Help, I finally feel old…

It’s official, I have started to feel old. At only 25 years old, the “i’m too old for this shit” concept is ever present in my head nowadays. I went to a drum & bass gig a couple of weeks ago and picture me, stood in a crowd of teens who were attempting to mosh listening to music I can’t even stand to call music trying desperately to get out of the crowds and stand outside just to calm down and imagine how much happier I would have been at a nice pub, talking about Game of Thrones or discussing world politics with my equally as chilled out friends.

It got me thinking about age and the differences between generations. I think millennials are lucky in the sense that we grew up with the best of both worlds. We had technology, but we also weren’t saturated in it. We could play outside without (too much) fear of the dangerous world we live in, we could play doctor and not be tempted instead by the online multiplayer doctor campaign on Xbox. I actually grew up with a playstation but it didn’t take over my life on account of the fact many of my social circle didn’t. So what was the use in playing something I couldn’t engage with anyone else about? Now I watch my 8 year old cousin, he plays xbox ALL the time. If you take him out without his Ipad, it’s like watching a heroin addict go cold turkey. He fidgets, he can’t communicate well, he’s bored, he’s largely disconnected to the world around him because he, like most 8 year old’s now are addicted to screens. So am I, to the extent that I use technology every day, but I use it to write, I use it to watch TV shows that everyone else does so I can have a conversation with them about it the next day. My cousin doesn’t. He doesn’t play outside, he doesn’t have face-to-face conversations with his friends, instead it’s all done via the headset he’s glued to.

I question my aunt about it as I watch him. “Are you worried he’s not developing all the social skills we had growing up?” I ask her.

She shrugs “I don’t know, honestly, I don’t know. All I do know is, this is what all the kids are like now.”

I can’t argue with that. No matter how unhealthy I think it is, it’s true. Most kids are like that now. I feel sorry for them. Rather than point the accusatory finger and say popular culture is shallow now. It’s what is being fed to them. The world tells us kids can’t play outside anymore because it’s too dangerous. Besides, when we were growing up, our escape to imaginary worlds was a poorly rendered Lara Croft with square boobs, the kids now have these open-world games with amazing graphics that make you feel like you really are in another world, who wouldn’t want to escape to that?

The other point baby boomers like to make is that younger generations are entitled, we expect everything handed to us on a plate, we think we can be famous by doing nothing, we can review products and make millions and that’s too easy etc. Well, that’s something else i was thinking of the other day. The job market nowadays is awful. There’s so much competition, a degree means nothing anymore, years of internships are difficult to survive on and still don’t put you ahead of the competition. Company benefits are getting smaller and smaller on account of companies getting bigger and having to support more staff. Besides, so many young people are desperate for work companies are in positions where they can exploit them because guess what, they can.

With that in mind, no wonder the younger generations turn to celebrity culture. The corporate world has let them down. And when the companies let you down, what to do you do? You find your own way. You make your own success, you make your mark the way you need to when nobody else will help you make it. Does that lead to mind-numbing entertainment that sometimes lacks depth and intelligence? Well, yeah of course, because the companies or organisations that could offer them help has turned their back on them, so of course they might not be as well-informed about real world issues as they might have been if they had been given training or not been charged the earth to go into higher education etc. That sounds patronising, I know it does and I don’t mean to be. I think any one that makes their way in life and earns a living in this difficult world deserves recognition and respect.

I think my point is, if we don’t like where future generations are going, we are ALL to blame for it. I’m not quite sure what it is about human nature that causes us to blame others for everything rather than take responsibility for our actions but there it is.

I wonder where the next shift in society will take us? Will we get even more invested in the online world, will it just be a new world that everyone who doesn’t know any different will love and grow with? Heck, will global warming just get so bad we all just die on the burning garbage heap our planet is quickly becoming? Quite possible.

It’s a strange thing to see the world you knew and grew up with disappear. It’s a strange thing to try to understand the new ‘trends’ that younger generations know and love now when you can’t connect with it at all. Is it worse? Maybe. Is it better? Maybe. Is it the way of life, most definitely.

Where Did Ambition Fly off to?

Gone are the days where unassuming yet passionate, eager to work students  filled the world. Remember the days where we used to persuade young adults not to get involved in the ‘Hollywoodesque’ style of living and careers path? Well, we don’t even have to worry about that anymore, why? Because it seems these days students don’t even the ambition to want to be famous.

 

It’s something that has been a problem forever, there have always been those who do anything to get out of work or at least a job that can turn into a successful career. While this is most certainly not just applicable to the younger generation, it seems to hit them the hardest. The sad truth is it’s not down to just the rebellious “I’ll do what I want when I want and you can’t tell me otherwise” attitude which most teenagers/young adults grow out of. The answer to this lack of work ethic is arrogance.

 

The problem is, too many university graduates truly believe the world owes them a favor, a favor for taking three years out of there life to drink at least three nights a week and occasionally do an essay. Granted, some degrees are a lot harder than others, my flatmates always worked harder than I did, they had to, their degree was far more demanding than my own. However, university compared to real life, is a walk in the park. The sooner students realize this, the better. Everyone can get a degree in the UK, loans are given out left, right and centre and our government told us EVERYONE should aspire to university, which again, was not a wise mood. It’s just not realistic to hope everyone will do well in university or even feel like it was their calling in life. University should be for those with either a specific course they truly desire to do or those who are passionate enough to actually want to do the jobs they are qualified to do afterwards.

 

Because it seems everyone goes to university, obviously there are many who quickly realize they don’t like it, and give up. Or worse, stumble through university and then once qualified are ungrateful for opportunities they are offered. While its no secret the job market is tough right now, some of these dire unemployment figures may also be down to the fact that young people won’t take certain jobs when handed to them, and no, not all these jobs are awful and completely unrelated to what they want to do in life. These unambitious people are either too lazy or too arrogant to accept opportunities when handed over to them. I must stress, obviously this is not every young person, but an astonishing number of people I know personally have turned their noses up at chances for work experience or refused to show enthusiasm or willingness to complete mundane tasks in the work experience or jobs they do take on.

 

Whether this is because they believe they are ‘above’ such things or simply because they lack the drive and ambition to complete tasks that don’t appeal to them in the slightest, it’s such a shame to see so many of these potentially talented people practically go to waste. Criticize what the likes of celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian do all you want but those girls DO work. Yes they don’t have 9-5 shifts as such but they work hard every day to stay relevant. And how they stay relevant I hear you ask, they bring out merchandise and yes, I do my research, these girls really do show up to business meetings with their PR team, and put in their fair share of ideas in. Not to mention the constant public appearances, not my idea of fun but hey, at least they are doing something. While it may not be an ideal career path at least celebrities have something this younger generation seem to lack, fierce drive and determination to succeed in life.

 

Whether you are a university student or not, people need to realize, when it comes to careers, you will start from the bottom. Even if you own a million Chanel bags and party it up with Rhianna every other weekend, there will always be a hierarchy and those who will never take you seriously before you prove yourself. In years to come where you can have a career to fall back on, you should and will have your fair share of stories about sorting paperclips in the office or making one hundred cups of tea for people every day. Work at it, keep a level head and realize that in this world, nothing comes for free, but the harder you work, the bigger the pay-off whether that pay-off is either physical such as money, or weight loss or mental, such as the pride you feel after one of the girls in the office prides you on your organization skills. A career is like an art portfolio, you build and build until you can turn and say “wow, I can’t believe I did all that”. Perhaps that dodgy internship at the cafe with the creepy manager didn’t seem worth it at the time, but it’s all life skills, and it’s all signs of a hard worker.