The Younger Generation

[Foxfyre]

It is amazing to think that today's newest generation to come of age can't imagine a world without color television, cell phones, personal computers, microwave ovens, or automatic dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers. Many of today's college students have never seen a vinyl record, much less owned one, have never used a pay phone, have never popped popcorn in a pan on the stove, can't imagine a world without satellites, GPS, or e-mail. They're bright, savvy, some wise beyond their years, but its amazing how different their lives are than were those who came of age just 50 to 60 years ago.

And while I enjoy them immensely and count many among my personal friends, I think sometimes this new college generation is missing out on some perspectives of history, have some very wrong ideas about lives their parents and grandparents led

I lifted this off an old friend's Facebook page, but can probably come up with a link if you absolutely insist:

Beloit, Wis. – Born when Ross Perot was warning about a giant sucking sound and Bill Clinton was apologizing for pain in his marriage, members of this fall’s entering college class of 2014 have emerged as a post-email generation for whom the digital world is routine and technology is just too slow.

Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. The creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation. The Mindset List website at Beloit College Mindset List, the Mediasite webcast and its Facebook page receive more than 400,000 hits annually.

The class of 2014 has never found Korean-made cars unusual on the Interstate and five hundred cable channels, of which they will watch a handful, have always been the norm. Since "digital" has always been in the cultural DNA, they've never written in cursive and with cell phones to tell them the time, there is no need for a wrist watch. Dirty Harry (who’s that?) is to them a great Hollywood director. The America they have inherited is one of soaring American trade and budget deficits; Russia has presumably never aimed nukes at the United States and China has always posed an economic threat.

Nonetheless, they plan to enjoy college. The males among them are likely to be a minority. They will be armed with iPhones and BlackBerries, on which making a phone call will be only one of many, many functions they will perform. They will now be awash with a computerized technology that will not distinguish information and knowledge. So it will be up to their professors to help them. A generation accustomed to instant access will need to acquire the patience of scholarship. They will discover how to research information in books and journals and not just on-line. Their professors, who might be tempted to think that they are hip enough and therefore ready and relevant to teach the new generation, might remember that Kurt Cobain is now on the classic oldies station.

The college class of 2014 reminds us, once again, that a generation comes and goes in the blink of our eyes, which are, like the rest of us, getting older and older.

I hope there are others who find this phenomenon interesting. But if not. . . .

 

[Jeremy]

Great post.

My wife and I are "only" 31 but we love listening to our vinyl collection and the only way we make popcorn is on the stove top. Not because we are trying to be "retro" but because somethings just can't be improved with technology. They may be replaced, but not improved.

 

[Foxfyre]

Yes, there are some your age or maybe a bit older who have discovered their parents' old 45 rpm record collections and have enjoyed discovering the music of that era. Have been posting them on Gunny's 'Icky love songs' thread even.

I guess it's true that old dogs can and are learning new tricks, but the same goes for the 'young-uns' who are learning some old dog tricks that are quite satisfying.

 

[Sheldon]

Good post, Foxy.

And while I enjoy them immensely and count many among my personal friends, I think sometimes this new college generation is missing out on some perspectives of history, have some very wrong ideas about lives their parents and grandparents led

i think that's true about every generation and the ones that come before, too. humanity is in a constant state of flux; one generation has the knowledge of history and the tools from the previous generations, but still has the naive idea that they know what's better, which i think can be both a good and bad thing.

Many of today's college students have never seen a vinyl record, much less owned one,

that's about right. my grandpa's got a great record collection. the first record i ever listened to was Kind of Blue, and i've got the Dark Side of the Moon vinyl even though i don't have a player. one day, i will though

 

[Foxfyre]

You're probably right SEG. I've seen many who condemn the olden days (like the 50's) because of the negatives, and don't see the negatives in their own generation as being anywhere near as bad. Those from those 'olden days' acknowledge that of course there were negatives but don't see them as bad as the negatives of the current generation.

I listen to some of the modern music and it is just unpleasant noise - I hear no melody, no styling, no music. I've often wondered if my parents found the music of my generation as distasteful?

 

[Metternich]

I'm 18.

I love Dirty Harry, and bought a poster created by an outdoor artist (in Santa Monica) which reads "Make my day, punk." I have 31 of Clint Eastwood's movies, and love them all.

I have four vinyls; one of Bob Marley, two of Ratatat (a new electronic band) and one by The Beatles. Me and all of my friends own their own record players. We love the quality that they provide and we all have at least a handful of vinyls put out by brand new bands.

