What distinguishes young people from their parents' or grandparents' generation is a lack of physical exercise. Today's generation are spending far too long playing computer games, chatting aimlessly on social networking sites or simply watching TV, and too little time being active. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some people argue that there is a divide between young people from older generations concerning fitness. The former spend time on hobbies that do not require activity. And it is suggested that this is unproductive and wasteful. I disagree with the statement because I believe that social media and the knowledge of nutrition has put more of a focus on working out and being in at the best shape. In this essay I will discuss these effects and how it enables young people to be fitter in comparison to the past. Social media has created a space where a healthy and toned physical appearance have the results in the most followers and therefore leads to teenagers emulating this behaviour. For example, the top liked accounts on Instagram are fitness and exercise are related with the majority of followers from the young demographic. Consequently, this drives young people to join the gym and spend on average 1-2 hours a day, trying to attain the image standards they see online. For these reasons, people have more pressure of looking fit compared to previous generations, and results in higher levels of exercise in today’s society compared to the past. Advancements in healthcare has provided new information about nutrition and how it affects long term diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. To illustrate there is more knowledge about the importance of both nutrition and exercise in the school curriculum, and how they affect human health in the long term. In most schools, physical exercise requirements have increased from one class a week to two, in order to highlight the emphasis on activity. As a result, teenagers are more informed and can integrate this knowledge into daily life, in contrast to previous generations where such information was not as accessible. There is a common opinion that the current generation spends too long using technology and have a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, young people are viewed as being less fit than previous generations. However, due to the increased pressure of leading a healthy lifestyle on social media and greater knowledge of nutrition and fitness, I believe that young people are currently more active than is suggested