When my sister had her first son, Shankar, I was 20. That was when I started thinking about generation gap. Seeing how smart the kid was made me wonder how well I would be able to cope with 20-year-olds by the time I turned 40. Watching him grow up was an inspiration in itself. When he started rattling out names of a 100 different animal species it was time for me to start watching Discovery channel more seriously. I had to come up with new stories for him everyday, with appropriate quizzes and morals, honing my narrative skills in the process. I brushed up my knowledge of Phantom, Tintin and Asterix & Obelix as he started reading them himself. And I started thinking more and more about the idea of generation gap.
What decides generation gap? To me, the right answer was 'exposure' - exposure to the media, exposure to the world around you and what's happening in other (younger/older) people's lives. But, then again, isn't your exposure more likely to coincide with the times that you live in! Need not be. When I started reading short stories/children's novels as an 8 year old, all I had to read was stories published in the 50s, 60s and early 70s which my aunts and uncles had been foresighted enough to get bound. Later on, when I was in high school, my life's mission was to watch old Tamil films from the 60s, 50s and even the 40s. I'm probably one of the few Tamils in my agegroup who could boast of (!!) having watched all the films that MGR ever acted in, and almost all of Sivaji's flicks as well. Could this have made me a Babyboomer, instead of a Generation X (born between 1961 and 1977) person?
As I learn more about Babyboomers, Generation X and Y (born after 1977) I am quite confused. I don't seem to belong to any of them and yet belong to all of them at the same time. In a way that's good. I think I can relate to older people as well as the younger ones. I know I have issues with the Generation Y's impatience and insatiability. But I am guilty of those crimes myself. So, I think I like dealing with the Millenials - even if we don't always get along like a house on fire. I know I'm right alongside the Babyboomers and Generation X most times. Will I be able to get along with the new wave of youngsters who will enter the workforce by the time I am 40? Not unless I manage to keep up with the times.
2 comments:
Oi, achei teu blog pelo google tá bem interessante gostei desse post. Quando der dá uma passada pelo meu blog, é sobre camisetas personalizadas, mostra passo a passo como criar uma camiseta personalizada bem maneira. Até mais.
Oi, achei teu blog pelo google tá bem interessante gostei desse post. Quando der dá uma passada pelo meu blog, é sobre camisetas personalizadas, mostra passo a passo como criar uma camiseta personalizada bem maneira. Até mais.
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