In many places all over the world, research on the past generations of one’s family is conducted. While a school of thought holds that the family history is necessary, others contend that concentrating on present and future generations is more useful. In this answer, I will look at the pros of both carrying out research on the history of the previous generations and just solely focusing on the current and future family members before presenting my own take on the matter.
On the one hand, finding out about the lives of people in the past through research has hugely benefitted the current family members. First and foremost, being aware of people’ roots is inclined to foster their appreciation and respect for the older generations in their family. Without a thorough understanding, the younger generations in the family would largely ignore the older ones’ achievements and sacrifice, hence their indifferent attitude to their family as a whole. Additionally, researching on the family history can serve medical purposes. To illustrate, an inherent disease could be diagnosed, which would allow people to take preventative measures early so as to avoid further potential risks.
On the other hand, there are indeed several advantages of focusing on present and future generations in one family. Firstly, this practice can save a colossal amount of time and money, given both the exorbitant cost and long period of time for researching about family-based history. Instead, these resources can be diverted to more useful purposes such as: education and healthcare. Furthermore, only by grasping the current and future family lives can members lead a happy life. For instance, regular medical check-ups offer parents a deeper insight into their children’s health status, without having to rely on that of their older generations.
In conclusion, whilst conducting research to find out about previous generations is useful to a certain extent, I am convinced that concentrating on the present and future ones is better.