First, let us explore the two different ways that the members of the two camps do their work. The teens of today are essentially native netizens, meaning we were brought up in an environment surrounded by technology. We did not experience the transition from the conventional pen-and-paper style of working to its modern counterpart, the computer. We have been exposed to technology since young; things like e-learning on the AsknLearn portal, even in my primary school years. On the other hand, people who even just 5 years older than us may already have a different story to tell. To most of them, the only advantage that the computer has brought would be that of convenience, but it should not be something that we depend on too much. As a result, people tend to shun computers from time to time, afraid that they are starting to be consumed by technology. 

What are the implications of this? Although it is true that we teenagers still have much contact with the pen-and-paper style of work in our daily schoolwork, I believe that most of my age would agree with me that our primary style of getting around work is still, to use the very machine that has grown up with us, the computer. 

Instead of using the phone or even email, we use instant messaging clients like MSN or the Windows Live Messenger to communicate messages to our group mates within fractions of a second; we often connect to the Internet to look up information on Wikipedia or Google for work, and print resources naturally become secondary to this; instead of tediously writing down lecture notes from powerpoints, we whip out our camera phones and snap shots of the slides as they come along; instead of carrying a heavy, printed dictionary to school, we download a free E-dictionary on our phone to look up the meanings of words we don't comprehend; and the list goes on. As a result, we often become the target of criticism, that we are becoming over-dependent on technology. But here's a question to you: if you ask of us to just change this, wouldn't it be tantamount to asking the adults to put down their pens, the tool they have grown up with, and use the computer for work all day? And of course, most adults complain about having to do this all day, don't they? 

We both have different styles of working, and thus, we have to bear with one another. 

Secondly, we go into the mindsets and attitudes of the teen and the adult. I believe if you look into the average teen's head, you will find that a large portion of it shouts freedom. It is expressed and translated into many of our actions. For instance, we often challenge the decisions of our parents and want a reason for everything that they do. However, in a society like Singapore which matured from the strong roots of Asian culture and tradition, which discourages one to question (in a traditional family for example), this desire to challenge authority tends to be labelled as defiance. 

Most parents often deal with this problem by saying that they were once teenagers too, so their teenage children should also follow in their footsteps and be like what they were. Is this still possible when the world they were living in is a stark contrast to the one that we live in today? To a small extent, yes, but I believe it is not as easy as it seems. Globalization is starting to engulf this world that we live in, and that translates to an influx of cultures from all over the globe. The average teenager now does not just live in an Asian society anymore; he/she can see many other different styles which might invoke the desire for freedom in him/her and this is discouraged in our society. And remember, this exposure can be as simple as a click away. 

This word, 'freedom', however, is indeed a dangerous one. The only thing I hope for is for the people older than us to give us a chance to speak out with reason, and not just shoot us down simply because they have the authority to do so. Still, I believe that we, as teens, also need to understand the fact that opinions remain opinions. There is and always will be a line drawn as to what we can or cannot say. The adults have a role to play as well, that is, to keep us from spiralling out of control, using that authority they hold on to. History has taught us time and again that ideas are dangerous weapons. 

Again, we both have different opinions, from both the older world and of this modern, globalized world clashing, and thus, we have to bear with one another. 

Lastly, there is something I feel strongly about. It is rather amusing, in a way. The other day I was working on this 综合填空 exercise and I came across a passage which complained that the teens of today are too weak, and that we do not know the meaning of 居安思危, to be constantly alert of dangers even when living in comfort. 

I do agree with the writer that a lot of us are like that. But I strongly believe it was wrong of him to put all of the teenagers down simply because of this. Experience is always the best teacher around. And humans will forever remain humans. This thus means that we will always make mistakes, and it is simply a matter of time before we do so. Mistakes make us fall, but they make us stronger at the same time. Take the Mas Selamat case for example: do you think there will be another terrorist escaping ever again? Perhaps in another 60 years there might be another one, but I doubt the government will ever let this happen again in any time soon. This was a mistake to remind us, and everyone needs painful reminders from time to time. It is inevitable. 

So do we deserve to be the subject of all this criticism in our 报章报道 (newspaper reviews) simply because we are making mistakes at this age? I think not. My dear teachers, have you never made a single mistake in your life before you learnt? They are an essential part of your learning in your path to become better people, and I believe that the teens of today deserve this chance too. 

Therefore on our side, we teenagers have to play our part as well, expecting ourselves to fall and not forgetting to do the most important thing, to learn from it. 

As such, we all make mistakes, and we have to applaud mistakes because they make us better at what we do, if and only if we learn from them. 

There are still many things that are involved in this clash between the teens of today and our seniors that I am unable to cover, but I really think that the most important thing that will get us through this endless debate would be to learn to become open to each others' opinions as they come along. 

bleh okay! i'm done and i'm getting my ass out of this window :D