TPO 45: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? In the past, young people depended too much on their parents to make decisions for them; today young people are better able to make decisions about their own lives. Use specific reasons and ex

I agree that, relative to their previous generation, young people today are better able to make their own decisions on important issues of life. The financial independence, availability of information, and well-informed parents can help young people to make their own decisions.

Young people can become financially independent far sooner than their parents. In my country, young people used to live with their parents for a long time. They were dependent on their parents' financial support for living, sometimes even after getting married. As we know, with any kind of dependency there comes some sort of authority over the dependent. For example, because a young man was financially dependent on his father, he had to accept his father’s opinion on the subject that he was going to study at university. Otherwise, his father would have simply refuse to pay his tuition.

Moreover, information about almost any topic is available for young people via the internet and television channels. At old days, although people had access to elementary education, and a few books, the main source of information was the knowledge of older people who had more experiences. That is why it was wise to listen to the advice of parents and close relatives. However, today with the developments of technology, internet, and media, you can usually find quite a lot of information about almost any subject. For example, if I have to decide for the topic that I am going to study at university, I can survey the internet for some information about the type of courses I have to take, the type of jobs that I would be able to apply after graduation, and the estimated salaries I can expect to get for each job.

Finally, parents are more eager to let their children make their own decisions. Due to the reasons mentioned above, parents also understand that the situations have changed from when they were young. It is not a surprise to find parents taking guidance and advice from their young children about the new ways of doing their daily shopping or paper works using the new technologies. Every organization now has its own website, and on them, not only you can find comprehensive explanation of the rules and policies, but also good advice and shortcuts on how to make things easier and more beneficial. That is why parents can trust their young children to be more independent and make good decisions.

Young people are more capable of making their own decisions, thanks to the developments in the economy of countries, availability of information, and more understanding parents.