My girlfriend only writes in cursive, and can't write in anything else.

My point is, our generation isn't as foreign as this article thinks we are.

 

[Foxfyre]

I'm 18.

I love Dirty Harry, and bought a poster created by an outdoor artist (in Santa Monica) which reads "Make my day, punk." I have 31 of Clint Eastwood's movies, and love them all.

I have four vinyls; one of Bob Marley, two of Ratatat (a new electronic band) and one by The Beatles. Me and all of my friends own their own record players. We love the quality that they provide and we all have at least a handful of vinyls put out by brand new bands.

My girlfriend only writes in cursive, and can't write in anything else.

My point is, our generation isn't as foreign as this article thinks we are.

Way to go Metternich. Do you see yourself as typical of your generation? Would many of your friends share your experience?

 

[Sheldon]

You're probably right SEG. I've seen many who condemn the olden days (like the 50's) because of the negatives, and don't see the negatives in their own generation as being anywhere near as bad. Those from those 'olden days' acknowledge that of course there were negatives but don't see them as bad as the negatives of the current generation.

i think every generations has its metaphorical cross to bear. look at the founding fathers. their positive contributions go with out saying. they were also flawed humans, many of them slave-owners.

personally, as atrocious as that practice is, i don't use that to diminish their contributions, because i think people are largely a product of the society in which they live.

i'm thinking about what it might be that my generation is doing, that, one-hundred years from now, my great-grandkids will think is bigoted, like the way people today perceive slavery or female dis-enfranchisement today.

I listen to some of the modern music and it is just unpleasant noise - I hear no melody, no styling, no music. I've often wondered if my parents found the music of my generation as distasteful?

probably.

i've seen those black-and-white videos of elvis twisting his leg or whatever, and all the girls screaming and passing out, and it's hard for me to believe that those moves used to be considered sexy/edgy.

if there was one other time i could've come of age in, i think it'd be the sixtes/seventies when all that classic rock was coming out. there's still good music today, i just don't think you'll find it on the radio. that music is corporatized and distilled through focus groups so there's only a narrow band of styles with the broadest and most generic base of listeners; the aesthetics in that mainstream music just don't do it for me.

 

[Mr Natural]

You're probably right SEG. I've seen many who condemn the olden days (like the 50's) because of the negatives, and don't see the negatives in their own generation as being anywhere near as bad. Those from those 'olden days' acknowledge that of course there were negatives but don't see them as bad as the negatives of the current generation.

I listen to some of the modern music and it is just unpleasant noise - I hear no melody, no styling, no music. I've often wondered if my parents found the music of my generation as distasteful?

I grew up in the '50s and '60s. I remember my parents referring to rock and roll as "jungle music".

 

[uscitizen]

The instant gratification generation?

 

[Madeline]

It is a natural phenomena. Young people think the older adults in their lives were never young. I can recall watching WW II movies without making the ginormous mental leap that my own Daddy had been in the Army in the Pacific.

You weren't there, it didn't happen and us guys who are under 30 invented sex. Remember?

 

[Foxfyre]

You're probably right SEG. I've seen many who condemn the olden days (like the 50's) because of the negatives, and don't see the negatives in their own generation as being anywhere near as bad. Those from those 'olden days' acknowledge that of course there were negatives but don't see them as bad as the negatives of the current generation.

I listen to some of the modern music and it is just unpleasant noise - I hear no melody, no styling, no music. I've often wondered if my parents found the music of my generation as distasteful?

I grew up in the '50s and '60s. I remember my parents referring to rock and roll as "jungle music".

And I recall the music of my parent's era as rather boring. Lots of nostalgic music being posted on Gunny's icky love songs thread now and it brings back a rush of wonderful memories. Of course it couldn't trigger the same response in those who didn't grow up with it, but I wish there was a practical way to know who is at least appreciating it.

But then there's SEG who apparently doesn't really appreciate Elvis but probably gets goose bumps listening to certain music that pretty well leaves me cold. (Disclaimer: I don't like all of Elvis's stuff either, but there are some of his songs that really speak to me.)

 

[uscitizen]

It is a natural phenomena. Young people think the older adults in their lives were never young. I can recall watching WW II movies without making the ginormous mental leap that my own Daddy had been in the Army in the Pacific.

You weren't there, it didn't happen and us guys who are under 30 invented sex. Remember?

