Society has made generations a must know topic. Social media tends to talk about them constantly. Going from videos of Millennials talking about how Gen Z is insane, to Gen Z and Millennials blaming everything wrong in the government on Boomers. Your generation marks who you are. Or is that just what the world seems to tell us.
(Baby) Boomers
To start at the very beginning. Back to the Boomers and Baby Boomers.
Boomers are blamed by the younger generations for most of the issues in the American government. They are also known for criticizing other generations.
Junior Cassandra Myers discussed how Boomers grew up and lived through an entirely different economical situation, and how some Boomers don’t recognize that we are living through different economic situations now. “There’s no more ‘pulling yourself up by the bootstraps,’ either you get lucky or you don’t,” Myers said. “Some baby boomers recognize this, others don’t.” Myers went on to discuss how the Boomers who don’t recognize this is a different time with different situations have shaped the way we think Boomers are.
She’s right. The way people see Boomers has been affected by the more vocal ones. Not all Boomers talk negatively about younger generations or are against change in the world. We just don’t see the ones who are like this.
Gen X
Gen X, seems to have two extreme sides. The side that is like their parents, strict and more of a “work hard if you want it” mentality, and a side opposite their parents, relaxed and willing to give their children whatever they want.
Gen X may be one of the lesser known generations, this could be due to the fact they are overlooked by society. Gen X doesn’t have the same experiences as other generations do with technology. Typically, Gen X graduated college before email was even a commonly used form of communication. Gen X is also working hard to pay for their children, leading to a lack of spare time to be spent scrolling on and posting on social media.
Millennials
Millennials are a generation full of change makers, born shortly before iphones became the norm. Going from beepers to cells. Seeing change made right in front of them.
Myers remarked that she remembered hearing about millennials on the radio. They would talk about how millennials were too soft and sensitive, how they wouldn’t make it in the real world. She goes on to say, “Nowadays, I hear millennials echo the same sentiment about Gen Z.”
Myers is of course right, the millennials we hear from the most, seem to have something negative to say about Gen Z at all times. Most of the time reusing the same insults and digs past generations had said about them. I’m not saying all or even most millennials are against Gen Z, but the most vocal ones seem to be.
Gen Z
So many things come to mind when one here’s Gen Z. The words of millennials and boomers calling us lazy. The way we have spent our entire lives with the internet. People who question what they’ve been taught.
Sophomore Noelle Wise said, “When it comes to gen Z, I think of a group of teens to 20-year-olds, who have embraced the fact that the world is getting weird and kind of destroyed, but they still try to help it.” She went on to say, “I think Gen Z has just decided that the world environmentally and politically has been getting more debatable and worse. And we’ve accepted that as our present, but not as our future.” Wise sees Gen Z as a generation that fights for what they believe, and takes a stand on topics that have been previously ignored. She does see and know that this isn’t always the best, but she thinks that it’s what makes us different.
However, one thing that makes Gen Z the same as all the generations before, is their disdain towards the generations born after them, specifically Gen Alpha. Gen Z uses the term “iPad Kid” as a way to spice up the tradition of calling younger generations lazy. Gen Z complains about the way they are treated by Millennials, but constantly attacks Gen Alpha, leading to the endless cycle of generational hatred.
Gen Alpha
The thing most closely associated with Gen Alpha, is the term “IPad Kid.” This name comes from the fact that the majority of Gen Alpha has been surrounded by technology, and screens have been handed to them since they were infants.
Sophomore Loukya Vaka discussed how she is scared for Gen Alpha. “I feel like the idea of an impressionable child being so closely dependent on a device scares me quite a bit,” Vaka said.
Gen Alpha’s dependence on screens has led to screens infiltrating every part of their lives. They play games on their tablets while eating dinner at nice restaurants. They throw tantrums when their screen time is at risk. Some even believe that they have no imagination. But, the worst of it is the statistically proven fact that Gen Alpha can’t read or write.
According to the most recent study done by AECF, 65% of fourth graders were not skillful in reading. Reading is essential to life, during and after school. This might suggest a divide not in the application of skill itself of Gen Alpha, but, rather, a lack of skillful teaching/parenting.
To Wrap Things Up
Generations seem to be a permanent part of the world around us. They mark who we are to the world. The things society and social media tag to whatever generation we may be, sticks to all of us. Not all Boomers say “back in my day.” Not all Gen Xers keep to themselves. Not all Millennials hate Gen Z or think radically. Not all Gen Zers hate Gen Alpha or accuse the previous generations for our problems. Not all Gen Alphas are iPad kids.
Sophomore William Rentfro sums it up quite nicely, saying, “There’s nothing different about Gen Alpha and another generation such as Gen Z or even Baby Boomers, this concept of criticizing the cultural niches of the succeeding generations has been around for centuries and maybe even millennia.”
There is conflict between and in every generation. There will always be disagreements and different beliefs, it’s unavoidable. The time between each generation is far too long for all of us to share the same opinions, and even then each generation has a huge variety of beliefs. But, the one thing we can try to avoid as a society is hating on other generations.
We should all work to build each other up. We can argue and disagree on certain topics, without pointlessly hating on each other.
