Difference between the generations- Published in the GDN (16Sep2006)

One day as I headed out the door to meet some friends, mom stopped me to criticize the clothes I was wearing, then she went on to criticize the generation I come from that allowed such clothing. Her comments shocked me (and hurt me a little bit, too) and I (as politely as possible, of course) questioned her opinion being from a generation of micro-skirt wearers.

She of course denied ever wearing such clothing, which to her benefit, is true. Mom comes from a conservative family. However, her criticism of my generation struck me as unfair. I heard such comments every too often from my parents, aunts and uncles, so I’ve decided, with all due respect, to defend it, so here is my reply.

Firstly, any two generations cannot be compared for the mere reason that generations were born at different times, conditions, cultures and beliefs. What may have been acceptable in the past may not be today and vice versa. We have to keep in mind standards, time-difference, living and work conditions, religious influence, peer pressure, common beliefs, even technologies and trends when comparing the generations.

Secondly, it is unfair for us to be criticized by the previous generation merely on our down points just the way it was unfair for our grandparents’ generation to criticize our parents. Just the way I hope our generation does not criticize its own kids when they come to life.

Thirdly, both generations have their good and bad. While drinking is a taboo for our generation, it was more common in our parents’ generation. We girls might wear tighter clothes, but the previous generation wore shorter ones. We may have the trend of sheesha, our parents had the trend of cigarettes. While our generation has more privileges, it has more responsibilities. While our generation may be less aware, it is highly educated. While it may be shallow, it is more pressured. It may cherish family values a little bit less, but it cherishes privacy a little bit more. We may be more ‘liberated’ than our parents’ liking, but we value respect to those different to us. We are the generation of bloggers, and our parents are the generation of poets and writers. We are the generation of e-cards and our parents are the generation of love letters. We are the generation of googling and our parents are the generation of libraries.

Last but not least, each generation is divided into ‘groups’ of believers in certain ethics, morals, standards and habits, and those groups are made up of individuals who might belong to one or more of those groups, therefore it will never be fair to criticize a whole generation with the harsh generalization of a few (or even many) individuals.

It will be fair though to mention that our parents’ generation was simpler, more innocent, purposeful and respectable. Drugs and adultery were less common. They believed in unity, strength, heroic acts, a better world and benefit of doubt. It’s the generation of books, societies, lasting friendships and romantic, idealistic thoughts. They even had the better version of Tom & Jerry. But most importantly our parents’ generation caused the birth of a very unique generation, ours!