...is now being supplied, FREE to anyone who's under 16 with their parents consent. It's kind of sad that it's got to this point- that the window of innocence has shrunk to a pinprick and the only way that society can think to combat this is to have an enormous givaway of contraceptive pills.
Up until the age of 16 I was still climbing trees and rollerblading. Boys were just a slightly weirder variation of girls. But now apparantly that's all changed, and now the only thing keeping a 14 year old from falling pregnant is to ply her with the contents of a pharmacy.
Not to increase awareness of STD's, AIDS, the dangers of pregnancy, the importance of intimacy in a relationship or the crippling financial implications of bearing a child at such a young age.
No, lets just get them to take pills and they can keep on touching each other in places.
Friday, 14 December 2007
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Santa has been hi-jacked by Coca Cola
Since when did father christmas wear red? And since when did children's toys become so expensive that you have to remortgage your house to buy them? And how is it fair, that after you spend hours trawling through shops spending time, money and effort trying to find that perfect something for someone special, that they buy you a keyring in return; then look on bemusedly when you turn slightly purple and angry looking?
Has Christmas just become one massive excuse to over indulge? For your Grandad to make his false teeth dance at the table, then fall asleep on his plate before dessert?
Has Christmas just become one massive excuse to over indulge? For your Grandad to make his false teeth dance at the table, then fall asleep on his plate before dessert?
Monday, 10 December 2007
The kids aren't alright.
So, now we're known as the 'Ipod generation'.
At first I thought this meant that our generation was just one of technological advancement; one of new opportunities and increased awareness. It could even mean that we are shiny and plastic in some odd, arty farty metaphorical way. But no- apparently I was wrong; the Ipod generation is one of economic difficulty and debt. We are- according to the think tank Reform- "Insecure, Pressurised, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden."
This is a generation of crippling student debts, astronomical property prices and an increasingly competitive job market. Young people are struggling under the weight of over taxation and the pressure placed on them to gain a degree in something, and so get into some kind of industry.
However, it seems that university graduates these days are spilling out of institutions after gaining degrees, and instead of being spoilt for choice are struggling to find work in the increasingly competitive society we live in.
According to surveys, "the average debt of higher education graduates is expected to rise to £20,000 for undergraduates starting this year."
Not a reassuring prospect for those of us expecting to graduate to tumulus applause, fall into our dream job and steadily pay off our student loan with regular pay cheques. I for one, am starting to miss the years of compulsory education paid for by the government.
In addition to this, "the proportion of 20-24 year-olds living with their parents has risen from 41 per cent in 1991 to 49 per cent in 2004," the survey says." Just to rub salt into the wound, not only are we going to be penniless and overtaxed, we're probably going to end up living with our parents for quite a while which will only prove to make us feel all the more futile.
Nick Bosanquet, consultant director of Reform and professor of health policy at Imperial College London says; "The Government is in the process of mortgaging the future of a generation." Well isn't that nice. We're all brought into the world with the idea instilled in our brains that education means a good job, a comfortable lifestyle and a fast car. Probably.
For years I was certain that without a degree I was destined for the scrap-heap. But it seems it's over before it has even begun. We're damned if we do, and we're damned if we don't. In my opinion the government isn't doing enough to sort the economy out. They are so concerned with paying out public money to buy votes at the ballot box that they haven't noticed the implications of ignoring an ever-growing elderly population and ever-increasing taxes.
One only need take a gander at my bank balance for an example of dire financial status; not even due to frivolous expenditures. Books, rent and necessities (and I don't mean alcohol or a sky television subscription) all cost money, and this racks up to a surprising amount.
With the impending financial breakdown I am apparently destined to face it is unlikely that I will be able to plan any kind of future as yet. The Ipod generation won't be able to fund any kind of revolution; let alone have the time to think about it.
All a little bit depressing really.
At first I thought this meant that our generation was just one of technological advancement; one of new opportunities and increased awareness. It could even mean that we are shiny and plastic in some odd, arty farty metaphorical way. But no- apparently I was wrong; the Ipod generation is one of economic difficulty and debt. We are- according to the think tank Reform- "Insecure, Pressurised, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden."
This is a generation of crippling student debts, astronomical property prices and an increasingly competitive job market. Young people are struggling under the weight of over taxation and the pressure placed on them to gain a degree in something, and so get into some kind of industry.
However, it seems that university graduates these days are spilling out of institutions after gaining degrees, and instead of being spoilt for choice are struggling to find work in the increasingly competitive society we live in.
According to surveys, "the average debt of higher education graduates is expected to rise to £20,000 for undergraduates starting this year."
Not a reassuring prospect for those of us expecting to graduate to tumulus applause, fall into our dream job and steadily pay off our student loan with regular pay cheques. I for one, am starting to miss the years of compulsory education paid for by the government.
