Cosmetic surgery (整容手术) is not something to be entered into lightly. Unfortunately, in this modem world, we have become confused by very narrow standards of beauty. Images of celebrities who never seem to age are seen everywhere these days. We forget the fact that most of these images are the result of super photo manipulation (处理), driven by the incredibly powerful beauty industry. We are all different — why should we all look the same? Isn’t there more to life than undergoing surgery in order to have the same boring face that everybody else wants to have?

—Dr Elisabeth McKenna, Psychologist

Yes, it’s fake! That’s what I told my friends when they started asking me about my nose job. I’d always been sensitive to my nose, but it took me a long time before I decided to go for cosmetic surgery. I took advice from several doctors and after careful consultation I finally decided to have it done. I had been saving money from my part-time job and my parents helped me out with the rest. It was quite expensive but I don’t regret a penny of it. In fact I wish I’d had it done a few years ago. I’ m sure I wouldn’t have been teased so much at school.

—Debbie Caron, Student

It makes me really angry to think of the millions of people who spend a fortune on cosmetic surgery. Surgery should be carried out for medical purposes, not vanity (虚荣心). I would rather all the money spent on cosmetic surgery was available to treat people around the world who are in need but can’t get proper medical treatment. Furthermore, there are thousands of under-qualified surgeons out there who only care about getting as rich as possible as quickly as possible. They don’t care about the psychological and physical damage they do. The whole industry makes me sick. We should do something to ban it.

—Danny Glass, Student

Is your teen time really that different from that of your parents or grandparents?

Weak. Easy to be angry. Addicted to their phones. Are these what come to mind when we think of the teens of this generation (一代人)? While there may be a little of truth to this thought, there might be more to the teens of this generation than what is generally seen.

Never before have the lives of any generation been as connected with mobile technology and social media as the teens of this generation. It follows then that there will be some problems resulting from this new age of technology. The popular use of social media has led to a world in which teens are responsible to join. Compared to the parents or grandparents who were likely less connected, these teens are “busy” in their social circles. It is no wonder then that the health of this generation’s teens has been damaged.

Moreover, the teens today are more independent. This is quite different from the more village spirit or community thought of the parents’ and grandparents’ times. Gone is the relationship among neighbours who are friendly with one another and quick to offer a helping hand when they see another in need. In its place, we have teens who may not even know who lives in the unit next to theirs, much less offer a friendly nod or wave when they happen to cross streets with a neighbour.

Yet, the influences of technology on the teens of this generation are not all bad. The very connectedness that social media brings about has led to an opening of minds and a development of dialogue among people of various cultures and backgrounds. Using social media means that one can know those people and their different ways of life. The parents or grandparents of this generation probably did not have the same chance to get to know people outside of their social circles at their age, so they may have fixed ideas of people different from them. The teens of this generation, on the other hand, has the chance to use this technology to learn more about and try to understand the various things out there. As a result, this might be why the teens of this generation are generally more open-minded than their parents and grandparents.

All in all, the teens of this generation are different in many ways from their elders. Every generation is a product of the events of their time and this generation therefore is different from past generations, with the changes around them at the same time.

Last year, Anna Johnson found herself using an electronic screen to pay for a pickup order at a bakery, a normal enough experience at many food businesses she frequents. But this time, she froze when the machine recommended that she tip as much as 35 percent—on cookies.

In the pandemic, Americans like her dug deeper into their pockets to recognize the hard work and health risks taken on by workers in every corner of the food business. For many customers, adding 15 percent or more for a takeout meal or grocery delivery felt like the least they could do to help ordinary workers.

Bryan Solar, who manages restaurant products at Square, said people were more generous in tipping early in the pandemic. In April 2020, the average tip at a quick-service food business was 23.5 percent, but that figure has gradually fallen since then, to 19.8 percent last month.

The ways of tipping have changed in many smaller businesses, where the tip box on the counter has been replaced by touch screens, which have become even more widespread during the pandemic. Leaving an amount that doesn’t fit the suggested percentages takes extra time and effort. And as the customer decides, the food-service worker is often standing there, looking on.

Still, Mr. Solar said a customer’s generosity drops when a business becomes too aggressive in asking for tips, as when some touch-screen systems start the tipping options at a minimum of 25 percent. “People will be generous to a certain point,” he said.

On social media, there are complaints that “tipping culture has gotten out of control,” with consumers complaining about being asked to leave a little extra.

Some restaurants have tried to solve the injustice of tipping by adding an automatic tip to each bill. Others have tried to replace tipping by raising menu prices, and paying all workers by the hour.