The Common Mistakes Often Committed By Generation from Generation and the Reasons Why They Are Committing It

The Common Mistakes Often Committed By Generation from Generation and the Reasons Why They Are Committing It

A Research Paper Presented To

English Resource Center

School of Accounting and Business

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Course

Research Writing

Joane Ermitaño

December 2013

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

            Generation from generation, people have been committing the same mistakes others have done in the past. It seems like it has always been a problem of changing your path from the path of the world. Influence is one of the major key to a better future. You can see that wherever you go, it may be at home, at work or even at school, influence has always been a factor which determines a person's being. It is very important that as a person mature and grow; he or she tends to look up to those people around him or her. He or she has the tendency to adopt and create his or her own comfort zone from it.

            As years gone by, many analysts observed that the wrong decisions teenagers commit just tend to change their lives in somehow a permanent way. Worst, many have failed to recover from it which leads them to do stupid things that would cause them to undergo such process wherein they experience long term depression, anxiety, etc.

One of the most common consequences that a teenager has to face from their mistakes is having a child at a very young age. Generation from generation, the ratio of a teenager bearing a child under the legal age which is 18 tends to get higher and higher each year. In poor black Chicago in the 1920s, it was considered a crisis that just one in six babies was born outside of marriage. (McWhorter, 2013) In addition to McWhorter works, he added that some studies have shown that as years pass by the ratio have already progresses and right now three of four American black babies are raised by a single parent. It is such a shame to be a part of this kind of generation that is why it is very important to be aware of the factors that cause it. A lot of teenager these days has done such things without them even aware of committing it due to the existing of alcohol, drugs, etc. Another example of a common mistake done by most teenagers isbeing addicted to different vices. (http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tough-truths-teen-pregnancy-article-1.1294329)

Being an open country, even though there is a law that says children below the legal or 18 are not allowed to buy alcohols and cigarette, they still manage to do so. Why? Because of, still the influences of those people around them. Let us not go too far anymore, just by the simple things children read in the magazines or internet, watch and eat can also be a cause and urge them to do wrong decisions in their lives. Because of technology, children nowadays can gather information with a gadget that is why parents must also be of the things they entrust with their kids. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276752/Mobile-users-leave-phone-minutes-check-150-times-day.html)

It seems that there has been a pattern regarding the mistakes which has damaged a lot of generations and it continues to do so until today. Common mistakes have been abused by the public that it ends up being a part of the norm. One of those is smoking, the scope of the ages affected by smoking gets younger and younger each year as it increases the total of people who are harmed by it.

We will also tackle mistakes that we don’t usually see as a pattern from generation from generation because all throughout we all thought that they are considered as crimes rather than something that is passed on by the generation before them. Yes, there are some crimes wherein people do it not because they need to do it but because it’s the only thing that they have seen in their life while they were growing up. One of those is stealing; it has been a very common crime especially by those who are in the rural areas.

            In spite of all the difficulties in life that every person faces every single day of their life. There are still some who are not conscious of what their decisions could do to them. People tend to behave in such a way that they think they can handle all the consequences in life without even evaluating how it could change it in just a blink of an eye.

            Mistakes are common, given that we are not perfect at all. But it is important to know that we can learn from them by being a part of the choices that we take and the decisions that we make every single day of our lives. There is a big difference from knowing and doing something about it and this paper tend to focus on informing everyone about it. It focuses on the factors that cause generations to keep on committing the same mistakes again.

            Therefore, evaluating the mistakes made generation from generation will also give us a hint of what has been taken place. It is very alarming to see every single day, that a young girl gives birth, not for her first child, but her second, third, etc. Also, it very painful for a parent to lose a child not because of sickness but because of a brawl, addiction, over use of computer and other more. We cannot stop something that we don’t know that is existing or without doing any action regarding the matter. 

This paper will focus on the mistakes often committed by generation from generation and the reasons why they are committing it.                    

B. Statement of the Problem

     This study aims to answer this question:

1. What are the mistakes often committed by generation from generation and the reasons why they are committing it?

C. Significance of the Study

College Students. This research paper would be able to help college students who are researching about our generation and past ones. It would give them a background of what has been done in the past and how our generation has coped from it. The researcher hope to give emphasis on the common reasons that could be understood and can be related to what is normally seen around. It could also be beneficial for their thesis in the future; they could use this as a basis for their future studies.

Teachers and Professors of human behavior. Teachers and professors of human behavior would benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information imparted in this research in preparing lesson plans for their students.

Parents. This study would somehow give parents some information of the influences they have over their children. It will give them an idea of what are the risks that their children may go through in life as they get older.

Teenagers. This study would allow teens to evaluate the factors and be able to know what could be ahead of them. Past may be very valuable to them but in some way it could be. Here they can learn from the information given and be aware of what is happening around them. It could help know hot to recover from their past and be able to start again regardless of the damage of the decisions they have chosen before.

