Generation ‘Lost’

We live in a world where you can educate yourself on any topic you choose, within seconds. You have a question? Google it and get your answer, simple. In fact, it’s a little too simple. Once upon a time you would need to open a dictionary to learn the correct spelling of a word, go to a library and read a book to learn history and you would need to see an expert to learn which foods were part of a healthy diet, so that someone could take a picture of you in a bikini (not a selfie) and you could post it in your family photo album, after waiting a few days to have your photos developed at your local pharmacy. I’m lucky enough to have been born as part of generation Y (Which I would define as early-mid 80s to very early 90s). Some argue that this generation is the best of them all. A perfect combination of a childhood which involved being in the same place as your friends if you wanted to have a conversation with them, reading books, the best video game consoles ever created (I speak of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, of course), playing card collections and an adulthood that understands and utilises the strengths of the internet (because once upon a time we didn’t have such a fancy gadget), remember dial-up? Then there’s the next generation (Which I would define as early-mid 90s – today). You can call them ‘Generation Z’ or ‘Generation lost’, depending on how you look at it. Generation Z is the first generation to have never lived without the internet, a generation that is completely oblivious to how good and easy they’ve really got it. These are the young people of our world, those that have just finished or are about to finish school. These children are immersed in a world where the internet and the smartphone are king and queen. A world where not having a Facebook account can render you almost non-existent. A world where procrastinating is the easiest task to complete for a generation that loves an easy task. From where did this crop of youngsters develop their grand sense of entitlement, their shortcut seeking ways and their overall preference to skip out on hard work in favour of a life of socialising, internet trolling and jokes? Why, it was their parents fault, of course! Allow me to explain myself. I am, by no means, saying that Generation X did a bad job of raising their children, nor did they set bad examples, purposely spoil their children or teach them the wrong strategies to tackle life, quite the opposite, and there, within, lies the problem. Generation X and the ‘Baby Boomers’ are the creators. The ones that, in most cases, started with nothing. They set out to turn water into wine, to make something of themselves, and in almost all cases, they did. They may have become a millionaire, they may not have, but, at a minimum, they created a life for themselves and their family. They had the commitment to work hard and earn their lives. In their minds it was a matter of “if I don’t, who will?” Let’s quickly summarise Generation Y. The children that were raised watching their parents slave away, they saw it first hand, they understand the fundamentals, they respect what their parents have achieved and they put the same strategies into play. One degree of separation. Generation Z, the lost generation, saw none of it. They were born onto a silver blanket, fed from a silver spoon, from a silver plate, while watching TV, which was, perhaps, silver too. The work had already been done well before they inhaled their first breath of oxygen. This generation sees hard work as it sees a dragon, mythical, magical and fictional. A generation that will not settle for anything but the latest mobile phone, the latest laptop and the most expensive car that money can buy because they deserve it…They just won’t work for it. We see it everywhere, heads buried in mobile phones, refreshing their social media pages in the hope of a new update that will give them some mental stimulation and help them get through a few more boring minutes of their day. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. No matter what you see on social media, it will only ever be a temporary fix, a band-aid solution that covers up the fact that you are not achieving, that you are not motivated, that you are overwhelmed and that you are lost. Do yourselves a big favour, Generation Z, delete your social media accounts, find some hobbies and set some goals. Stop refreshing your news feeds and start refreshing your lives. There is a constant three generation cycle in every family. The first generation creates the wealth from nothing, the next generation builds on the hard work of their parents and the third generation destroys it all. Easy as ABC or XYZ.