- If a teenager got into trouble in the old days, the neighbours would discipline them and no questions were asked. Today, they would not dare to interfere. What with Human Rights, Child Abuse and whatever. I suppose the time has now come for everyone to do his own thing, and to hell with the rest of the world. "I’m alright, Jack!" seems to be the attitude of the younger generation. Or is it?________________________________
by Cecil V. Wikramanayake
(March 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The youth of today, many of whom are on the verge of completing their studies, live in a world completely different from that in which their parents lived. Is this for the better or for the worse, time alone will tell?
The youth of today grow up in the shadow of AIDS, violence crime and divorce, for these are the things that dominate the headlines in all newspapers, with politicis taking a back seat, so to speak.
Ask any youngster what has most shaped his generation and he or she will tell you, without hesitation "The Internet".
The Gulf War, The Middle East conflict between Jews and Arabs, the Concorde crash. All that is ancient history to them. The postal services ? What a quaint way to communicate!
These are the youth of today and the men and women of the future who will be shaping the new millennium. They have grown up embracing the tools that have changed the world so quickly.
Nuwanthika de Silva, now a sweet sixteen has this to say: "Computers are the most important thing that happened while I was growing up. I can get more information, a lot quicker than, for instance, by going to the public library.
"To me the Net is a given now" she said. "I have several friends who are on the Internet at least two or three hours a day. We used to watch television before, but now we are compulsive e-mail addicts. "
Jennifer La Brooy, now turned nineteen and another compulsive e-mail addict, confessed to being amazed how the Net has become a central part of not only her life, but even that of her younger brother Terry, who is now in Grade 10. "He talks online to all his friends. It is amazing to me how quickly it has become the standard way of communication" she said.
And then, there are the pagers and the cell-phones.
"I cannot imagine what life would be without my cell phone" said Samantha Ediriweera, who has just launched an executive job in a multi-national. "It is so convenient. I don’t have to be at home for my friends to get in touch with me."
The younger generation is the first generation born into a wired world. They have been fed a software formula since infancy and Microsoft Word is their first language.
They often fret that life moves too quickly, leaving them and their parents with so little time. With faxes phones, cell-phones, beepers, round-the-clock news coverage, movie rentals and take-away food, the social life of the new generation is an active 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It seems as if everyone is on the "Go".
Does it wear them out?
"It has made the world a smaller place," said Manoji de Alwis, yet another of those who has just turned sweet sixteen. "There is no private time. It is exhausting but it is really good to have a work ethic by 15. Of course, it is exhausting and stressful. For the last three months I have worked 40 hours a week while I went to school. "Manoji was of the view that there are positive social transformations that are taking place at least to those who value diversity.
Other social trends, which include a higher divorce rate today than there was fifty to seventy five years ago, are depressing, however. Today, one in ten marriages end in divorce or at least a separation, and the new generation is getting accustomed to ‘fractured families’.
The whole definition of family has changed in the new millennium. Today we see more single parent families, splintered families, and there are other trends too that threaten the younger generation.
From the late nineteen eighties they have seen crime, homelessness , violence and drug addiction become big issues.
In the past many things were based on the community. People knew their neighbours and frequent visits to friends and relations were the order of the day.
If a teenager got into trouble in the old days, the neighbours would discipline them and no questions were asked. Today, they would not dare to interfere. What with Human Rights, Child Abuse and whatever.
I suppose the time has now come for everyone to do his own thing, and to hell with the rest of the world. "I’m alright, Jack!" seems to be the attitude of the younger generation. Or is it ?
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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