Human beings all start over with each generation. One thing that greatly hampers our emotional maturity as a society.
Technical stuff we carry forward in books and such, but we each start over learning morals and such.
We might grow beyond war as a species if we lived to be 200 yrs old. As it is we just begin to gain wisdom not long before we die.

Knowledge is easy, wisdom is hard.

 

[Metternich]

I'm 18.

I love Dirty Harry, and bought a poster created by an outdoor artist (in Santa Monica) which reads "Make my day, punk." I have 31 of Clint Eastwood's movies, and love them all.

I have four vinyls; one of Bob Marley, two of Ratatat (a new electronic band) and one by The Beatles. Me and all of my friends own their own record players. We love the quality that they provide and we all have at least a handful of vinyls put out by brand new bands.

My girlfriend only writes in cursive, and can't write in anything else.

My point is, our generation isn't as foreign as this article thinks we are.

Way to go Metternich. Do you see yourself as typical of your generation? Would many of your friends share your experience?

Of course me and my friends share common interests, but I think a more telling example is needed. If you go on any sites that traffic in 'pirated' music, you'll find one thing in that bastion of the new "digital generation:" an obsession with files that are straight from vinyls. All this 'mp3' nonsense is ignored by most everyone who enjoys their music. It is the FLAC Vinyl files where the greatest credence is given.

Of course there will be differences... But unlike quite a few generations; there are wide bridges of similarity.

If you think about it, my favorite quarterback is Brett Favre; the same as the one my dad rooted for before I could talk.

My favorite author is Stephen King (and the same could be said for a lot of kids; the latest critically acclaimed XBOX360 game 'Alan Wake' references him endlessly), the same as my Uncle; who first read him forty years ago in college.

 

[Foxfyre]

It is a natural phenomena. Young people think the older adults in their lives were never young. I can recall watching WW II movies without making the ginormous mental leap that my own Daddy had been in the Army in the Pacific.

You weren't there, it didn't happen and us guys who are under 30 invented sex. Remember?

LOL. Can't you remember when the idea of your parents having sex was well....appalling?

When our kids were still college age, we had a family movie weekend during a snowstorm and exposed them to a lot of the old classics: "Casablanca", "Breakfast at Tiffanys", "Gone with the Wind", "Giant" etc. They stuck with the movies, but then commented on how unrealistic they were. No swearing, etc. Not real life. Hokey even. They couldn't conceive of a time when most people in polite company didn't use a lot of "sh*t" "f*ck", etc. when they talked.

 

[Sheldon]

hey now. elvis isn't that bad, just his dance move look corny. i like this song.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7OSz4uK7yQ]YouTube - Elvis - Suspicious Minds[/ame]

 

[Foxfyre]

Noted SEG. Elvis was in such a class all by himself that I imagine it would be hard to find somebody who didn't like a single Elvis rendition.

 

[Modbert]

Young people these days!

I don't own a vinyl player, but I do own two vinyl records.

 

[uscitizen]

You mean vinyl is out of date?

 

[Epsilon Delta]

^^^ Metternich speaks some truth. It's actually "cool" to own vinyls now, cuz they make you seem all "retro". Not saying that's why he does it, but it's certainly a reason many people I know do. I'd go as far as saying that probably 1 out of every 5 dudes I've met in college has a vinyl collection. And they're cheaper, or the old ones are anyway.

And that's not just vinyls. There's always a big part of the population that finds all things "retro" cool, whether they are actually retro or not. This is culturally speaking, things that were from past generations still find appeal among young people. I know I'm an extreme example, but for the past 5 years (I'm 22), not a single movie in my top 10 was made after 1980, not a single band in my top ten was formed after 1994, and the great majority are from the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s.

What is really a huge difference is the incredibly ease that everything, current and past, can be found nowadays. I don't have to go out of my way around every record store in town to find an obscure german progressive rock album from the 1971. I can find it on the internet. And I don't even have to hear about it from friends (who probably have never heard of the band or album); I can just find more similar things searching message boards and the like. When writing a paper I don't have to go searching around the library for hours, most everything is online, or if I do have to go to the library, I can leave home already knowing exactly which books, how many, and where to find them. And if there's nothing good in the library, there will be something on the internet.

So what I'm saying is that it's not so much the culture and tastes that change radically, though they do. But the biggest change is just the structure of the whole ordeal; how much more you can do with less effort in almost every way. The biggest challenge is knowing what's just background noise and what's actually useful; and of course, to not get too caught up with it to the point you lose all contact with the 'real' world.