Image by vintagedept via Flickr
What’s wrong with these kids today? It is said by every generation about the next one. Music changes, fashion changes and even morals and values change between parents and their kids.
We don’t have to look too far back in our history to see how perceptions of people of different races were treated poorly. Today, while equality isn’t perfected yet, race is much less of an issue. Previous generations considered women as housewives and mothers exclusively. Today men and women are equals in the workplace and gender barriers have been smashed everywhere but the White House so far.
Generation gaps work both ways, too. Throughout most of the 1900s, smoking was considered acceptable social behavior. Today, people who smoke are tossed outside if they want to have a cigarette. Drinking alcohol is a vice that has remained relatively unchanged. It is still acceptable in social situations and even at home.
In the past, gambling was illegal. Only with the introduction of places like Las Vegas did gamblers become mainstream. Gambling vacations even became popular and cities such as Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City are destination cities for families. Even from home anyone can get a casino bonus by going online to gamble.
Dating has probably gone through the most changes between the generations. Chaperoned dating, once the norm, has given way to multiple partner and cohabitation. Marriages too have become more prone to ending in divorce without any stigma attached.
So what’s wrong with these kids today? Nothing, they are changing the rule the same way every generation modified the world to meet their needs and beliefs. Change is inevitable, enjoy it.
