Anyone worried about the next generation?

[CensoredAlso]

I dunno, my mother's a child of the 50s, and she says life back then essentially was pretty much exactly as depicted on Leave it to Beaver.

Well my parents don't quite have the same memories. Though they watched Leave it to Beaver...nice fantasy.

And if you were a child of course you'll occasionally remember it as much better than it actually was. I think the '80s were a wonderful time but that's because I was too young to know about AIDS and the Cold War.

 

[Drtooth]

And if you were a child of course you'll occasionally remember it as much better than it actually was. I think the '80s were a wonderful time but that's because I was too young to know about AIDS and the Cold War.

It really seems those cartoons from the 80's we remember so well were so full of sugar coated or action packed fantasy, so the young ones wouldn't know about the crap that went on during that era. I WISH Contra was only a video game about aliens. Not saying anything else.

Crap was always going on. I absolutely hate the 1950's myth. Crybaby is a LOT more realistic than Leave it to Beaver. We have to remember that was an era where racism, forced conformity, and the Red Scare ran rampant. It's hardly the paradise everyone claims it to be. And here's the thing... every generation lives in fear of the younger generation. But for the most part, the worst behaved of the bunch just blend into the crowd when they're older, lamenting their age, they deny the younger generation the same exact trouble they got into. And not out of experience.

Yet, if it wasn't for future generations evolving, we'd still have 1950's levels of racism and conformity. Now, I do think that telling kids that their dreams will all come true is setting themselves up for a HUGE disappointment, but that's only out of experience. But no one wants to tell kids the truth.

 

[Oscarfan]

This thread's reminding me of Pleasantville.

 

[RedPiggy]

Those dang little whipper-snappers. *shakes a cane at them* GET OFFA MAH LAWN!
LOL.

While any one of these wouldn't be awful as an influence on its own, perhaps, the cumulative effect -- especially when a child doesn't have parents teaching them things to balance that self-absorbed worldview -- is deadly.

I think the problem isn't that the next gen is self-absorbed, but that their parents' generation (mine?) and OUR parents' generation were insanely self-absorbed.

And THESE are the hands that the future of our society are in, and society today is already corrupted as it is.

Except reality says life was never the Leave It to Beaver type, anyway.

The only thing that bugs me about the coming generations is the instant gratification culture we got off of the internet making everything too easy.

I'm glad I grew up during the emergence of the Information Superhighway. I'm old enough to remember how to live without high-end electronics but I'm not so old I stare dumbfounded at an email, either.

I dunno, my mother's a child of the 50s, and she says life back then essentially was pretty much exactly as depicted on Leave it to Beaver.

My mom thinks that too. She is also delusional, as she herself told stories of the separate bathrooms/water fountains, the beatings, etc. My maternal grandfather is a hardcore conservative, and even HE isn't as hardcore as he used to be when I was a kid. He even made peace with his gay brother. I think I saw snowflakes in Satan's backyard, though it was good because soon after the brother passed away. He's still uncomfortable with the idea, but he no longer goes on and on about how evil it is.
People romanticize the era in which they grew up as a direct result of losing out in the current generation. They can't stand the new-fangled flippity-flop stuff, so they imagine a happier time which never really existed. I liked the 80s, but I'm not dumb enough to go back there.

 

[Misskermie]

I think the '80s were a wonderful time but that's because I was too young to know about AIDS and the Cold War.

What's the cold war?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

What's the cold war?

A time of great tension. There wasn't really a "war" in the typical sense. It was more of the threat of WWIII. We fund out other nations had nuclear missiles aimed at us, the US and Russia's race to see who could get the better spacecraft into space, fear of communism in the US. I just gave you the reader's digest version...its a bit more complicated than that. If you are really curious try http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war

 

[Misskermie]

Ok. Thanks Sarge.

 

[mo]

wait a second is this just me or does this sound like ben rants? It's a youtube user who rants about the media I am addicted to it!

it's ok to be addicted to something as long if it's not drugs cigarettes or alcahol

 

[CensoredAlso]

It really seems those cartoons from the 80's we remember so well were so full of sugar coated or action packed fantasy, so the young ones wouldn't know about the crap that went on during that era.

In some cases probably, but mainly to sell toys, lol. However I would also argue that cartoons in the '80s often actually had a darker streak that cartoons just don't have the brains for today.

 

[CensoredAlso]

A time of great tension. There wasn't really a "war" in the typical sense. It was more of the threat of WWIII. We fund out other nations had nuclear missiles aimed at us, the US and Russia's race to see who could get the better spacecraft into space, fear of communism in the US. I just gave you the reader's digest version...its a bit more complicated than that. If you are really curious try http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war

Thanks for that Sarge.