Generation Gap: Does it really exist?

The difference of opinion between the old and the new has been attributed to the generation gap. Here I am not focusing on any particular culture but this is prevalent all across the world. The difference between the age groups of the same culture is well known and often talked about.

Any individual's behavior is primarily influenced by two factors. In initial years, the family has a direct influence on the child which results in formation of a typical set of values. Later as one grows up, the society influences the behavior to a large extent. In addition, as an adult the individual uses his or her own rational thinking for arriving at decisions.

Thus every individual is unique in one-way or the other.
Now the question is whether the so-called generation gap really exists or it is only a flimsy topic of discussion. For example, if our views does not match with that of our parents then we put up an excuse that they are of a different generation and hence the difference. However, in my opinion two friends or colleagues of the same age group may also have different views. Every person is in the process of learning new things and unlearning some of the old ones. Though the level of maturity may vary with age and experience, but each individual will continue to think within his or her own parameters. Thus people will continue to different from each other irrespective of the age, culture, geographical location and so on.

your views

My opinions on this as expressed through a song by Bob Dylan.

Come gather round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't critizise
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agein'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

Yeah the generation gape is always there, however hard u try to bridge tht gape but its still there...

dolly, i agree with your difference of openion between any two individual, but I do agree that there is generation gap between two generation. Our parents were brought up in whole different era with different values. Same with our grandparents. Women and Men roles have changed everywhere since our grand parents age. Their views and decisions are different. For eg. i had an aunt who used to tell me all the time that you can wear all jeans and shorts when ur young but when you get married who cannot wear such clothes or you will have to be in kitchen all the time and you can't order ask ur husband to fetch a water...for her it was shame kind of thing 'coz in her generation there were far from imagination (she jus tpassed away last week at age of 83) and i really still do all above things after getting married... our envirionment is different, men in our generation have different view point and stuff...so yes i do think generation gap does matter.

Originally posted by: Vishesh

Seema !
i agree with ur "two friends or collegues view"..

but abt generation gap
Generation Gap exists
it is evident..whenever Elders start scolding like this..
"In our times sssssssss...but now..rrrrrrrrr , world is becoming worse."

vishesh,

I would like to know why u think that.I mean yes we all have heard that, about the scoldings and all.But where do u think the younger generation stands as compared to older generation.

How many times have we heard older people saying things like "I was just like you at your age" and young people responding with sayings such as "I'm never going to get like you when I'm older" 😕

The question then would be, what old people have done to reflect or create a different mindset. The oldies laid the foundation of gap on which new generation live. If you say new generation is raw and inexperience, then the older people should correct it or a make ant attempt to correct it.

To me generation gap is an excuse, and people responsible are old people. As far as My own experience goes,I also felt few things here and there when growing up , but Iam proud to say I have not seen any body as modern as my parents. They supported me in every walk of life.I mean Starting with sending me to a different state to study , then sending me to US ( and I was not married), I married in a different cast(well diff. language and all nor religion per say) despite of the fact my parents faced opposition from our friends and relatives.And in my opinion its because they learned to adapt themselves with the changing times. As maddy has mentioned with a song, u have to adapt to survive.

so generation gap in my opinion is a excuse to not change.

I feel it is this blaming game that exists in the society and sometimes it so happens that both the generations instead of introspecting blame the 'generation gap'. This led me to think that generation gap should not be used as a scapegoat for all the differences between the young and the old. Everyone is different due to the conditioning or the environment. And instead of finding a way out to resolve differences if we just attribute it to generation gap and do nothing about it then things don't work out. Hence, I again reiterate that generation gap does not exist. Any comments?

Originally posted by: mad_cap

My opinions on this as expressed through a song by Bob Dylan.

Come gather round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't critizise
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agein'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

yaa,

agree u have to change with the changing time to survive.

now the question is who is responsible. Or just by saying its a "generation gap " we can wash our hands?

Or should we go for the next question "Who will take the initiative" younger or elders? I think If both are willing to find a solution, anybody can take the initiative. The age factor does not matter.

Interesting debate . The point about friends having different point of view made me think . But i realised the generation gap is very much there as two people of different generation at the same age - say 17 years both had different enviorments ,openness to the World , and so the exposure too was vastly different . Here they form opinions , judgements on the basis of their surrounding during that period. Example" freedom for women had a different meaning in 1970 and has a different meaning in 2007 . At that point , my parents may have been liberals ....bu 37 years later apear as conservatives .

While friends whose views may differ ..........they are sharing the same society , same development around them ......some what similar points of view . Now the difference of opinion will come on basis of many other factors : education received , family values ,and some other things.

Originally posted by: Aparna_BD

Interesting debate . The point about friends having different point of view made me think . But i realised the generation gap is very much there as two people of different generation at the same age - say 17 years both had different enviorments ,openness to the World , and so the exposure too was vastly different . Here they form opinions , judgements on the basis of their surrounding during that period. Example" freedom for women had a different meaning in 1970 and has a different meaning in 2007 . At that point , my parents may have been liberals ....bu 37 years later apear as conservatives .

While friends whose views may differ ..........they are sharing the same society , same development around them ......some what similar points of view . Now the difference of opinion will come on basis of many other factors : education received , family values ,and some other things.

Young people have a different mindset to older people purely because they have not yet experienced many things that an older person has. young people have not experienced some of the things that the older generation have.I donot mean that they are inexperienced. The older you get the more opportunities for experience there are. I don;t think that it is anything that needs to be corrected.I mean if it needs correcting surely the same could be applied to the younger generation to correct it and not just the older ones. See , the older generation ,are still in this modern soceity , they can still adapt.But the experience they had from before younger people cannot have, unless offcourse they are willing to learn from their elders and vice versa.

so what iam saying is

"Who will take the initiative" younger or elders? I think If both are willing to find a solution, anybody can take the initiative. The age factor does not matter.

Originally posted by: Aparna_BD

Interesting debate . The point about friends having different point of view made me think . But i realised the generation gap is very much there as two people of different generation at the same age - say 17 years both had different enviorments ,openness to the World , and so the exposure too was vastly different . Here they form opinions , judgements on the basis of their surrounding during that period. Example" freedom for women had a different meaning in 1970 and has a different meaning in 2007 . At that point , my parents may have been liberals ....bu 37 years later apear as conservatives .

While friends whose views may differ ..........they are sharing the same society , same development around them ......some what similar points of view . Now the difference of opinion will come on basis of many other factors : education received , family values ,and some other things.

Also I feel,It is this blaming game that exists in the society and sometimes it so happens that both the generations instead of introspecting blame the 'generation gap'. This led me to think that generation gap should not be used as a scapegoat for all the differences between the young and the old. Everyone is different due to the conditioning or the environment. And instead of finding a way out to resolve differences if we just attribute it to generation gap and do nothing about it then things don't work out. Hence, I again reiterate that generation gap does not exist. Any comments?