My mother's generation had many skills that young people lack today.In
the past,people could mend clothes, sew on buttons and fix a broken tap but
this is not true of current generations who learnt to replace rather than repair. This essay will
discuss why these changes have occured and what effects this is having.
Today fashion changes quickly but in the past
it changed slowly. Clothing and furniture,for example,would last for many years;
even generations. However, these days with pervasive advertising and communication via social media,
information about new items travels quickly and we tend to throw out the old to
buy the new. Another reason why fashions change is that manufacturerers are motivated to make goods that do not last
very long. For example,cars today are built to last five to ten years, whereas
in the past, cars would last much longer. By having early obsolescence,
manufacturers can sell more goods.
This change in attitude has deskilled the public and is damaging our
environment. We have lost both the skills and will to maintain our possessions.
In fact often we see it as exciting to make new purchases.Another change is
that we now create more negative environmental impacts because many of the
goods we buy and throw out are not biodegradable. We have become a generation
of consumers and we are damaging the environment. This is a huge change from
the past.
In conclusion, today we tend to buy new items rather than repair older
possessions.In the process,most of us have lost the skills and desire to repair
older items and a further consequence is that we are damaging our environment
due to excess waste products.
