprivation in adolescents, which can lead to a decline
in performance, memory lapses and mood swings, as well as behavioural problems.

Hormones, anxiety and depression are on the rise. I admit that teenage hormones (and the
strong emotions they create) can be stressful for the adults in their life. However, imagine
carrying around that bundle of emotions with you 24/7. It’s an exhausting prospect. And it’s
not just the hormones: rapid growth spurts, periods, acne and unreliable vocal cords can all
add to a feeling of being out of control, which can trigger a cycle of anxiety and depression
in teens.
In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers found that the
prevalence of major depressive episodes in adolescent children in America increased from
8.7 percent in 2005 to 11.3 percent in 2014. The study also notes that the risk of depression
sharply rises as children transition into adolescence. Adolescent girls are more likely to
suffer from depression than their male counterparts, with the prevalence rising from 13.1
percent to 17.3 percent over a 10-year period from 2004 to 2014.

So what is causing the increased rates of depression in teens — and why are girls more
strongly affected? Researchers aren’t entirely sure. However, they note that cyberbullying
has increased more dramatically among girls than boys. Also, girls tend to use texting
applications more intensively, which has been linked to an increased likelihood of depressed
moods. So, external pressures coupled with surging hormones can lead to a lot of distress for
the average teen.

Teens’ lives are not their own. In traditional schooling, many aspects of a student’s life are
decided for them – from what subjects they study to what they wear at school and what
schedules they follow. This lack of control can lead to stress. Adults have the autonomy to
do as they please, but if teenagers try, it is called rebellion.

In a report published by the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, researchers found

that students tend to try harder and enjoy school more when they work toward their own
ideals of perfectionism. In other words, when students set their own expectations for
themselves and try to achieve them — effectively directing their own destiny — they are
usually happier and more motivated.

You have one boss, your teenager has six. Imagine having six bosses, all with large amounts
of power over your daily life and future. Each boss has different expectations, ways of
working, levels of competency and degrees of emotional intelligence. And if you don’t
satisfy each one, your career is on the line.

A teenager will typically have to deal with six different teachers who are effectively their
“bosses” – not to mention parents or guardians. If an adult has a poor boss, they have the
means and ability to move to another job. A typical teenager doesn’t have such options.

To complicate the issue further, researchers found last year that stress levels among teachers
could contribute to student stress. After measuring cortisol levels in elementary school
students, researchers learned that children showed higher levels of this so-called stress
hormone when they were being taught by teachers experiencing burnout. Another survey by
Gallup in 2016 found that 46 percent of teachers in America reported high daily stress
levels, which means this problem could be more common than thought. What’s more, when
teachers are stressed, students show lower levels of social adjustment and academic
performance.

This, of course, isn’t to say that all teachers are terrible, stress-inducing people in our
children’s lives. It is simply a reminder that a stressed-out teacher — or any adult in their
lives — could be a source of much angst for your already hormonal teenager.
The dilemma of standing out while fitting in. The struggle for identity is hard. Teenagers
like to be different, but at the same time they want to fit in. Because of this, they often face
pressure from peers, parents and society to behave a certain way to feel accepted and valued
by those around them.

The Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois discovered in a study of nearly

500 adolescents that peer-related stress contributes to depression in youths. Teachers have
also observed that peer stress negatively affected students’ academic performance and
overall emotional well-being. What’s more, when adolescents were unable to adapt to these
external stressors, they ended up ruminating over the issue, which exacerbates the problem
and increases their susceptibility to depression.

Examples of stressful events listed by the researchers included everything from a friend
dying to physical fights to not being invited to a party — anything that could undermine
their social security and identity. Girls tend to be more affected by these kinds of social
setbacks than boys, as they put a greater emphasis on interpersonal connectedness and
therefore are more sensitive to peer stress and negative self-evaluation.

The uncertain future of job security. For those of us who still remember a time before the
Internet, being a teenager was a carefree time. Many of us weren’t as bogged down by
worries about joblessness and a lack of financial security. It was expected that whatever we
did, a fully-fledged career would be available for us when we grew up. I’m afraid that this is
no longer the case. The global economic downturn, job automation, globalization and an
increasingly competitive job market are causing great anxiety among young people. With the
use of artificial intelligence imminent, teenagers find themselves caught in a transitional
phase that is expected to uproot economies and labor markets around the world.

