Практичний курс англійської мови
Никула Денис, 3 курс Київського міжнародного університету, 035 Філологія, заочна форма навчання

In many countries, population is aging. Up to five generations, from the Silent Generation to Generation Z, live and work side by side. This creates a fertile ground for intergenerational tensions. Culture clashes are often sparked.¹ The fiction between generations takes root in differences in values, expectations or ways of seeing life.² We can recognize early warning signs to prevent and resolve intergenerational conflict.¹

First, children often grow differently than older people might have imagined. Parents project their dreams onto their kids, which makes the children feel pressured, leading to frustration and strained relationships. Strict discipline and unquestioning obedience, once considered «normal», are increasingly recognized as authoritarian. At the same time, learning without a guiding framework is difficult; those who attempt tend to try paths they later regret. It's no small feat to strike a balance between rules and flexibility, but it helps to seek intergenerationl dialogue and less imposition, asserting boundaries but granting autonomy.

Second, older people speak from experience, offering advice. Parents see children asserting their distance as disrespect, rather than a search for autonomy. They also tend to downplay the worries of younger people and underestimate their emotions, leading to children not feeling heard. It's important to acknowledge that what people feel is real and ask for clarifications, instead of suppressing or resenting emotions.²

Third, younger people sometimes form cliques based on age, joking about «ancient» ways to work and live and forgetting that deep knowledge is acquired through years of experience. This leads older people to feel rejected and downcast, so they withdraw from attempts to approach others with their points of view, and communication breaks down. To resolve this, we should deliberately plan daily activities in ways that involve multiple generations, let them take turns doing tasks and discuss what issues and solutions become apparent.¹

Fostering an environment where each participant feels heard and appreciated is crucial to prevent intergenerational conflict. All of us feel emotions and it's okay to get frustrated when things go wrong, but we should use empathy as a guide, trying to clarify and discuss instead of rejecting or dictating. Each of us can try to recognize the deeper issues that fuel the discord between our friends and relatives of different generations, and develop the understanding and emotional skills needed to help them reconnect and maintain a healthy relationship for everyone.

About one third of individuals experiencing homelessness are members of families with at least one minor child. There are many factors that turn homelessness into a public health crisis.³ Unhoused children are likely to become homeless again when they have grown up.⁴ Immediate action is required to assist those who have fallen through the cracks.³

Homelessness is often hidden. While some unhoused people have no option than living in shelters or sleeping in public (if the shelter doesn't accept them or is too far from where they work), most rely on temporary sleeping arrangements that their friends or acquaintances offer. Many live in cars, barns or garages. We don't recognize them when they go to public schools, work alongside us, use public sanitation and transport services.⁴ And they are ashamed of speaking about it because there's often prejudice against the unhoused, blaming them for their situation.

The root of homelessness is the ever-increasing cost of living. Bureaucratic barriers prevent families from accessing safety net programs. People fleeing domestic violence while all their income comes from an employer that underpays workers are at high risk of being excluded from opportunities to get affordable housing.³ The housing market without a public option leads to shortage of available units, while the prices of the remaining ones increasingly skyrocket. There are many apartments where nobody lives because the owner wants a price people can't pay, or that aren't rented out at the moment because they have been bought as a speculation vehicle for future sale.

Homeless people are stuck in low-paid jobs because of lower educational attainment.⁴ It's difficult for children to engage in classroom or practice social skills when your energy is taken away by frequently moving from place to place, having no personal space and nowhere to safely gather with friends. When their parents become unhoused, children's health outcomes are magnified and they lag behind peers in cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development.⁵ Children become isolated, stigmatized and in turn risk becoming homeless again when they grow up because they didn't have opportunities more easily available for others.

To make the lives of homeless people easier, the first and foremost goal is to ensure truly affordable permanent housing access. While more shelters need to be built in all city districts as well as rural areas (not just on the outskirts of a few major cities), the focus has to be on rebuilding our economy in a way that recognizes the basic needs of each individual, particularly of the children, and doesn't make what's required to maintain a dignified life into a market instrument. We should purposely build tower blocks or adapt older buildings into basic housing units allocated to each individual that asks for them, deincentivize speculation and also focus on making public infrastructure, such as transport or sanitation, more reliable and accessible 24/7.

The media influence people's beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Information in the media about new norms persuades people to accept them. Moreover, people readily accept the information if they believe others have also accepted it.⁶ It's difficult to determine the extent to which media content influences behavior, but correlations are observed in diverse contexts and within different populations, from encouraging purchases to family-planning decisions.⁷

News is more than a benign source of facts. The coverage sneaks into our subconscious and meddles with our lives. There's a well-known psychological quirk called «negativity bias»: we pay more attention to the worst things happening around us. People worry about how a crisis will make them feel in the future–and consume even more news to hear more about it. Those who consume the most news generally have the most skewed perceptions.⁸

However, when being polled about their opinion on digital media, most people say it improves their quality of life. Those who don't only read the news but use the information they find to learn, develop and participate in social projects together improves their work and relationship satisfaction. Confidently using the Internet, including social media, opens to you the world of online courses, professional networking platforms and global recruiting opportunities.

The downside of using digital media is blurring boundaries between work and private lives, as well as exposure to propaganda, in particular organized, mass-scale hate speech and defamation. Surprisingly, people in developed countries are less likely to report positive impact of the Internet on their daily life, particularly when it comes to stress and health. People who predominantly rely on Internet dating platforms as the means to finding a partner also demonstrate less happiness than those who seek out others by common interests.⁹

Through different psychological routes, the media potently change norms and behaviors. Being shown a new path into previously uncharted waters can lead a person to new behavior. People can be shown alternate paths they didn't think of, or integrate what they learn into their routines. Being informed about what others similar to them choose to do helps people align with the society through the messenger effect.¹⁰ Digital media are a useful tool when used sparingly, with the focus on learning and socially applying what you find rather than simply consuming breaking news all day long.