--------------------------------------November 29,1998---------------------------------------------

Society's Children

"Generation X" is the term used to describe and define the generation born after

1970. Although it is given as being this age group, Generation X is more of a mind set,

than an age. Described as lacking morals, ethics, and diligence, elder generations look

down on Xer's as if they were willfully deceitful. While truth may lie in some of these

accusations, the roots extend much deeper. Generation X lacks a perception of

permanence, which causes problems when functioning in the real world.

Psychologists have long known that a child's upbringing has a profound affect on

its behavior later in life. Today, steady streams of stimuli entertain children, requiring little

or no thought on the part of the child. This so called mind candy causes them to have

short attention spans, and conditions the children to being hand fed their entertainment. In

fact, television has become a sort of mass surrogate parent for today's youth. This

surrogate parent is a fickle one, with MTV fashions changing faster than any season,

children are left with very few permanent roll models. Sadly the most lingering figures are

those like Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur and others who have past away at a relatively

young age. This combined with the glorification of violence caused by Scream style

movies and television programs causes a decrease in regard for human life. With

television violence comes the violence of the video game world. Games like Duke Nukem

and Doom, where blood and killing are displayed graphically and repeatedly, can cause

desensitization to violence, and the recurrence of the killed characters may create the

illusion of death as a temporary state. The acceptability of violence is not the only myth

created by our digital world. In video games, good guys and bad guys are well defined,

with no middle ground. One of the more stale differences is that life has no reset button.

The presence of a "reset" button on a video game system adds greatly to the delusion that

making mistakes is not a big deal, because afterwards, a fresh start can always be

achieved.

In contrast to the fast paced world of video games and movies, the real world

seems very boring. Thus necessary experiences, like school, seem boring and unbearable;

however, this academic lack of attention is not purely the fault of the students. Teachers

often focus more on ingrained memorization of facts than on actual comprehension, and

busywork is often given which increases the stress a student feels, while teaching them

nothing and turning them away from other, more educational assignments. Also, students

are often forced to take classes which conflict greatly with their areas expertise, instead of

other, more enjoyable, and possibly more educational courses just to fulfill graduation

requirements. Edward Ericson states that:

This pose of (educational) detachment is not without cause. Mass

education factories cram 500 students into a lecture hall, mostly limit their

contact to teaching assistants, then face customers apparently

uninterested in studying hard, but quite willing to negotiate for higher grades

than they have earned. Meanwhile, aging '60s radicals offer them lectures

on the importance of being subversive and transgressive." Who wouldn't

respond to such developments with some cynicism and detachment (38)

Education is also prolonged; thus it takes longer than previous generations to fully enter

the adult world. Along with the prolonged education comes over specialization. Students

are forced to choose their majors, thereby limiting their classroom experiences and futures

while still trying to find their own identities. Even once education has been completed,

employment is by no means guaranteed. College graduates are working for minimum

wage in jobs which they are 100% overqualified for. For this reason, people no longer

feel free to pursue fields of interest, rather they believe they must enter more lucrative

fields of study.

One of the areas which Generation X members feel the most confusion about is

love and relationships. "They're enormously confused about sex and scared to death of

marriage" (Edward Ericson 38). Because of the prementioned mind candy fixation, Xers

generally mistake their infatuation with their relationship for true love. Usually it is only

after marriage that people realize that what they had was not true love. The other problem

that arises in modern marriages is the expectation that after marriage, one person will

change to accommodate the other. Men of generation X are brought up with pimps, and

playboys as heroes, while women are brought up believing in abortion and birth control,

but culture is not entirely to blame. The parents of Generation X, the baby boomers, have

not put up an adequate example for good family values. When a generation grows up in

households torn by divorce, it won't know how to raise families of its own. "A third of

today's college students (and rising) have parents who are divorced"(Ericson 40). By not

having adequate parenting, today's youth are also growing up lacking a respect of

authority. Besides the parents, other roll models are missing. America's government is so

over-scandalized, over budgeted, and over criticized, that no one has faith in it anymore.

The media has made a frenzy of this search for corruption, both in real life with the

Clinton/Lewinski affair, and on the big screen with films like "X-Files", "Wag The Dog",

and "Outbreak". Today's heroes are not government agents, but people rebelling against

the system.

In a society where the popular idea is to diverge away from what is popular, large

groups go in different directions to establish their individualities. By buying into a genre

or clique, young Xers establish a form of identity or belonging. An interesting observation

is that most of these groups can be defined by modern musical groups and styles. Dave

Matthew's Band, Phish, and similar items define one group. Hip Hop and Rap another,

and Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, and Marilyn Manson define yet another. Elder

generations generally look at these bands as having no musical talent, and/or being

verbally offensive. Some groups, like Marilyn Manson define themselves as being

offensive purely for the sake of being offensive. The idea of finding popularity by being

unpopular is a bit confusing, and can lead to some complications. For instance, at one

point in time, a navel piercing was considered taboo, now they're common, tongue

piercing are even becoming more common and soon "they (will) force metal rings through

the most unwelcoming of facial orifices"(Ericson 38). The problem is that as the range of

acceptability broadens, those who attempt to live as different must go further. The

Satanism of Marilyn Manson and some similar bands is one of the reasons that Generation

X has been dubbed "godless". Even without the rebellious factors there is a rise occurring

in the number of so called atheists. Scientific technology is progressing rapidly, especially

in fields like disease, and genetics. With cures for diseases being produced, and

breakthroughs like the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the borders of what powers belong to

God, and which belong to man are greatly blurred. Along with the loss of religious faith

comes the loss of meaning in life. The crusade to find this lost meaning brings together

people from many walks of life. Because of this, Generation X is more diverse and more

accepting of diversity, whether it is defined by ethnicity or sexual preference. Generation

X embraces its diversity, and welcomes open discussions of opposing viewpoints. The

Internet is an excellent medium for such discussions, as skin color, religion, attractiveness,

and nationality have no relevance there. Instead, it is a transfer of opinions and

information. This instant access to information and supersonic communications is one

example of how the world of Generation X is different than that of its predecessors. With

the new technologies available to humanity, it is essential that philosophies and ethics

develop accordingly. Children must relearn to empathize with one another. They also

need to be able to set their sights on a goal and achieve it.

Generation X's greatest asset is its ingenuity, and ability to discover new ways of

solving old problems. Once its members learn patience and diligence, they have the

potential to make some of the greatest achievements this world will ever see. After

overcoming the disbelief in forever, it is possible to leave a legacy for which the current

generation will be remembered throughout time.