In addition to this, "the proportion of 20-24 year-olds living with their parents has risen from 41 per cent in 1991 to 49 per cent in 2004," the survey says." Just to rub salt into the wound, not only are we going to be penniless and overtaxed, we're probably going to end up living with our parents for quite a while which will only prove to make us feel all the more futile.
Nick Bosanquet, consultant director of Reform and professor of health policy at Imperial College London says; "The Government is in the process of mortgaging the future of a generation." Well isn't that nice. We're all brought into the world with the idea instilled in our brains that education means a good job, a comfortable lifestyle and a fast car. Probably.
For years I was certain that without a degree I was destined for the scrap-heap. But it seems it's over before it has even begun. We're damned if we do, and we're damned if we don't. In my opinion the government isn't doing enough to sort the economy out. They are so concerned with paying out public money to buy votes at the ballot box that they haven't noticed the implications of ignoring an ever-growing elderly population and ever-increasing taxes.
One only need take a gander at my bank balance for an example of dire financial status; not even due to frivolous expenditures. Books, rent and necessities (and I don't mean alcohol or a sky television subscription) all cost money, and this racks up to a surprising amount.
With the impending financial breakdown I am apparently destined to face it is unlikely that I will be able to plan any kind of future as yet. The Ipod generation won't be able to fund any kind of revolution; let alone have the time to think about it.
All a little bit depressing really.
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Our very own twisted mentality.
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it RIDICULOUS that people are more tempted to buy a product because it is endorsed by someone in the public eye?
Like Kate Moss' new line for Topshop.
Firstly, it's just an excuse for topshop to jack up the prices on a few items. Secondly, has anyone else forgotten that she is ANYTHING but a good role model? She is (or was...whatever,) a habitual drug user. To use a person who not too long ago was caught on camera sporting a powdered nose and a vacant look to market clothing to young girls; well whoever came up with that idea has got to be missing a chromosome.
Maybe this whole consumerism driven mentality is going too far. We almost want celebrities to market things so we have reassurance that we will be seen as acceptable within society if we own it. We are drowning in our own insecurities.
A recent magazine piece I read quoted than men are more unhappy with their bodies than ever before according to a recent survey. Women are becoming more and more neurotic; injecting their faces with botox in some kind of desperate attempt to turn back time. Spending ridiculous amounts on dangerous procedures in order to feel slightly better about themselves. Anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders are on the up because people are so desperate to be thin.
The media is way too concentrated on body image.
There was international outrage when fashion brand Nolita released an advertisement to highlight the effects of anorexia at Milan fashion week. Isabelle Caro, the French woman who appears in the photo, has been anorexic for 15 years and weighs 31 kg.
The fact that the world expressed so much outrage disgusts me. It is almost as if we are all in denial about the fact that this condition exists. Awareness needs to be raised so that people suffering from anorexia can receive the help they need and have a better quality of life. Although it is entirely reductionist to blame media influence for the decline in people's self esteem; it has certainly contributed.
Magazines these days are full of seemingly flawless, beautiful women. The sad fact is, that most of the time, models are anorexic themselves- not to mention airbrushed to the point that we may as well be looking at a digitally constructed image rather than a photograph. Why aspire to be something so completely unattainable?
Like Kate Moss' new line for Topshop.
Firstly, it's just an excuse for topshop to jack up the prices on a few items. Secondly, has anyone else forgotten that she is ANYTHING but a good role model? She is (or was...whatever,) a habitual drug user. To use a person who not too long ago was caught on camera sporting a powdered nose and a vacant look to market clothing to young girls; well whoever came up with that idea has got to be missing a chromosome.
Maybe this whole consumerism driven mentality is going too far. We almost want celebrities to market things so we have reassurance that we will be seen as acceptable within society if we own it. We are drowning in our own insecurities.
A recent magazine piece I read quoted than men are more unhappy with their bodies than ever before according to a recent survey. Women are becoming more and more neurotic; injecting their faces with botox in some kind of desperate attempt to turn back time. Spending ridiculous amounts on dangerous procedures in order to feel slightly better about themselves. Anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders are on the up because people are so desperate to be thin.
The media is way too concentrated on body image.
There was international outrage when fashion brand Nolita released an advertisement to highlight the effects of anorexia at Milan fashion week. Isabelle Caro, the French woman who appears in the photo, has been anorexic for 15 years and weighs 31 kg.
The fact that the world expressed so much outrage disgusts me. It is almost as if we are all in denial about the fact that this condition exists. Awareness needs to be raised so that people suffering from anorexia can receive the help they need and have a better quality of life. Although it is entirely reductionist to blame media influence for the decline in people's self esteem; it has certainly contributed.
Magazines these days are full of seemingly flawless, beautiful women. The sad fact is, that most of the time, models are anorexic themselves- not to mention airbrushed to the point that we may as well be looking at a digitally constructed image rather than a photograph. Why aspire to be something so completely unattainable?
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