In fact, it is getting increasingly hard to predict which way their careers may go. In her book
Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live,
Work and Learn, Cathy Davidson states that 65 percent of students currently entering grade
school will end up in jobs that have not yet been invented. While there is perhaps something
exciting about that prospect, it does make it hard to plan for the future — and that can be
terrifying.

These are just a few of the typical teenage stressors that my daughter and son outlined that
day. Overall, I am amazed at how resilient, “gritty” and good-humored they are, considering
the pressures and uncertainties they juggle on a daily basis. If I were to revisit my offer to
swap places, I’m now inclined to say, “No, thanks. My adult stresses are just fine.”
TITLE OF ARTICLE 1:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/05/15/6-
reasons-your-teens-life-is-more-stressful-than-your-own/ / John
Nicholls / 6 REASONS YOUR TEEN’S LIFE IS MORE
Source STRESSFUL THAN YOUR OWN
Main arguments / ● Lack of sleeping which can lead to a decline in performance,
ideas
memory lapses and mood swings, as well as behavioural
problems.
● Hormones, anxiety and depression are on the rise.
Adolescent girls are more likely to suffer from depression
than their male counterparts. They note that cyberbullying
has increased more dramatically among girls than boys.
● Their lives are not their own. Many aspects of a student’s
life are decided for them. This lack of control can lead to
stress.
● A teenager will typically have to deal with six different
teachers. Each teacher has different expectations, ways of
working, levels of competency and degrees of emotional
intelligence. Researchers found last year that stress levels
among teachers could contribute to student stress.
● Teenagers like to be different, but at the same time they
want to fit in. Teachers have also observed that peer stress
negatively affected students’ academic performance and
overall emotional well-being. Girls tend to be more affected
by these kinds of social setbacks than boys, as they put a
greater emphasis on interpersonal connectedness and
therefore are more sensitive to peer stress and negative self-
evaluation.
● The uncertain future of job security. The global economic
downturn, job automation, globalization and an increasingly
 competitive job market are causing great anxiety among
young people

ARTICLE 2

GROWING UP IN TODAY'S SOCIETY IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN GROWING

UP BACK THEN

“We were your age once, you know,” is a common statement that teenagers and young adults
hear from their parents -- and sometimes on a daily basis (more often than not). This
statement is very true, obviously, because everyone did grow up; I mean, that’s just simple
anatomy. However, this statement also irks me, and here’s why:

As much as adults may disagree and naturally argue this point, I strongly believe that
growing up in today’s world is much more challenging than it was for past generations.
Social pressures are more powerful, competition is much greater, technology is skyrocketing
and everything said or done can be made public in the span of 5 seconds. Violence and
danger are also more prevalent, and it seems as if numbers define a child more so than their
actual abilities. Young adults, teenagers, even children, are being faced with greater struggles
than any of our parents ever went through.

Social pressures these days are everywhere, and children at younger ages are being exposed
to them. Everyone is growing up so much quicker, and children’s innocence is being swiped
away at a much younger age than necessary. The topic of discussion at a middle school table
is all about drugs, alcohol, and sex. Since when has that become OK? The pressure follows
teens everywhere they go, from social gatherings to behind closed doors on the internet.
Unfortunately, we have social media to thank for that one. Sure, our parents were also
worried about fitting in and doing the “cool thing”, but the peer pressure they faced was not
even close to the immense pressure teenagers feel today.

Instead of running around outside and playing manhunt, young teens are in someone’s
basement drinking alcohol. Middle schoolers are vaping instead of riding somewhere and
getting ice cream. Going on a movie date for the first time creates the question of, “Is he
going to kiss me the whole time?” instead of, “Should I ask for popcorn?” Kids are growing
up too fast, and in today’s society, being rebellious and doing “bad” things are becoming the
new norm. Kids get tormented for going against the gradient, so they roll with the flow.

Social media has also caused chaos -- a whole new element of drama that adults didn’t have
to grow up dealing with. Everything one says or does is immediately posted, or saved onto
someone’s camera roll, and usually never gets deleted. Adults can whine to us about how
everything is "the same as it was in the past," and how it just has to do with perspective.
But that is in fact not true. Social media itself is causing greater social pressures and greater
risks. With social media, nothing is private. Growing up today means you grow up in a
spotlight, and that comes with great responsibility. You have to constantly be aware of what
you are doing, what you are saying, and who you are associating with. Because if you mess
up or are with the wrong crowd, even for 10 minutes, that may backfire quicker than you can
say the word backfire.

