Some people believe that teenagers should be required to do unpaid community work in their free time. This can benefit teenagers and the community as well. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

There exist some who believe that all teenagers should contribute to their community by engaging in some unpaid work during their free time. While l agree that this would benefit both them as well as the community, I can hardly consider such unpaid work should be made compulsory. It is true that teenagers can help themselves and their local community by involving in some kinds of voluntary work when they have some spare time. Primarily, teenagers themselves would benefit from it by broadening their own experiences, such as learning new skills or working as part of a team. Secondly, having some voluntary work experience is an bonus to the resume of a young person when they apply for a job later in their life. Finally, the community benefits through this work, because those jobs might never have been undertaken in a less economically privileged society. However, I can hardly agree that teenagers should be forced to do unpaid work. The cardinal reason behind this is that the pressure of such works distracts the minds of this group from concentrating in their studies. Today’s adolescent students have immense academic pressure as their syllabi demand them more time at studies. Another concern is that the lack of free time to develop hobbies and interests or to broaden their friend circle and this would retard their emotional and intellectual abilities. After discussing the matter in detail, though I admit that engaging in unpaid social services can be beneficial for both teenagers and the society, I would say it should not be made compulsory.