Cmoneyspinner
Years back I stumbled upon a blog written by a young woman named Shaniqua. She was either in high school or her early years of college. She posed an interesting question and it’s a question that no doubt is asked often and probably asked in every generation. She wanted to know:
Are young people worse off today than previous generations?
I was born in the 50s. It’s not that the children or young people, PRE-1980s or 1990s were better off. It’s that … speaking from an American point of view … the world “we” lived in had very clearly defined “black and white, right and wrong” standards. These guidelines (or standards) made decision-making and not succumbing to peer pressure OR following the “in crowd” OR being tossed to and fro by any trend or movement, a little easier to make contrasts and comparisons for the purposes of making choices …that is to say, making wise life choices … speaking from my point of view. Would love to be able to boast that all of my decisions were wise choices, but I can not. That’s probably everybody’s lament.
Nevertheless, when we started moving from the “black and white” into the “gray areas” where Walt Disney programs were replaced by uncensored programming being disseminated to the masses … things just weren’t so clear-cut anymore. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good to question accepted “norms” and ask WHY. But asking questions doesn’t automatically mean that everything “that is questioned” is wrong and needs to be changed to the exact opposite to make it better and right.
According to Wikipedia, the term “anti-establishment” was first used in a British magazine movement in 1958, and there were or are such movements that occurred in Iceland, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, as well as in the USA. The Arab Spring is even categorized or described as anti-establishment.
According to me, this was a popular term used in the USA and based on the way I saw and heard the word being used, my interpretation was that you dared to challenge The Authority. Quite frankly, I think my generation (60s and 70s) took the anti-establishment movement in the USA a little bit too far off course. Of course, that’s just my opinion, and I could be wrong.
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♦ How would you respond to Shaniqua’s question about previous generations? Do you think they were better off or worse?
♦ What’s your opinion of the anti-establishment movement in America (or of a similar movement you may know of that happened or is happening somewhere else in the world)?
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Links of Interest:
Which generation am I? Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, Generation Z birth years – Business Insider
The Generations – Which Generation are You?
American Generations Fast Facts – CNN
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This is a very thought provoking post. We all should think about the past generations and see what made life easier, then hopefully all learn more how to make this world a better one.
I was born in the mid-1950s … I think that the previous generations were better … today they only know computers, drugs, drinks, etc. and this does not affect them well
And in America, now the kids know that going to school is DANGEROUS! Mass shootings have come to be accepted as “normal” and to be expected.
I was born mid 60`s and grew up in the 70`s, Life was so easy then.
That’s a time period in my life when I was happy. Especially the 70s – I graduated high school, attended university, and got married. I’m still happy. But these were very good years. LOL.
Earlier generations were better.We had culture, respect, morality … all this was lost all day.There are, of course, beautiful children … but there are many who destroy everything that is right …murders, drugs, prostitution … all this is on the rise. Today, kids do not know who Walt Disney, but they play excellent Counter Strike.
I have heard psychologists say that the video games cause a lot of aggressive behavior, not just in kids but adults too. To this day I don’t know how to play a video game. Not even the ones that are supposedly “tame” (rated for general audiences). I’m not trying to fight progress but the generation today seem to lack “balance” in their various leisure activities. If all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, then what happens when Jack plays way too much Counter Strike?? (O.o)
It happens thatchildren, who have some psychological problems, acquire weapons, go to school and shoot their comrades and teachers … this is the result of these video games.Luckily, something like this does not happen to us, but I see that this is a common phenomenon in America…which does not mean that something will not come to our place.