First and foremost, I must establish one essential truth. Philosophy, the 'category' of this blog, means, literally, love of wisdom. So I can write anything in this blog, as long as it isn't stupid. (a decision, I alas, must leave up to you, my readers)
In the spirit of that truth, I now proceed with my entry:
Generational gaps are nothing new. They usually center upon the shift in ideology or mores from generation to generation. However, the perceived generational gap that currently 'exists' is one of the most sever in recent history.
Our parents used to do everything outside when they were our age. Now, many teens barely
even see the great outdoors between video games and texting. I once asked a12-year old what he did in his spare time. "Videogaming"he replied.
I asked if he did anything else. He said he did Boy Scouts, but considering that the troop he was in camped out once every three months, that amounted to a grand total of 4 outdoor excursions yearly.
Being the outdoors freak that I am, this horrified me.
Kids in the 'current generation' are frequently obese, therefore having a lower life expectancy than their parents, and typically are unathletic. (there are numerous exceptions to this rule of thumb)
Many kids in our generation are also nearly deaf, having bombed their respective brains out listening to 'Heavy Metal' too loud, too long on their iPods.
Others (many of my friends included) spend hours of their time reading about heroic quests and amazing adventures in Sci-Fi and Fantasy books, but don't get their bums out in to the real world and have some real adventures.
However
, is this entirely their fault???
In all fairness, I must say it is not. Many of the trends that were started by the previous generation have simply been picked up and amplified by the 'next' generation.
Take for instance, excessive video gaming.
My Mom can remember back to when she used to play 'Pong' (the little game where you have to stop the ball from getting past you volleyball paddle). However, members of her generation picked up that technology, and made it better, and gave it to their kids. Hence all the excesses we see today.
Maybe I should just sum it up in this one handy dandy little phrase: What our parents have sowed, we all must reap. The decisions of the previous generation have profoundly influenced the lifestyle of our own (no wonder the lowered life expectancy)
Now, I'm not trying to attack our parents. Our own individual choices are what ultimately leads our lives. But there are many sides to this issue.
Research Notes: 'lowered life expectancy' taken from CBS4 News broadcast. link to cbs4news.com