Future Researchers. This study would somehow be beneficial and important to our future researches since it would give them some insights on to what have been the cycles of the generations that have gone by. It would help them distinguish the differences and similarities of each generation. Not only that, but it would also give them a hand of what other factors that they could look into regarding the said issue. Moreover, they could use this study as a source of valuable date given that the mistakes of our youth are not decreasing but rather it more the other way around. We may not know, but it is also possible that it could be used as comparison for improvement.

D. Scope and Delimitation

     This study focuses on are the mistakes often committed by generation from generation and the reasons why they are committing it.

            Given the main focus above, it will discuss also how the relationship of teenagers from their parents and friends could also influence them to do so many things. This will also give emphasis to the major mistakes most teenagers do and how they have come up doing those things.

E. Materials and Method

Research intends to use the method of locating things and make a pattern from it since the researcher aims to discuss how situations have come up to a certain point wherein it has forced oneself to do something that would cause him/her experience consequences. This study will focus on the people of this generation, the generation after the millennium.

            Information relevant related to the study was gathered from various articles from on-line sources.

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

            What are the common mistakes often committed by our generation today that has already been present with the generation who were ahead of us?

Different Kinds of Mistakes

            First, let us define what a mistake is. A mistake is an error or fault resulting from judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. It is not measured by the degree of its damage because a mistake is a mistake and whatever happens it contains different consequences that a person must go through in life. Many people tends to ridicule the effects of their choices, most of them are those who are in the teenage years. They think that they can still easily turn things around but they don’t the scar hat will left by their mistakes.

            In article written by John McWhorter (2013), he discussed about teenage pregnancy and how it has been viral to our generation wherein people gets offended whenever an ad talks about the negative effect of it to their children. Not only that they are offended but it has been a norm to those who are exposed to a lot of information that were not fully explained to these teenagers.(http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tough-truths-teen-pregnancy-article-1.1294329)

            Also, another mistake is having the wrong notation that you only money, fortune and fame in life. It may not be something that can be considered as a mistake but it surely leads teenagers to gone astray. Life is short and we all understand that we need to live to the fullest but it doesn’t change the fact that there are certain factors that we need to consider too. According to Bill Taylor (2010), most of our leaders today have a wrong idea about power. These three things were part of the change that affected the whole world drastically. In politics, this has been very transparent coming up with term “dynasty politics”. Here is where politicians train their children at a very young age to be aware of what they are doing so that in the future they will be able to continue their legacy when it is time for them to step down in their position. (http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/11/money-power-fame-and-other-way/)

            This is a very big mistake! Everyone must have the equal opportunity to be able to lead their countrymen. These people are blinded that what they are doing is a violation of freedom given that they are not allowing other people to have the chance for new governance.

            Although we're discussing the common mistakes committed from generation from generation, it seems that it is getting worst. We're not just talking about adult people who are in their 30's nor 40's but we are talking about young people who are in the age of the youngest person who is already capable of making his or her own choice.

            We've have seen parents separated because of the vices that are present in the family. We can see that alcoholism, smoking, gambling are some of the things that can cause you to be addicted about it. These things don’t only have an effect on your body but also on the way that people think. The saddest part is that there is a great chance that their children will repeat their own situation. As the famous saying of Karl Marx, “History repeats itself.”

Factors or reasons why generations keep on repeating itself

A. Influence 

            One reason that I’m seeing to why generations kept on repeating the same mistakes over and over again is because of the influences that surrounds them. Before a person grows to a point where he or she can decide on their own, he or she must first be under an authority that can teach him or her on life. And that I believe is what you can also call influence.

“Influence is the application of power to accomplish a specific purpose. Research shows that people typically try to lead and/or influence others using ten positive influence techniques: logical persuading, legitimizing, exchanging, stating, socializing, appealing to relationship, consulting, alliance building, appealing to values, and modeling. There are also four negative or ‘dark side’ influence tactics: avoiding, manipulating, intimidating, and threatening.”

Above is a statement by Terry Bacon, he stated the good and the bad ways of influencing a person. Many of our kids today seem to be under this. As we all know, everything starts at home and with that we must make sure what would be started in the home will be something that would give benefit to the child in the future. That is why many children at a very young age get into trouble for they thought that what they’re doing is accepted and good to the society.

Advertisements can also be a great influence. Back in the old days, only a few can afford to buy a television that’s why they depend on news papers or magazines which are also an influence but now, due to the technology parents seldom have control of what their children is seeing and hearing.

            I see influence as a way to be able to be persuaded to do things that are not really necessary in life. And with that, if it is carefully evaluated it may cause you a great damage that will for sure affect the next generation after you and hopefully it will just stop there and won’t be followed by another one anymore.

B. Poverty

Poverty doesn’t choose its victim. You may be an adult, a kid, a family, single name it. Poverty is a worldwide crisis wherein even the riches countries in the world have this problem. Here is a statement from the site poverties.org regarding the consequences of poverty on people.

