In our days we used to play outdoors- these youngsters can’t get over the mobile phone. We used to have so much respect for elders- these kids just doesn’t respect elders any more. These and many more are examples of generation gap which we often here. This is not pertaining to this generation but even a thousand years ago we would here some different examples of it, and a thousand years down the line we will hear something else. It is also not a geographically isolated phenomenon but is prevalent everywhere. This mental gap between 2 generations is the outcome of different thinking pattern in different times. The younger generation thinks they are more tuned to the current time and the older one thinks that the new ones are less matured. I even notice it in my house with my 20 years old son.
Both the generations see things from their perspective rather than from each other’s stand points. It is like 2 people standing on opposite banks of a river. For one the boat is moving way and for the other the boat is moving closer. If not handled properly it can lead to major issues between parents and children including lack of trust and tension. Mostly it starts in adolescence and spill over to late teens and even twenties, then slowly the younger generations starts to understand that parents will be like this only and therefore starts to adjust with it.
It has been seen that authoritarian people will think that the new generation doesn’t have respect for authority; the intellectual people think that the new ones don’t read books; the intelligent ones will think that the new ones are getting dumber. The older generation thinks that they faced tougher times so in general may have a superiority complex. Now life is materialistically far easier than in older days. Also the experience and opinion about the newer generation may be influenced by the behavior of a small sample size and thereafter generalizing it to the whole lot of newer ones.
A lot of things change with time and across generations they may be speaking with different terms of reference. So it is more likely that what was normal in our younger days may not match with what is normal for the new generation. Actually for one the time is slipping away and the other is embracing the newer times. None the less it is better to adapt with the new times rather that freezing ourselves in the past. As time goes by the older ones need to understand that it is they who need to change more and move along with it, otherwise it will only cause pain and frustration. My youth was in the pre internet era but if I don’t adjust myself with the present times then it is me who will suffer and no one else.
Matters become more profound when the gap is across three generations that is grandfather and grandson. In such cases times were so vastly different that it becomes almost impossible to adjust. My mother is from the pre pre-internet era and is living well into the internet era but she has not been able to adopt this revolution and therefore is dependent on us for everything which otherwise she could have managed herself if she knew how to use a smart phone or computer.
Another cause of this generation gap can be the lack of communication between the old and new ones. Now a day’s life is hectic for the new generation that often a proper communication takes a back seat. It is important that the channels of communication between both the generations should be open from both sides and use regularly. Gripe can lead to a feeling of being left out. The older generation should have an open mind and an accepting mindset to accept the changes that happen with time and try to embrace it.
It is important to understand that we from the older generation cannot change the time and cannot stop the change. It is more our responsibility that we change ourselves with time rather than live a life in the hangover of our past.
Thank you Telesfor sir.