IF EVER there’s one topic that never goes away, it’s that of indulging in a thorough dressing down of the generations younger than our own. One can say it’s but natural for parents to talk about their kids and their choice of company, but, interestingly enough, it doesn’t end there.
In fact, the topic extends further until, eventually, the conversations generally gravitate toward the generation to which they all belong. There’s nothing new. It seems to me there’s a closet gossip (Marites) living in each of us, and because of that, there’s always something that could be said about people living on the other side of our fences.
Many years ago, a friend had described her particular generation (which was below us, boomers) as “all dressed up with nowhere to go,” alluding to their search for identity.
Vague as that description might have been, if I had chanced upon her again, I’d make sure she cleared that up and also ask how she’d rate the present generations.
After all, isn’t it true that all of us, especially during adolescence, are all lost in a way, and trying to find out who we are? So how different are these new crops from us then?
For one, the X and the Zs are also dressed up, but with a lot of places to go, unlike their elders. One only has to check social media to find out how busy they are, like bees.
With a slew of outdoor activities they’re presently involved in, compared with my friend’s mostly-confused generation (who mostly hung around as though still recovering from the wake their boomer parents left behind), these Zees, for one, have a plan, at least.
To their advantage, they’ve also in their possession that much-improved navigational tool, Google Maps, and the like, which solves all the worries of the what, when, and the where.
Be that as it may, there are some who insist they’re still a tad short when it comes to willingly “going boldly where no man has gone before,” as that credo is still at odds with their “who cares?” attitude.
In the end, the jury will always be out, and we’ve still long ways to go in the discussion. It’s even more practical not to pursue trying to find out what clicks and what doesn’t with their lot. The fact is, in a few short years, they’ll be the ones asking the same questions, and it will be our turn to say, “Here we go again.”
