When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways..yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty (plus), I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy!

I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we h ad to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter ... with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

here were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!!

You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! ! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass! Your guy was a little square!

You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win.

The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastages!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up. We had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire .. imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy-Pop thing and shake it over

You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards, The 30 Something crowd!

Feelin' better now Gidg???

LOL....

I didn't write it, but found I have similar feelings to the author and thought I would share them here. LOL

For everything that's easier, I could name something that's more difficult. The world just seems to get more complicated as we go.

quote:

Originally posted by Gidget:
The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

^ but that one just about killed me ^^

Complicated yes, but yet still easier!

Well you 30-something crowd had it better than the 40-something crowd! haha

This reminds me of a "Mandyism". Mandy is my daughter and she seems to always come up with something that makes me laugh. When she was little we were joking around about how older people always say they had to walk to school barefoot in the snow, up-hill both ways. And she thought for a moment and said, "You know, the part about being up-hill both ways is possible for my generation. Because maybe some kids have to walk up-hill to school from their mom's house and then up-hill the other direction after school to their dad's house or the daycare after school!"

Now that's what I call creative thinking! I would love to take credit for it but it was my daughter and she was around 12 when she came up with it.

Heh, I thought you wrote that at first, too, Gidget.

quote:

Originally posted by Gidget:
Complicated yes, but yet still easier!

No, I couldn't disagree more, Gidget. As long as humans are human, kids will always have tough things to face. So will adults. No amount of technology really changes that.

My father and aunts and uncles really did have to go miles to get to school. Not only that, but they had to gather and deliver eggs beforehand. And they went through a lot more. They knew field labor in unshod feet. They knew northern winter nights with no heat. They knew a heck of a lot of things that I am glad never to have known. My dad doesn't talk about it.

But I must be my father's daughter, because there are plenty of things that I don't talk about either. I can say with certainty that my trials were, for the most part, different from my father's, but I can't say they were preferable.

Individual experiences vary, of course. I have peers who had it worse and peers who had it better. But from generation to generation, the experience of growing up doesn't vary much. You don't have to look far to see why. Grownups simply forget, and the cycle renews.

I would rather live a few decades back than now...

Dang I though you wrote that aswell!

quote:

Originally posted by Gidget:
Complicated yes, but yet still easier!

Gidget, you know I luv ya, but I too have to disagree. Life is not getting easier, the struggles are just changing, and if anything, I'd say that many of the advancments we've made, be they technological, medical, social, political, etc are even making matters worse.

For example, the difficulties today's teenagers have to face are numerous and deep. For example, this generation has more teenagers suffering from depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide than any other generation. So, that to me says that life is not getting easier, but only more difficult, especially for youth. Teenagers have a difficult time navigating through all of lifes ups and downs as it is, but when you add in all of the increases of peer pressure, economic pressure, social pressure (different than peer-pressure), world affairs (such as the threat of terrorism), and of course parental pressure, just getting through your teenage years (and even your 20s) alive and without having some sort of mental or emotional breakdown becomes a struggle in and of itself. So, with all due respect to your opinion, Gidget, and while I can understand where you are coming from with you point, I have to emphatically disagree...life is not getting easier for the "newer" generations, it is getting both more complicated and more difficult (in a lot of various ways).

That said, I'm not trying to diminsish the struggles of past generations, because they too had numerous difficulties, and I have the upmost respect for that history (so to speak). And, I pray that my generation will find a respect and understanding for, as well as learn from them, just as I pray that future generations do the same from generation's difficulties. Because, it is only through respect, understanding, and learning from that past that we can improve the future!

^great points.

I have to agree as well. I don't think the author really remember all of why they said they would never talk of the "walking in the snow" stories. I have to remind myself a lot as well. I mean I worry for my child all the time. I learned colors, numbers, letters, days of the week and how to socialize in Kindergarten. My son on the other hand was already learning to speak Spanish, starting on French, spelling out his name in cursive handwriting and doing "book reports" over the weekends. This was his SCHOOL’S curriculum! Not the choice of the parents, although some parents love the idea that the kids are learning all these FUN THINGS so young. I think that is a perfect example of how even though 7 year olds DO run around with cell phones, they have too! They invented the microwave and “kids can make it themselves foods” because they had too! I could go on and on and point out how the invention of all these things made life harder in other ways not easier. The whole family is now so busy trying to get ahead of everyone else that that they miss out on the rest of life. Now to me <that is being cheated.

