Some problems with my generation

As a generation, we oppose certains trends of the generation before, and oppose others. It is a natural thing to do and the consequences, on a large scale, tend to shape to way for the next generation. A natural process, repeated for generation, over and over again.

Some of these changes are fascinating. Like how the cell phones has changed the way we do things. Or how the Internet changed how we interact globaly.

Some changes are more subtle, but have more deep consequences:

The youth of this generation wait a couple of years more, on average the the last one before leaving the family nest. They also wait longer before marrying. While my great-grandfather was married around the age of 18, and my grand-parents in the early 20s, my parents married much older, and it seems that this trends is not about to be reversed.

Just as the generation before me was raised by television, my generation was raised by a screen. It may well be the television, it may be a computer, but it could also be video games. A growing part of the population is now is what is generaly known as a 'gamer': Someone who plays video games a lot. They are part of a large growing group of 'Geeks' of all trades: people who are generaly very enthusiastic about a certains subjet like computer, role-playing games, anime, fantasy, security, social engineering, etc...

We also have, in north america and in east asia, people obsesed with work. In japan, they even invented a term for 'death by too much work': Karoshi.

With women's emancipation, womens too, became obsessed with their career. And with a career they have little or no time for childrens. Or even for a husband. Or a boyfriend.

Most of the friends I have are single. It's kind of ironic: we have more way of communication, yet we are more isolated. Communication is so easy now that we don't learn to spend time together: we all communicate on 1-on-1 channels all around without never really seeing each other face to face. We stay 'in touch', and have more friends, but we don't really so things together, except maybe virtually.

We, as a generation, are a like time-bomb... We are fueling a society of individualism, where we all complain that we feel alone and consume products or virtual envirronnements to forget ours real problems... I hate to see us all waking up at 40-something and realizing that life is really not a product, that life is not a virtual world, that life is not just working....

Of course, this is all from personnal experience, and I hope that I am completely wrong here. I really hope that these trends are not, and that all I see are isolated cases. I still have faith in my own generation, as we will find ways around problems and move on...

Only time will tell. We'll just have to wait and see...