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GenNext speaking…
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Youth today seem to be all about I, me and myself, but listen to what they have to say in their defence
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Photo: Sampath Kumar g.p.
Catching up In time to a different drum
GenNow wear branded clothes, streak or straighten their hair. They break all conventions and care two hoots about what others think about them. What’s cool and what’s not is important for them. They hate advice and comparisons and are shr
ewd and street smart. But what do they have to say in defence?
Sashi Menon, an MBA student says “We are gutsy, ambitions, independent and have our priorities ironed out.” While Gayathri Krishna feels “We believe we can do great things together, we are responsible and dedicated.”
The influence of peers is evident in the way the youth dress, in their relationships and attitude. Very few dare to go against their peers even if it is at the cost of familial bonds. K. Bhavani, a teacher and mother says, “They feel we are antiquated and that their peers know best.” They would like to be noticed and if possible be trendsetters too.
Archana Balan, an art director, has bouquets and brickbats for GenNow. “They are fearless, risk takers and easily adaptable. Seventy five per cent of the youth are not themselves; it is an artificial front they put up. Ethics and values take a back seat and behaving as per your conscience is not given much thought.” Some of them are taken in by all things flamboyant. Spending money is a means of gaining approval from peers, for some who can’t keep up with their friends, life is difficult. GenNow is shrewd and analytical. Not only with adults but also with their peers. This is one generation that knows how to turn a situation to its advantage. Meghana. S, an engineering student says: “The ends justifies the means. They wouldn’t mind grabbing another’s opportunity and making it their own.”
This is one generation that lets its guard down in front of a chosen few, and for the rest of the world they hide behind a façade. “You cannot pull the wool over their eyes and get them to do things your way. A frank discussion may help, otherwise they’ll outsmart you” says Sivanti Menon, a mother of three teenagers.
Karuna Senthilnathan, a mother says: “The present generation is aping western culture whole scale rather than emulating its positive side. Materialism is the ‘in’ thing. The value system in the villages has not degenerated as in the cities due to stronger familial bonds and traditions.”
Her daughter Anjana, a degree student in Mumbai feels, “The ability to embrace change is a virtue of the present generation.” The chasm between the attitudes of this generation and the previous one (older to them by a few years) has widened and is drastically different. Nowadays a heart attack in the twenties is not uncommon. Gastrointestinal disease due to erratic food habits, hypertension and diabetes are on the increase.
If for the boys financial independence is of utmost importance, for the girls it is even more important. Marriage does not figure in their immediate plans, for them it is more of a social obligation. The bond with parents is weakening. The common refrain of children these days seems to be, “Since I am your child, you jolly well have to make my life comfortable.”
In the bargain, it complicates things for parents. “If you treat them on equal terms, they end up taking all sorts of liberties, it is difficult to draw the line,” says Jasmine Mathew, a newscaster.
But this is just one side of the coin. The mushrooming of various voluntary service organisations for youth reveals the innate sensitivity of the present generation. Which makes us wonder if they are more sinned against than sinning.
ROSHNI MOHAN
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