I don’t know what or how many years define a generation gap. Is it the age difference between parents and kids, or the in vogue definition of the Gen-X and Gen-Y?
When I was a teen girl (ya… it’s been eons that was true), I heard my mom telling my dad to be more supportive of my never-ending phone calls and late nights and using generation gap as the defense mechanism to appease him.
But today, I see a whole new meaning of generations and thus the formation of meaningless generation gaps. My younger brother and I are just 4 years apart and I feel that he belongs to a completely different generation. He doesn’t spare a single opportunity to make me realize that we are generations apart.
What is it about the time that has passed between then and now that make things so different? Everyone everywhere seems to be talking about their time and the time now.
With the economy so dynamic, the fashion becoming family, and the fast moving technology, I would imagine the rate of a dinner dipping and soaring and the requirement of a bag from Fashion Street becoming a necessity from LV and that of a floppy disk changing to the saturated markets of iPods. But how did every change in life get to revolve around the passage of generation?
If ballroom dancing was the classical dance of the past time and I hate to admit that the “grind” is become the classical of today. With time moving forward, the strength in relations has started disintegrating and I can’t accept how people attribute the disintegrating relations to changing times. I also cannot accept how the different generations are claiming their own moral and cultural values.
Its fine that now not even the smallest village is immune from a coffee joint or the apparel industry is now booming with tatters called clothes. I’d call that moving forward and embracing change – but to attribute the misunderstandings between kids and parents, the friction between families, the negative mismatch of ideas at the work place and the disregard and disposal of values that have been laid down by the “generations” is definitely not justified- if given the support of generation gaps in defense.
People continue sulking about how times have changed from their time to now. I just don’t understand why this time couldn’t be theirs too. Times are really not changing, we are … aren’t we?
i think these days the rate of change is very fast...infact we can find changes in the society...a wide thinking gap between two freinds....its a common thing now...
ReplyDeleteI dont think so...i think time always does change but as a matter of fact we dont. Like for eg u see u are still stuck in your time no matter its just 4 yrs but u r still thr and your bro is in the current phase. The same thing your mom can also say..:)
ReplyDeletewith the passage of time people change. and they should. what was considered a taboo a few decades back is OK now. divorce, seperation, girls working late night all was frowned upon a few years back. although i hate to use the word in my time ----- ( makes me sound old) but this word in my times crops up often when we start comparing the trends of past and the present.
ReplyDeletewhen i was in my teens even i used to talk about generation gap and how my parents do not understand me. and now when my children have grown up they talk about generation gap .
now the age difference of 4 years between your brother and you will surely seem like a life time to your younger brother as you are his big sister,
so generation gap is inevitable and is going to be there
even when u will have your kids they will also say the same, "mom you are generation apart"
@Nazish i like your outlook towards this... definitely makes sense...
ReplyDeletebut what irates me most is...people talking about r time..ur time all the time in almost every context... :)
@anjugandhi mom u r my most loyal reader...aint u :)
ReplyDeleteand even if i write crap...ull have inputs and comments and appreciation
i love u.. hahaha :):)
I don't know if saying "we are the ones who are changing" is correct.. or rather saying that "we are the ones who are refusing to change" is better!!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, and as you correctly put it, if we embrace the change and accept that most of the things have not changed, but refined or redone, the so called Gen Gap can be reduced.
I guess the learning from history creates a bunch of new thinkers and they call it their age :) Funny, how we wish sometimes, to do so many things youngsters do now.. but.. don't...thinking we are past that age.
I agree there is no 'Gen Gap', its just a way of thinking new. People will always be the same.
I don't know if saying "we are the ones who are changing" is correct.. or rather saying that "we are the ones who are refusing to change" is better!!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, and as you correctly put it, if we embrace the change and accept that most of the things have not changed, but refined or redone, the so called Gen Gap can be reduced.
I guess the learning from history creates a bunch of new thinkers and they call it their age :) Funny, how we wish sometimes, to do so many things youngsters do now.. but.. don't...thinking we are past that age.
I agree there is no 'Gen Gap', its just a way of thinking new. People will always be the same.
I agree with Nazish's point of view. We are kind of stuck in a time capsule where what we have seen/felt/experienced is the reality. We would like to have the world woven around that pseudo reality. Think of the times you were in Delhi and during our summer vacation, the Blue Falsee, Chaat, sleeping on terrace is still fresh on your mind and you'd like it to be that way....
ReplyDeleteObviously things have changed for better or worse, and it ain't a generation gap. It's simply being stuck in time and memories of where we came from.
There will/would not be any generation gap if the parents come down to the thinking level of the kids, and it is not difficult if they try.
ReplyDelete