Dr Andy Nash
Professor
School of Journalism and Communication
Southern Adventist University
I once asked 25 college students a question: if you had a choice, would you rather grow up when you did or when your children will? The students were born between 1987 and 1989.
Of the 25, none said they would want to grow up in the next generation. Even when I reminded them of the advances in medicine and technology, they held firm: they wouldn’t want to grow up in the 2010s and 2020s. No way, they said, shaking their heads in unison.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Everything’s so materialistic,” said one.
“It’s like all kids want to do is play video games,” said another.
“But that’s what everyone thinks about your generation!” I protested.
“At least we knew how to play outside,” said one.
“So, you’re saying the culture is going downhill,” I said.
“Yes,” they replied.
“OK,” I said, “we’ve gone about 25 years into the future and you’re saying it’s worse. Let’s go 25 years the other way.” I wrote two dates on the board: 1962 and 1937. “This is when your parents and grandparents were born. How many of you would rather have grown up when they did?” The students paused. “How many?” I repeated.
Three students raised their hands—two of them confidently.
“Three,” I said. “Three of you would rather have grown up in your parents’ or grandparents’ generation. That leaves 22 of you preferring to grow up when you did.
“You know what you’re saying, don’t you?” I said. “You grew up at the perfect time in history. Things were gradually improving until your time. Then everything fell apart.”
We laughed. I told them I would have answered the same way. I loved the era—the 1980s—in which I grew up. The music of my high school years is the greatest and the clothing styles are the coolest, too.
Most of us view “our era” as the perfect balance between yesterday and tomorrow. Life was “simple,” yet we had modern conveniences we couldn’t imagine living without. For me, it was a personal computer. For these students, it’s Facebook and mobile phones.
We talked about the attributes of each generation. “Let’s take your grandparents,” I said. “They’re patriotic; loyal to their country and to their churches. Right?” The students nodded. “They’re hardworking and frugal. They had come out of the Depression.”
I paused. “And they might be racist.”
The students’ expressions changed as they recognised the truth of this statement.
It’s natural to feel loyalty to our generation—to the good as well as the bad. While college students today tend to be less racist than those who went before them, their generation has its own problems, including a sense of entitlement and disrespect for authority.
“The challenge each of us faces,” I said, “is to keep the good and throw out the bad.” For some of us, that can be as hard as admitting those cool college clothes just aren’t cool anymore.
Andy Nash is a presenter at the Manifest Creative Arts Festival, March 28-31, 2012. www.artsmanifest.info