In many countries today, people in cities either live alone or in small family units, rather than in large, extended family groups. Is this a positive or negative trend?
Plan, Day 1
Negative trend
idea 1: small family
- Less family support, effects on children
- Less help with children, parents have to pay for childcare: babysitters and nannies instead of grandparents
- Friends, television, and internet become main influences on behaviour
- Fewer family role models linked to rise in juvenile delinquency
idea2: live alone
- Psychological effects of less human interaction
- Nobody to talk to , can not share problems
- Passive distractions (social media, phone, TV) instead of real interaction
- Boredom, loneliness, feelings of isolation and alienation, perhaps a cause of increasing mental illness.
Introduction & First Paragraph, Day 2
It is a global trend that citizens now live in smaller family units, compared with people who lived in large family groups in the past decades. I think it is a negative trend and will give my reasons below. (39 words)
A small family means less support from family members, in particular the effect on children raising. Parents get less help from family to take care of children. Compared with children who lived with grandparents in the past, they have to put kids into babysitters’ care during the day. Meanwhile, peers, television, and the internet have become the main influences on children’s behaviors. They are exposed to the chaotic information world and may follow some bad habits. For example, some children become like to show off and compare themselves with others by imitating popular videos on social media. This is evident that a small family truly is an unfavorable change. (109 words)
Second Paragraph & Conclusion, Day 3
As small family increases financial expenditure, live alone also have the negative implication on psychological health. People get the spirit effect of less human interaction. They have nobody to talk to and can not share problems and feelings with real humans. In comparison, people’s attention is grilled by passive distractions, such as stream media, TV shows, and games. As a result, boredom, loneliness, feelings of isolation, and alienation surround people, which perhaps is a cause of increasing mental illness. (79 words)
In conclusion, people bear the negative impacts of the new trend and take on more burdens in a small family society. (21 words)
First Modification, Day 4
It is true that the amounts of small families and one-person households are rising in cities, while the number of large families is on the decrease. In my opinion, it is a negative development.
As the family size becomes smaller, traditional family support networks are disappearing, and this can have negative impacts on children ‘s growth. In core families or single-parent families, babycare is one of the most expensive and stressful parts of daily life. Without help from grandparents or aunts and uncles, busy parents must rely on babysitters and after-school clubs taking care of young children, while older children may stay alone on vacations and after school. In the absence of adult family members, peers, television, and the internet may become the primary influences of children ‘s behavior. It is no surprise that the decline of extended families is in relation to the rising behavior problems of young people.
With the effect of less human interaction, living alone might be more destructive. People who live alone have nobody to talk to in person, so they cannot share problems or discuss the ups and downs in life. They give up a big family’s constant stimulation and hustle, and independent their devices for a long time. The lack of real interactions at home must be replaced by passive distractions, such as television, video games, online chatting rooms, or internet surfing. These existences are linked to lone and isolation feelings, which are all known risks of increasing mental illness.
In conclusion, I believe that individuals can grow better as a part of one larger family, and it is worried that many people choose to live alone or live in such small family units.
Second modification, Day 5
It is true that cities are seeing a rise in smaller families and one-person households, while extended families have decreased to a large extent. In my opinion, this is a negative development.
As people tend to live with a smaller family, traditional family support networks are disappearing, which negatively impacts children as they grow up. In detached nuclear families or single-parent households, babycare becomes an expensive and stressful part of daily life. In the absence of help from other relatives, young parents have to hire a babysitter to take care of children during the day. Without parents’ companionship, peers, television, and the Internet have become the primary influences of children’s behavior, and these may mislead children into bad habits. For example, some children become fond of showing off and comparing themselves with others by imitating popular videos on social media.
The trend towards people living alone is perhaps remarkably damaging because of the psychological effect of less interpersonal contact. Citizens who live on their own have nobody to talk to in person and cannot share the highs and lows of life. They leave themselves on devices for a long time instead of enjoying the constant stimulation and hustle from big families. The lack of real human interaction has been replaced by stream media, television, and games. These things are associated with boredom, loneliness, and feelings of isolation, all of which are known to increase the risks of mental illness.
In conclusion, I would say that people take on heavier financial burdens and bear more mental pressure when living in a small family unit or living alone.
Notes, Day 6
- Cities are seeing a rise in smaller families and one-person households
- is becoming a rarity, adj, 稀有的. rare
- the traditional family support network
- a nuclear family or a single-parent household
- a stressful part of daily life
- adult family members
- the decline of the extended family
- psychological and behavioural problems amongst young people
- the psychological effects of reduced human interaction
- discuss the highs and lows of daily life
- They forgo the constant stimulation, forgo, verb, 放弃
- hustle and bustle of a large family
- They are left to their own devices for extended periods of time.
- lack of human contact
- replaced by passive distractions
- is associated with boredom, loneliness
- feelings of isolation or even alienation
- increase the risk of mental illness
- individuals thrive when