“They’re just a bunch of narcissists,” said a friend over a beer. “They seem to think it’s all about them and that they are entitled to the conveniences that previous generations worked hard for.” Sadly, there are a lot of people who share that sentiment in private even though they would never say it in public.
Every generation adopts the conveniences and technologies of the generation preceding it. In reality, there is nothing wrong with this. Should those at the turn of the last century have forbidden their kids from riding in automobiles until they had ridden horses for a requisite number of years?
If you look at the technology today’s emerging generation has grown up with, not only have they adapted to it quickly, most of them use it more effectively than their parents.
All of that said, my beer-drinking friend does have somewhat of a point. As Western society has grown more prosperous over the years, its members have focused more and more on the conveniences of everyday living. Throughout modern history you can trace the changes in behaviors and expectations of young generations as they come of age with gadgets invented by their parents. Yet the universal complaint is about those undeserving kids. “When I was your age, I had to get up and walk all the way across the room to change the channel on the TV.”
The big difference today is the invasiveness of the messaging. The competition for share of mind has become exasperatingly intense. I once asked an audience of consumer products managers how they could spend ten hours a day figuring out ways to get young people to part with their money and then go home and complain about those dastardly people who are marketing to their kids. As you might imagine, my question was not well received.
A university I shall not name is currently running television commercials that consist of small children sitting in front of computers saying to the viewer, (read: parents) “If you want to raise me well, you should get an on-line education from ______ University. Anecdotally, lots of parents will tell you that brand recognition among toddlers is common. In some cases, brand names or cartoon characters are the first words spoken.
The bottom line? Rather than rail against those who make their living in marketing and advertising, why not be proactive with the young people around you? After all, kids take what they hear at face value. While there is ample evidence that they have become more skeptical at an early age, it would be helpful to discuss what they’re seeing and hearing rather than trying to keep them from the exposure in the first place. Forbidden fruit is always the first picked. It takes patience and reasoning to help them grow their own sense of critical thinking.
My wife and I have lamented more than once that we are competing for share of mind with society to make sure our kids possess the values we believe they should have. After years of processing all the advertising, violence, sex and so on, we’re beginning to see signs that it worked. But it took a LOT of effort and attention. We can’t legislate or outlaw the premature adoption of adult conveniences. Nor should we spend our time complaining. That time would be better spent helping our kids develop finely-tuned crap detectors.