Home > History Group > Discussion Board

Can you differentiate the old generation from the new generation?

That is interesting question, and there no specific one answer to it.  The biggest difference between the older generation and the newer one is techonology and how we communicate.  The newer generation is focused on communicating with friends, family, coworkers, and other people at light speed.  Also the new generation is about displaying their life online for the world to see; it is almost like they all want to be movie stars in the movie called "Life."  Twitter, myspace, facebook, and other sites have become not just a tool online, but a huge part of a person's life.  The older generation, like my father, still write letters, send cards, and like to talk on the phone.  So the biggest difference the speed and access to conversing.

An old generation is somewhat resistant to change in technology, but they did fight the great wars for freedom, liberty, and against oppression. Things will always change faster than before, and in the next 100 years, I don't think we'd be able to predict anything that we think would happen.

It's not necessarily true that technology is the purview of the young. I am a late Baby Boomer, with two Millenial children in college. My mother was born at the very beginning of the Baby Boom. Although she was late coming into the Facebook age, she has embraced it with gusto. Using the laptop and wireless card we gave her for Christmas last year, she uses email daily to stay in touch with family. One of her fondest hobbies is ancestry.com. She posts frequent updates on Facebook and is Friends with all of her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. She is Facebook Friends with MY Facebook Friends! Every time I log into my FB account, I see my mom's comments on several people's pages. My joke is that my mom is everybody's Facebook mom. One of my friends from high school is going through a divorce; her own mother died earlier this year after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. My mom has been a surrogate parent to her, giving her encouragement and advice via email. This would have been much more difficult if not for technology, as my mother is in NC and my friend is in Texas. But they "talk" almost every day.

You have to beware what you consider "old" because right now the oldest Millenial is 33 years old this year, and to some that might be considered "old", yet, it is not.

I think even as recently as 2004 the world was still quite not as connected as it is now in 2009.

The one thing I can think of is the Digital Divide and, like mrsmonica said, it really does not have an age, but a level of skill.

The Digital Divide is the gap between tech and non-tech people. It is more of a problem solving technique, as technology is something you can figure out if you apply your problem solving skills. Yet, some people are less open to change, and more prone to remain in the same boat the have been for ages- regardless of age- THOSE, whoever, I would call "the old generation"

I've always thought that the older generation consisted of those people who are fifteen or twenty years older than I am, at any particular time! (Age is indeed relative, it seems.) A lot of the discussion here has focused on the use of technology, which does seem to be a kind of dividing line between generations, but the two generations can be differentiated in other ways, of course. Older people have witnessed and experienced more of life, and--speaking very generally--I think this impacts their reactions to it. The older generation is both more patient and less patient than the younger one: more patient in realizing that "this too shall pass" and less patient in terms of inefficiency and waste, being especially impatient with those who waste someone else's time. (I've seen this again and again among members of my father's generation.) We need both generations in society for what they contribute. The younger one questions, challenges, and sparks change; the older one puts on the brakes sometimes, providing the wisdom of experience.

I like your answer #6. I think generally about any older generation or younger generation its a difference between wisdom and a passion for change.  The older generation can provide wisdom to the younger generation so they can make wise decisions in their life and in their community. The younger generation can give that energy and want for change to the older generation and help them assimilate into a new era.

Talking about differences between old an new generation, it will be helpful to identify two distinct sources of difference. These are the difference due to the difference in age, and second is the difference in the culture and environment as it existed at different periods of time.

The older generation has lived longer and have more experience. They have enjoyed and got bored with many things, that younger generation is still busy enjoying. There is also difference in the responsibilities they have. Middle aged people not only have to manage their career, they may also have to look after their children and parents. In comparison children still completing their education have only their study to bother about. They still not had the chance to find out how much better their parents and teachers are from their bosses. The nature of such differences has remained the same over the ages.

The difference from the second source show a much greater variability as we compare them down the ages. When the pace to technology was slow and ways of living did not change much from generation to generation. But today with the very high rate of growth of technology, the cultures and living styles across the world are changing very fast. Thus today there is much more differences between generations a compared t the past.

The new generation today has much wider knowledge due to greater exposure to a wide range of information through TV and Internet. However, they lack depth in their knowledge and understanding. Also, younger generation is more technology savvy because being young they learn to use new technology faster.

There are also many psychological and sociological changes taking place among younger generation. The seem to have less concern for the long term view, and seem to care less about long and lasting relationships. Also they seem to care more about the external looks and less about stuff below the surface. This is true for their choice of things as well as of people.

mshurn, I wonder if the similarities between the temperaments of the young and the old account for the close relationships that develop between grandparents and grandchildren? My kids both get along great with my parents, and my parents are so patient with my kids. I see this time and again with friends' kids and their grandparents.

msmonica, I think you're on to something. I, too, have noticed this. For one thing, grandparents don't get as "exercised" as parents over many things--like fingerprints on the TV screen and empty ice cream cartons in the freezer!