This subject may be a tad hypocritical for me seeing as I was born on the tail end of the 90's, but I still see a large separation between my generation and the generation of the new century. We are technically part of the same “generation," Generation Z, but I pride myself in knowing that my childhood is not the same as those born in the early 2000's. Don’t get me wrong - there are plenty of things that my generation missed out on that I will cover in this article, but I will also cover self-indulgently how the newest generation has missed out on a truly genuine childhood.
I would have killed to be a teenager anywhere between the mid 60's to the late 80's. Sure, we always romanticize the decades prior, but everything just seemed a lot more real and genuine, unlike today. There were still the same problems we have today, but granted, I guess everyone just looks back fondly on the good.
If there’s one thing that I envy most about the childhood of our parents, it's the accessibility of everything around. As it’s been described to me, you would walk out your door and everything would be right there in front of you. You would know everyone on your block by name, and everyone looked out for each other. This may be only for me personally, but I’d be lucky if I could name three people in my whole neighborhood. Nobody communicates, everyone is a stranger, and, at least where I live, you have to drive ten minutes just to find something interesting. You could blame this on expansion of the suburbs or what have you, but it just seems like every teenager describes their town as “dead."
Why is that? Why do we all believe there is nothing to do? I blame this partly on the rise of technology. In the 70's, for example, the teens were content with the soda shops, bowling alleys, arcades, and mom and pop theaters. There were no computers, apps, texting, and video games to distract them. With a plethora of technology at our fingertips, everything else seems to pale in comparison. We don’t need to meet Johnny on the corner anymore to hang out, we can just text him. You don’t see as many soda shops, arcades, or movie houses as much anymore. Can’t we just live in the world of "Dazed and Confused," "That 70's Show," and "Fast Times?" Even a John Hughes movie would suffice.
This generation is going to have it even worse, unfortunately. Now the 90's kids are all over fifteen. We’ve grown up, but the 2000's kids are still being raised. With technology growing and expanding exponentially every year, children are getting more and more desensitized to its hold. Children are getting cell phones in elementary school and experiencing the trauma that is social media before they even go through puberty. A 2010 Kaiser Foundation study showed that kids in elementary school use just entertainment based technology over seven hours a day.
Where has the creativity of childhood gone? What happened to the bike rides, to the fort building, to the hide and seeks, and the games tag, to the pure imagination? Children now don’t have the chance to create for themselves, and they’re bombarded with stimulation from all sides consuming their thoughts that they can’t think organically. I truly believe that my age group was the last to have a real, true childhood. Sure, there was minimal technology when I was a child, but it hadn’t nearly advanced to the point that it encompassed everyone’s time. I still went on mythical adventures, fought imaginary battles, and entertained myself (I know that’s a foreign concept now). Sometimes I feel bad for this new generation because it’s not their fault they were born into a world like this. So it’s our duty as we grow up and potentially have children to instill in them the same childlike whimsy that we experienced at their age. Because who knows how more advanced it will be by the time we’re in our late 20's and 30's?
Maybe turn on the iPad a little less and go outside a little more. Maybe spend less time online watching other people’s adventures and go and have your own. Maybe do something new and spontaneous. Children have so many responsibilities now as well that that distracts from being a kid. This article has become less narrowed than others, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: since the dawn of time, one generation has envied the ones before. So it’s our job to make our generation the best that it can be while still holding onto the things that really matter.