            “The vicious cycles of poverty mentioned before mean that lifelong handicaps and troubles that are passed on from one generation to another. To name just a few of these hereditary plagues: no school or education, child labor to help the parents, lack of basic hygiene, transmission of diseases. Unemployment and very low incomes create an environment where kids can't simply go to school. As for those who can actually go to school, they simply don't see how hard work can improve their life as they see their parents fail at the task every day.” (http://www.poverties.org/effects-of-poverty.html)

            Based on the last line of the paragraph above, it simply shows how people react based on what they see around them. Imagine being surrounded by people who, with all their life, has been living in poverty. And this is not just one sided mistake of a generation. It doesn’t take out the fact that the government from past generations until now has a big problem in resolving this crisis. Meaning to say, those who are in the position are part of this mistake that has been present in the country for how many decades now.

            It is really a challenge for a person to change, what more for a country? It seems that no one is bold enough to break that pattern and make a difference in this existing generation. Everyone has made this pattern of life a “comfort zone” of their existence here on earth.

Problems created by these common mistakes

            A change is required in order to correct these mistakes that are present in our society. Because if not, it will affect another generations that are yet to come. Problems will continue pile unto every generation that will be born.

            Some problems that may be present aside from the common mistakes in our generation are population growth rate, crimes, education and health problems. People must be aware and learn that our wrong doings are intertwined with other consequences.

            Population growth rate may go up due to the increasing number of teenage girls who gets pregnant at a very young age. If you are not aware about the country’s population it has drastically doubled since the 1990s. According to Pennie Azarcon-Dela Cruz (1999), back then three Filipinos were born every minute, what more now? (http://www.travelsmart.net/article/100995/)

            Also, the quality of education is also affected by it; given the number of population has increased will only mean an additional number of students in a class. It will surely have an effect to the child’s capacity to learn since majority of the people in our country depends in public schools. What could happen if the child decides to just give up his or her studies because he or she fails to see a future in it?

            Crimes have been rampant now a day because of poverty. People chose to do wrong just for the sake that they may be able to feed their family. You can’t blame them. That is why our jails are becoming a problem too. They keep on filling it up even though our prisoners are not getting the proper rights that they have anymore. Many people are dying in jail because of sicknesses due to the unclean facilities. Yes, they may guilty of what they did but they are also human beings who still have the right to live healthily.

            Malnourish is also a present problem. This we often see in the rural areas where not just because of poverty but sometimes it also happens because of the mistakes done by their parents. People tend to get addictive with what they are doing and I’m just talking about drugs, it can be other things like smoking and drinking alcohol. Sometimes it gets prioritize rather than making sure that there will be served food on the table.

            Common mistakes from generation to generation must be common at all. It must be changed, it must be stopped! As the great Gandhi would say, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/change)

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS

                                                       AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This paper attempted to determine the common mistakes often committed by generation from generation and the reasons why they are committing it.

The research design used in this study is the method of locating things and making a pattern wherein data from documents and articles were used to answer the research question propose. The research findings are the following:

1.      The common mistakes committed by generation from generation are cause by a failure to recognize it as a mistake and eventually lead to be passed on.

2.      People are affected by the influences around them. Their parents, friends, and other things like advertisements. People are often easily persuaded by what they see especially by those done by the norm.

CONLUSIONS

            Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1.      It is difficult to change the mistakes that have already been adapted from generation to generation. The choices of an individual matters as one way towards improvement.

2.      Different factors are affecting these common mistakes and with that, these factors must be determined and must find a solution on how it can be better.

RECOMMENDATIONS

      After drawing the conclusions of the study, the researcher hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:

1.      Parents must have the brief seminars and other educational meetings so that they can be aware of what are the things that they may pass on to their children that they are not aware of.

2.      In analyzing the common mistakes that are present, future researchers must have a complete background of the studies that they can look into. They can compare the common mistakes in the rural and urban areas, etc.

References:

Bacon, Terry (2013). How Influence Works. Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.theelementsofpower.com/index.cfm/how-influence-works/

“Causes & Effects of Poverty
On Society, Children & Violence.” Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.poverties.org/effects-of-poverty.html

Dela Cruz, Pennie (1999). POPULATION BOOM How is the Philippine holding up? Retrieved December 16, 2013 from http://www.travelsmart.net/article/100995/

“goodreads.” Retrieved December 16, 2013 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/change

McWhorter, John (2013). Tough Truths About Teenage Pregnancy. Retrieved December 13, 2013 from http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tough-truths-teen-pregnancy-article-1.1294329

Taylor, Bill (2010). Money! Power! Fame! (And Other Ways to Fail). Retrieved December 13, 2013 from http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/11/money-power-fame-and-other-way/

“The Free Dictionary by Farlex.” Retrieved December 13, 2013 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mistake