Opposing argument + refutation/rebuttal

It can be structured as:

● Present counter-argument (opposing viewpoint that does not support my stand)

● Elaborate

● Point for my rebuttal

● Elaborate (why I say this)

● Evidence (to support my point)

● Link (to reinforce my rebuttal)

Remember to label your names!

Some critics might argue that teenagers have ample opportunities to lead a healthy lifestyle. These may present in many forms --- physical education lessons, sports CCAs, and even healthy food options at the school canteen. However, how many students actually participate actively in these exercises? A study done by the Ministry of Education in 2017 surveyed that over 67% of a Secondary 3 cohort chooses to eat processed food over real whole foods. This is an alarming statistic proving that teenagers might not actually choose to lead a healthy lifestyle, despite having the opportunity to.

Looking at the other side of the spectrum, some naysayers may opine that there are still some teenagers that lead healthy lifestyles. Teenagers that engage in sports such as students in sport schools or in sport co-curricular activities might lead an overall healthier lifestyle compared to normal teenagers. These teenagers often engage in vigorous exercises that burns calories and build muscles. That being said, this might not be true for most teenagers. Although teenagers might be engaging in sports, they might still have unhealthy habits such as eating fast food often, sleeping late and having too much digital screen time. A 2019 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed that only 23% of U.S. high school students were physically active every day, while over 40% ate fruits or vegetables less than once daily, and 17% skipped breakfast daily. This will negatively affect their overall physical and mental health.

Some may argue that teenagers lead a healthier lifestyle since they have better self-control because they grew up in this digital age and have more experience with devices. Thus, they will know how to manage their device usage and will be able to avoid excessive screen time, so they will lead a more healthy lifestyle. However, this is not representative of most teenagers because the time that they spent with their devices only fed their addiction to screens, causing them to only spend even more time on screens. This results in teenagers having a sedentary lifestyle, ignoring important activities such as exercising that will make them more healthy. Thus, some teenagers lead an unhealthy lifestyle despite supposedly having more experience with managing their screen time.

P: Some might argue that schools have provided ample support towards these teenagers to lead healthy lifestyles.

E: The school canteens also provide nutritious food for students. For example, store owners are not allowed to sell overnight food and highly sweetened drinks, as well as carbonated drinks like Coca-Cola.

L:As such, students should be able to lead healthy lifestyles.

Rebuttal: However, unhealthy lifestyles stem from students' personal choices. Since school are unable control students' every move, there is still a possibility that they end up consuming unhealthy food such as deep-fried food and foods that are high in sodium. This foods have chemicals that release dopamine into the brain that may make them addicted to these foods. Therefore, this causes long-term consumption of unhealthy food, thus leading to unhealthy lifestyle.

Critics may disagree with our stand and argue that some teenagers actively go to the gym to exercise & eat healthily to build their physique. According to Straits Times, there is a rise in teenage gym attendance mostly due to the influence of social media and peer pressure. Furthermore, to support such physical growth, they start a habit of consuming varied meats and have a healthy diet. This would lead to a healthier lifestyle. With that said, this does not apply to most teenagers. While this may be true, the vast majority of these teens usually do not possess the self-control to maintain this routine and fall back into their sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, many teenagers in our day and age belong to families of a lower socio-economic status. Due to this, they cannot afford to live in such luxuries as they juggle schoolwork, household chores and may even need to work. Many teenagers have to work to support their low-income families. Most time is spent studying and earning money, leaving no time for rest or such services. This may lead to inactive lifestyle sitting and standing at the same spots for long periods of time. Over many years, such issues would lead to extremely unhealthy lifestyles.

Some may say that high hours of device usage may be a result of students studying using their devices. However, even if students do use their devices for long hours to study, it does not draw away from the fact that it would still lead to some form of eye damage. Students may use devices for learning as most of their resources are online so they will have long screen time. A study done by KH shows that the average screen time of students is around 8.5 hours which is very high. It shows that teenagers spend 1/3 of their day on devices, having a impact on their eyesight. These teenagers lead a very unhealthy lifestyle, staring at their screens for a long periods of time. Therefore, teenagers lead a very unhealthy lifestyle because of too much screen time.

Some parents say that although their children have a lack of physical activity and a messed up sleep schedule, they still argue that their child is healthy due to their body mass index value resting in the healthy range. This could be because some individuals have a faster metabolism than others, thus it may be easier to maintain a healthy body mass index range despite their unhealthy lifestyle. However, this is not true. Although these teenagers may appear to have a fit body, their unhealthy lifestyles will still affect them negatively, especially academically. For example, their lack of sleep could cause them to be unable to pay attention and keep dozing off during school hours, hence they will fall asleep during lesson time

Others may argue that teenagers have numerous opportunities for a digital detox through other activities such as CCA where they are able to rest their eyes from device usage. At this age, many teenagers may be forced to engage in some form of sports, which gives the impression of a healthy lifestyle as they are getting the exercise and the break they need. While this may be true, some students do not attend CCAs that require physical activity and might even require to use their devices during CCA. Some CCAs like multi-media or journalism require teenagers to use their devices.

Stand: Agree 

Counter argument (disagree that they have an unhealthy lifestyle):  Some may argue that teenagers are leading a more healthy lifestyle due to the fact that they are at that age where they should be matured enough to understand that spending long hours on devices is harmful for their health. To elucidate, teenagers are aged thirteen to eighteen years old. They have a multitude of responsibilities to juggle, for instance, academics and hobbies. As a result, they should know how to manage their time between fun and games along with other familial or school duties. Teenagers that are able to balance these aspects in their lives and maintain a good relationship with their wellbeing will lead a healthy lifestyle. 

Rebuttal: However, only some teenagers have this type of mindsets! Most teenagers are still in the midst of puberty and they might not be mature enough to know what is a type of unhealthy lifestyle and make sure to prevent leading these unhealthy lifestyles. Some do not even know what an unhealthy lifestyle is!

Link: Therefore, teenagers have an unhealthy lifestyle.