Similarly, social media goes hand in hand with giving today’s teens false images of
“perfection” and what is “expected” vs. what is “weird.” Today’s society is obsessed with
what makes someone fat or ugly. Models wearing a size 4 are considered overweight, and
celebrities walking down the street without makeup on are attacked by being called “sickly.”
Social media’s role in this is to make sure these stories and images get shown everywhere,
and I mean everywhere.

Today’s world is so focused on appearance that many young people growing up are
brainwashed and manipulated into thinking that they are not pretty enough, not desirable and
not wanted. This then leads to more cases of depression, and higher suicide rates. I am not
stating that this did not occur back then because I know it did. Depression and the natural
instinct to not like yourself (or things about yourself) is inevitable.

However, in today’s society and with social media crawling at you in every direction, the
urgency to be perfect is a much bigger problem now than it was before. There is such an
unachievable standard that this society has created for my generation, and all teens seem to
fall into its depths to at least some extent.

Switching topics, the competition is also greater. Everything is way more difficult than it
needs to be, especially the entire process for applying to colleges. You cannot get into your
dream school without having a 4.0 GPA, being a varsity athlete for four years, being the
president in three clubs, doing 100 hours of community service and having two jobs.

Being involved is great, yes, but I do not think that the requirements to get into certain
schools should be the way they are. I understand there is a high demand and requirements
need to be put into place, but I think this should be done in a more efficient way. High
schoolers are constantly thinking about ways to fill up their resume and what they can do to
make themselves better than the person sitting next to them.

The. Pressure. Never. Ends.

Got a C on a test? That’s unheard of. Try again. Only have a 3.4 GPA? Sorry, you must get
all A’s next semester to even stand a chance. The academic pressure is exceeding what it has
ever been before, and it takes a toll on students' happiness and freedom to just be a teen and
enjoy life! Even after college, it never ends. The competition to get into grad school, or to
land that big internship, is so great that it begins to be the only thing on a young adult’s brain.
Our generation needs to learn to relax, breathe, and have some hope that everything will fall
into place.

Numbers have slowly taken over. Whether it be a simple test grade, a GPA, an ACT score or
something as silly as how many followers you have on Instagram and how many comments
you get on a post. Your abilities are defined by your ACT scores, because “you are only as
smart as your test score shows” (obviously not true, but that’s how it feels).

Your popularity is defined by how many likes you get on a picture, and if you get a lot,
you’re obviously better than Sally who only got 5 (again, NOT true). But you see, we are
surrounded by these numbers, and the pressure we face stems from those. It has turned into a
life or death situation, and that is not healthy. This is also where social media comes in, again.
You know every achievement and every award that someone has ever been granted. People
growing up today are so focused on being better than the person beside them, and bragging to
all their peers about how successful and amazing they are. Life for today’s teens is one giant
competition, and it seems to be never ending.

Danger and violence are also spiraling out of control, and the political stuff around us. Yes,
politics have always been a thing, and so has violence, but it is baffling how much of an
effect those are having today. It seems we are moving backward, not forward.

Teens have to fear going to the movie theater these days or walking home from the pool at
night. You have to get patted down to enter a food festival, and you can’t wear long necklaces
at schools because they are considered “weapons.” What is happening here? Every night on
the news you hear about a new shooting, or a new person getting arrested on your street; it is
truly never ending, and it certainly does not seem to be getting any better.

The point I’m trying to make is that sometimes adults really don’t fully get it. I know they
understand similar aspects and have empathy for certain scenarios that we go through, but
they will never actually understand what it feels like to grow up now. It really is so different,
whether they want to believe it or not. Everyone encounters struggles and challenges, but
today it is especially difficult because there is always someone else to please, someone else to
compete with and another higher expectation to be met. Nothing nowadays is simple, or easy.

Life is not easy, and I get that, but today’s youth is growing up with issues and pressures that
are greater than they’ve ever been. We are constantly having to watch our back, be aware of
who is watching us and potentially recording us, wear the best outfit to the concert and get
the very best grades to stand a chance in today’s competitive world. Numbers are becoming
more important than skills, and teenagers are constantly striving for an unachievable goal of
perfection. Sometimes I wish I could rewind time and grow up in the time my parents did, or
at least wish that the adults in our lives would somehow understand the great pressure and
challenges we are all being consumed by.
TITLE OF ARTICLE 2:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/growing-todays-society-much-
more-difficult-than-growing-back-then / Jordan Hall / GROWING
UP IN TODAY'S SOCIETY IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN
Source GROWING UP BACK THEN
Main arguments / Comparison between nowadays teen with back then generations
ideas
● Adult not understand what are nowadays teens feel today effect
of social pressure
● Adult always compare their back time when their being teen
with teen nowadays
● There are many differences between social pressure today and
back then.

