A New Generation

Over the years, each generation has been qualified in some way, i.e. The Boomers. What moniker should we give the newest group that is following us? Preschoolers living their lives in the world of electronics? They certainly exist in a world quite different from the one we or our children ever experienced. Today, kids as young as three or four go around playing games on their devices hardly taking time away from screens to answer the call of nature, no doubt inspired by the Millennial Generation who are proficient at texting at the speed of light.  It’s not that long ago that only a few people had television sets. What an amazing social evolution since that time!

            Today, computers dominate so many facets of our lives. They seem to even have replaced dolls for little girls. I’m not sure it is necessarily a bad thing. Today’s girls are growing up knowing that they are part of the larger world and not limited to the traditional role of females. Their options are certainly more numerous than they were for women of my generation.

            Of course, no one has ever escaped the reality of the world’s duality. Wherever humans go, whatever humans do they will face the certainty that alongside good, negativity manages to flourish. While the youngest generation may have more options than we ever did, I think parents and grandparents need to be more vigilant in assessing the games (some rather violent) and the information with which their youngest ones are bombarded. 

            There’s virtue in everyone being aware that living in front of a screen is not the only choice in life, and while today’s electronic devices are here to stay their use should be tempered so it does not become the only activity in a young child’s world.