This probably isn’t that new of a thought to most of you all, but another post made me think to share it.
About a year ago my wife and I (both millennials) were taking a long walk and reflecting on some stuff. It occurred to us both that from our early to mid 20s forward it was hard getting good advice from our parents (both Boomers) on life matters. Sure, there’s the usual “they don’t know what the housing market is” stuff, but it seemed like more than that. That’s when we both had the glass shattering conclusion that we have experienced more life than our parents.
We didn’t mean travel. We honestly meant global changes and conflict. Sure, our parents had the Cold War and threats of nuclear annihilation, but it felt like the traumas of the last generation weren’t as frequent, global, and of personal impact. Economic meltdowns, global warming (with local weather events impacting us), 911, COVID… I don’t need to keep going.
So, we came to the conclusion that even though Boomers like to fall back to the “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” mantra, it turns out that they went through their adult lives with relatively little global/national trauma. This obviously can’t stand as a generalization for personal trauma, but on a macrochasm scale Boomers are Summer Children (matured during a time of plenty and ease).
Technology and speed of information has advanced significantly over the years. As the technology advances our society tries to keep up, a good example of this is how digital friendships and relationships have become. I know many yojng people struggle to make friends in real life but have plenty of digital connections. Many peolle fall into the trap of swiping for something “better” on a dating app than tolerating a flaw or two in their psrtners.
The speed of information has increased signifcantly due to the internet and social media. The entire world feels more connected than previous generations. News stories from any corner of the world are shared almost instantly. There is more opportunties to compare ourselves to each other with social media at our finger tips.