Essay, Research Paper: Society's Children: Jasonk7780

--------------------------------------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.