"The young generation
feels that a better world is coming with them.
Old Guard feels the better world is leaving with them."(Charles Dickens)
Old Guard feels the better world is leaving with them."(Charles Dickens)
Many of you have surely
wondered why I have chosen this quote in the beginning. The answer is
quite simple. It's because
my expectations that for the first view it is truly serious
problem but for the second view I think everyone of us remind itself in one of
the group mentioned above. Yes, this quote is pretty close to the reality.
Although this idea was said by Mr. Dickens before more
than half a century, it is still current.
What's more, it was current hundreds years before too. Generational issues have
always been, still are and always will be.
The question is, why the young and the
old squabble for
many millennia.
Remember your youth when you could hear from your parents and grandparents phrases like "When I was young we have done
differently." Or "Everything
used to be better." Old generations
are simply too conservative and unwilling, or perhaps unable to
accept new trends. To deal with the new things is the privilege for the youth. Whether
we like it or not, for a young man it is much
easier to follow the time changes.
In contrast, the young contradict by the words "Today is everything different, you cannot understand." And reject the views and
experiences of older generations as something that may have been true once upon a time, but in today's
"other times“definitely not. Isn´t there a right for the elderly people to feel left out? In my opinion the problem
is in the experience. Old people
are simply too experienced
so they can not take life easily as the young.
On the other hand the young are less experienced to take life seriously. Many young people live
only day by day and not bother too much.
The most alarming finding is the fact that
differences between generations will
be more and more widespread, which is clearly due to the fast
development. Let's look at the
curve of the human civilization, we can find rises it
more steeply because of the most discoveries has been made in the last few centuries.
Therefore the elderly has no chance to keep pace
with their children. We can ask ourselves if we will be enough smart to understand
the life of our children within few decades.
We asked a few questions
to local people in Verona and Cyprus , which we thought could be suitable for
our research for the future of the project, see below just 5 answers, which are
very interesting:
QUESTION:
"The reason of the generation gap". Is it
caused by young or old generation? Give 3 reasons why you see it is caused by
the old or young people. – 5 answers were pretty interesting, see below
ANSWERS:
1. It is more a reflection of the way that society
changes. Opinions change - for instance the growing acceptance of diversity in
response to a rapidly globalizing society has caused us to look at different
belief systems with more of an open mind those past generations. Look at the
transition from slavery to equality. People believed that slavery and
discrimination were okay because they were socialized to believe that. It was
the norm. As the norm changed, attitudes changed as well. Similarly, technology
has changed. Today, we take the Internet and the ability to communicate
instantly with anyone, anywhere for granted. It is the norm for us. For our
parents and our grandparents, this was not the case. While today's youth have
grown up surrounded by computers, their parents did not. As a result, the
younger generation is more comfortable with technology because it has grown
along with them. They do not have to learn something new. Therefore, I would
argue that it is overall changes in society, from technology to government
structure, religion, and belief systems or norms that causes the
"gap" to exist, not individuals themselves young or old.
2. Generation gap
refers to the differences in ways of thinking and behaving that exists between
older people, considered to be from the earlier generation, and the younger
people, considered to be from later generations. This often leads to lack of
communication and understanding between people of different generations.
These different thinking of the people are shaped by
the environment they face and the experiences that they go through.
Particularly the impressions formed in the earlier years of the life are more
enduring than the ones formed later in life. Thus the impressions and feelings
developed by older generation do not change that easily with changing times. At
the same time the younger generations that have never been exposed to the
environment of faced by the earlier generation are no able to appreciate the
impact of such environment. For example, people who lived through the
depression learnt to put great importance on material possessions and financial
security. Most people who grew up in later periods had no idea of what it is
like to have to struggle for money and job. They felt baffled by the great
importance put by their parents on material possession and financial security.
This resulted in kind of generation gap that developed during 1960's.
From the above discussion it is clear that neither
young nor old generation could be held responsible for the generation. It is
the changing environment, faced by different generation that causes generation
gap. If at all we have to hold one of the two generation responsible, I would
choose the older generation, as they have greater power to shape the thinking
of their children. The elders could also take special care to educate younger
generation on their past and its effect on their thinking.
3. I don't see the
generation gap as being necessarily caused by one side or the other. Rather, I
think it's a result of how one group perceives reality or consciousness over
another. It has to do with a culture that is defined by age and the values that
such an age based culture share. The perceptions and understandings that each
culture have are not something that automatically makes one to blame over
another, but rather is a statement of reality that has to be understood and
accepted as part of the condition of being within a multigenerational and
heterogeneous setting.
4. I'd argue that the generation gap is caused by both
the old and the young. It really is about communication. There is essentially
too much miscommunication between the two groups because their culture and
experiences are too different for them to understand each other.
5. I would suggest
that older people have learned that maintaining a connection between
generations is extremely difficult and they have a (wise) tendency to give up
on trying to stay connected to the culture of teenagers when they are well past
their own teenaged years.
