It is commonly considered appropriate and righteous for people to treat the elderly in the family and in society with respect. However, younger generations, especially adolescents, in this day and age are increasingly likely to show disrespect for senior citizens. This undesirable development, mainly resulting from the vast differences between the young and the old and inadequate family bonding time, may become the source of negative ramifications, namely the deterioration of moral values and social fabric.
To begin with, the lack of respect for old people mostly originates from conflicting beliefs and viewpoints between them and the young and from the general decline in the amount of time available for family members to bond. Case in point, while many teenagers or young adults consider the use of technological devices the norm, a great number of old people deplore it. It is certainly exasperating for a person who frequently use such devices for work and communication to be rebuked by their elders, who deem his or her reliance on technology unhealthy or pointless. Additionally, the hectic pace of modern life means that family members, particularly those of different generations, usually do not have sufficient time to spend with each other and to establish strong family bonds, which in turn may contribute to the indifference or even antipathy shown to the elderly by the youth.
Furthermore, if younger generations do not display adequate respect to older ones, numerous other issues, both on a familial and societal scale, may ensue. Since they find it unnecessary to show proper respect to elder people, the young will most likely disregard the need to respect others. As a result, they will fail to teach succeeding generations about mutual respect and family values. Such a development will then potentially lead to widespread moral degradation and a rise in the number of selfish members who are incapable of building, let alone maintaining harmonious relationships, which can have lasting impacts on society as a whole.
All things considered, I am convinced that the increasing irreverent attitude towards senior citizens is a serious issue which can result in deleterious consequences, which is why it is vital that people actively find and take measures in order to ameliorate this worrying situation as soon as possible.
VOCABULARY
- righteous (adj.): morally correct
- social fabric: the fabric of a society or system is its basic structure, with all the customs and beliefs that make it work successfully.
- the norm (n.): something that is usual, typical, or standard.
- deplore (v.): feel or express strong disapproval of (something)
- exasperating (adj.): intensely irritating and frustrating.
- rebuke (v.): express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behaviour or actions = reprimand
- antipathy (n.): a feeling of strong dislike, opposition, or anger
- moral degradation/breakdown (n.): a lowering or loss of moral or ethical standards and values
- lasting (adj.): continuing to exist for a long time or for ever
- irreverent (adj.): showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously
- deleterious (adj.): harmful
COLLOCATIONS
- treat sb with (noun) = to behave towards someone or deal with something in a particular way. Example: Don’t treat him with contempt!
- show disrespect for sb/sth
- originate from = to come from a particular place, time, situation, etc.
- refer to sth/sb as sth (usually used in passive voice) = to call (something or someone) by (a specified name or title)
- contribute to sth = to help to cause an event or situation
- fail to do sth = to not do something that you should do
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