So, I don’t know what it’s like to grow up in any generation besides Generation Y.
I really don’t. I know that when our parents were children they were worried about stuff like the Cold War (getting a nuclear bomb dropped on us would suck), the Vietnam War, and civil rights for people of all races.
And when our grandparents were our age, they were worried about World War II, and the depression, and they hadn’t even begun thinking about how to incorporate all races into the American Dream. Also, I don’t think it occurred to our grandparents to question the existence of God, and women couldn’t really go to school or get a job, which must have been terrible.
And now, we’re becoming adults in an age when gay marriage is almost completely legal in America, and marijuana is on the brink of becoming legal.
Racism makes no sense to us. Like when I tell my grandmother that I’m dating someone new and her first question is, “Is he Jewish?” Unless she is Jewish, then I usually say yes. Otherwise, I have a hard time figuring out what to say. And women, we are making our way towards gender equality; we really are. And, of course, we’re still worried about a nuclear bomb getting dropped on us.
But we’re making huge strides. We care about love-- among and between all different groups of people. Of any generation until this point, we’re the closest to making the American Dream a reality, because, and I’m speaking generally here, we care about people for who they are, their abilities and personalities, rather than their religion, sexuality, or the color of their skin.
It doesn’t even occur to most people in our generation to worry about these things, and I am so proud of our generation when I think about how absurd things used to be, how paradoxical and hypocritical it is that our founding fathers were rambling about equality and inalienable rights, while owning human slaves.
Of course, it’s cool they wrote those documents anyway. I’m all about the Bill of Rights; it’s just that we have to actually create a society that fosters absolute equality, rather than just talking about it.
And, of course, we’re dealing with a bunch of other shit that generations before us didn’t have to deal with.
Like, first of all, unpaid internships. What the f**k are these about? They’re perplexing to my dad, who had to pay for mine and my sister’s rent last summer because we both had unpaid internships.
He has no problem saying, without hiding his indignation, that when he was our age people paid for work.
And of course it’s not fair that only people who can afford it can hold these unpaid internships, which can give them a leg up when it comes to actually getting a job. I have no advice about this, it’s just a thing our generation has to deal with.
Then there’s technology. Technology has radically altered the landscape of human communication.
,If I go to another country and fall in love, I can easily Facebook chat, Facetime, Skype, Instagram, and otherwise keep in touch with the girl I fell in love with. Which may make it harder to cut ties.
Since, you know, we’re talking about a hypothetical love interest here, I can promise that Skype sex doesn’t hold a candle to real sex. It just doesn’t. But seeing a girl you love on Skype is still a great feeling.
But what have we given up in our adaptation, in our succumbing to the allure of the Internet? Hookup culture is kind of bullsh*t, although it's most likely a product of our cultural dependence on irony. I think we all use irony as a defense mechanism.
We hide behind our sarcasm and continue to have one-night stands because, frankly, it's easier not to get hurt this way. If you never show anyone who you actually are, then they can never reject who you actually are. If you do show them who you really are... well, they might.
At least it's semi-acceptable for women to ask out men these days. I'm definitely glad I don't live in a time when you had to wait until marriage for sex (who wants to buy a car without driving it first?), but I do wish people who just wanted to bang with no emotional involvement would be more upfront about it.
Also, I miss writing letters. I didn’t even live during a time period when it was the norm to write letters and I miss them. Is there anything as satisfying as receiving a personal note, written in the handwriting of someone you love? I think not.
Maybe I’m an anachronism. I’ve gotten girls to hook up with me by writing them poems before, so maybe I’m the exception. And of course we have to deal with this absurd, image-driven culture.
Are young girls sexualized earlier than ever? Probably. I’m so glad I didn’t have to go through middle school during Facebook’s existence-- AIM was bad enough. Holler if you feel me. I know you do. We did ridiculous things, like list all our friends in our AIM profiles and have AIM notify us when a certain person signed online.
Now we have to worry about whether our bosses go back far enough in our Facebook pictures to see us doing hitting bongs and keg stands.
We have to be careful about text messaging naked pictures, except, let’s be real. We’ve all done it. If any of us become president, we’re just going to have to admit we’ve sent naked pictures, just like Obama admitted he smoked marijuana. Everyone who gave Bill Clinton a hard time for getting high is going to feel pretty silly in fifteen years when weed is legal.
I’m tempted to say we have more fun than other generations, but I’m not sure that’s true. I’m pretty sure people who grew up in the 70s had plenty of fun, and I’m kind of pissed off my parents didn’t save me any quaaludes.
We definitely take more ADD medicine than any generation before us, but anyone who’s ever been on Adderall can back me up when I say feeling like a goddess is pretty great.
Then again, I’m an adult and I got to make that choice.
Bottom line is, I wouldn’t sacrifice my medicine-less childhood for anything.