The new generation – Good, Bad or Ugly

My daughter Freia and I have quite a few interesting conversations. And lots of time, they are after Ivy, her mom, has given her a lecture on the tough old days, when she grew up and how today’s kids have no idea about what life is really all about, blah, blah, blah, …

And this set me wondering. The new generation, are they Good, Bad or Ugly. And surprisingly the answer I came up with was that they are not only good, they are awesome. As all things in life there are exceptions. Far more than we’d like, but far less than we think. These few give all of them a color that’s not really fair to these young people.

Let’s look at the facts and compare. And I’ll use me and my kids, so I can’t be accused of generalizing. My kids know far more than I knew at their age or even when I was twice their age. Their ability to understand, relate and apply is phenomenal. Their adaptation to new technology is simply amazing.

Last night I get a call on my cell from my daughter asking me to come on Skype. I say, that it doesn’t make sense since I unlike her, do not have a web-cam. Pat comes the reply. That’s okay. You’ll save money. And we think that they don’t understand the value of money. The point is they do. They choose to ignore it when convenient. As we probably did.

Every generation seems to get measurably and significantly smarter than the previous one. We can attribute this to increasing exposure, greater opportunities, open environment, global societies and a zillion other things. All of which are true. However like all things in life, that does not change the basic fact. We may have a reason for not being as smart as them. But the reason remains just that. A reason.

I’m happy that the new generation is much smarter than our generation. It means that our generation has done a good job, just like the previous one of ensuring that we are leaving behind a world as a much better place than we stepped in and a set of people who will not only run and make it more beautiful and enjoyable, but leave it in even better shape for the generations to come.