Social Media

● There is nothing private on social media anymore because

nowadays they enjoy showing off their life to the world.
● Everything that is shown on social media should be shown
everywhere and every time until they cannot be themselves and
that makes them pressure.
● Every word, everything they do on social media will get
attention so they need to be more careful with that. If not, they
will go viral and attack with others.

Perfectionism

● All the pressure today because teens nowadays want to get

attention from people.
● They also want to be popular because of what they saw on social
media. Popular people will get attention and will be loved by
everyone
● They think everything should be perfect to be attractive and that
makes them feel depressed because they think they are not good
enough in everything.
● All about nowadays is how to get more attention from people

Performance

● Nowadays, good grades in school/university will get more

attention from family and teachers and that makes teen feel
pressure
● Pressure from family who want their teen get the highest grades
in all subject in school/university make teens more pressure
until they cannot enjoy their life
● For them, highest grades are everything. They think with good
grades, their teen will get a perfect life in future until they do not
get freedom in their life.
● Because nowadays, there are so many smart students so they
need to compete with them.

Danger and Violence

● Nowadays there are too many dangerous things that can happen
at any time and anywhere.
 Instruction: Write your reflection of both articles in between 400 and 500 words.

Our reflection Write a reflection which demonstrates clear understanding of the

subject matter:
a. Overall in Article 1 and 2 adults do not understand what
nowadays teens feel today's effect of social pressure and always
compare their back time when they were teens. There was a lot of
social pressure back then.
b. The similarities between article 1 and 2 is the struggle of
teenagers nowadays with the school or colleges. Parents and
teachers thought the teenagers needed to get flying colours. All
the pressure makes them lack sleep because they need more time
to study to get the best grades and sleep deprivation can lead to a
decline in performance, memory lapses and mood swings, as well
as behavioural problems. Next, teenagers will get into mental
health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression. The
mental health problems will affect their daily life and the
performance in school or colleges and affect teenager behaviour
to negative self-evaluation.
The differences between both articles is in article 1, the author
mentioned how stressed the teenagers nowadays are with
traditional schooling. There are many aspects that are already
decided for a student's life. They cannot decide for their own life.
Back then, before the existence of the Internet, teenagers just
enjoyed their teen life without thinking about their job in future.
But in the 21st century era, teenagers are always worried about
their future job because of the global economy downturn, job
automation, globalization and increasingly competitive job
market.
In the article 2, they talk about the social media that give the
social pressure to teenagers nowadays. Teenagers use their social
media to tell the world what they are doing in daily life.
Everything needs to capture and post to social media. Besides,
 every word or posting in social media will get attention. If you do
something wrong, you will go viral and all the netizens will attack
your social media and that will make you feel depressed because
of all the negative comments. Next, the author also mentioned
perfectionism. In social media, many people showed their perfect
life such as how they dress, what they are eating, how good their
life is and this makes teenagers nowadays triggered. Because they
think their life is not perfect like what people show on social
media.
c. Based on our evaluation of both articles, we found that social
pressure because of the direct influence by the surrounding, or
effect on individuals who get encouraged to follow the trend that
might change their attitudes, values or behaviour to conform to
those of the influencing group or individual. In both articles we
also found that the problem that teens suffer now is because of
nowadays school or college systems that care more about grades
and ranking. That might give more pressure to teens until they
can affect their mental health until they get problems such as
stress, anxiety or depression because they cannot balance their
social life with studies.
d. In Article 1, examples of stressful events listed by the researchers
included everything from a friend dying to physical fights to not
being invited to a party — anything that could undermine their
social security and identity. Girls tend to be more affected by
these kinds of social setbacks than boys, as they put a greater
emphasis on interpersonal connectedness and therefore are more
sensitive to peer stress and negative self-evaluation.
In Article 2, today’s world is so focused on appearance that many
young people growing up are brainwashed and manipulated into
thinking that they are not pretty enough, not desirable and not
wanted. This then leads to more cases of depression, and higher
suicide rates.
e. There are generalisations being made by the writers in both
 articles and we agree with them.
Please attach your article 1 & 2 with the assignment