As far as what generation had it easier, it depends on what part of life you are talking about. No doubt we have a lot of modern day conveniences that make parts of our life easier, but on the same hand, some of these things are also killing us. For example, people had to work harder for the same things in life, like packing water, handwashing clothes, dishes, cooking more from scratch, walking instead of driving, just to name a few. But by having modern conveniences to help us with such things, Americans are getting fatter, heart disease is the number one killer, and our environment is suffering. Anyway, I could go on and on. I love modern conveniences. I couldn't imagine having to put on snow boots and a coat and hiking to an outhouse in the middle of the night in below zero weather if I woke up and had to "go". And then on the way back, chop some wood and put it on a fire. No, that does not seem "easier" to me.

Each generation faces new and sometimes more severe social issues and world problems. Yet I am still glad I am living in today's world as I would choose my struggles over my ancester's struggles. I love my computer, TV, cell phone, going to the movies, my car, flying across the country, my appliances, my comfortable home with heat and air conditioning, buying my food at the store, going out to restaurants, etc. But that doesn't mean I think life is easy.

I read somewhere (I don't remember where..) that my generation (or maybe the one under me) will be the last generation that can say that they had it worse... Cuz its gotten to the point that now that life is so 'good' that it means that it can only become 'worse' for the newer generations...

Let me clarify my statement "Complicated yes, but yet still easier!" I was not speaking in broad sweeping terms. I was directly referring to the use of technology to aid in their school work etc.

My words will not be as poetic as Iris', Luvs' or Paula (or Arts if she chimes in) but I will try to make my point nonetheless.

As for the emotional aspects of life for teens today, HELL NO...life is certainly not easier. They have a lot of media in their face and tuned to their frequency which makes decision making and "reality" a bit hard to deal with at times. They are faced with clothing designers that "dress them" inappropriately and see magazines and MTV and movies that depict girls in short shorts and low cut tops with lots of cleavage.

One of the main things I see and feel in the teen world today is the lack of real family connection. (I am not talking about the girls on this forum - I am speaking in general terms from what I see in my own life) There is a lot of disconnection with moms and dads because they are too busy or divorced or whatever. A lot of kids don't have a strong family structure and foundation (or discipline) and that leads to those kids really turning to the media world for life lessons...and look at the lessons that are out there for them to see in the media. MTV with its "Real (sex) World" and The Hills and My Super Sweet 16. These shows give the wrong idea about life and love. They let young people see unreal people living unreal lives and lead them to believe it is real and the way to be themselves. HA! Without a parent there to combat things like that, no wonder there is so much anxiety and stress and self-doubt in teens today. They have impossible "standards" to live up to. I'm not sure about you but I don't know anyone who can afford to be helicoptered into their Sweet 16 party.

Today being my "daughter's" 15th birthday I fear next year's Sweet 16 expectations.

Anyway....I got on a tangent for a sec. I fear for the youth of today in a lot of ways, but my point, and the point of the author, was simply about technology used in everyday life making life a heck of a lot easier for the youth of today. The story about waiting for the DJ to stop talking so you can press record to get your favorite song on tape....the story about learning a card catalog, the story about Atari's player being a blinking box, and actually writing a letter to someone to keep in touch. Those are the "innocent" things I was referring to that are easier. I never made, nor attempted to make, a statement that life is emotionally easier for the teens today.

^ OMG I remember all of those things you pointed out. Especially the taping of the songs and writing letters. I remember the Internet when that got big! OMG, someone save me I am only 23!


Hey Gidget I know your daughter is older then my son, but what about the other social standards kids are held to today. (Trust me I understand your fear of the "But I like that boy.." thing too) Let's just say you have a kid that just wants to do well in life in general and doesn't copy what they see on T.V. (Praying: Please be my son, please be my son...) What about the fact that everyone now a days, even those people in their 70's are expected to be ahead of the game. Has anyone ever seen the movie “Prozac Nation”? I guess that is something else that author could have easily pointed out. "Yes there are different issues to stress out about, but now there are pills to help you with that too! Insanity I tell you, sheer insanity!

quote:

Originally posted by iris:

quote:

Originally posted by Gidget:
Complicated yes, but yet still easier!

No, I couldn't disagree more, Gidget. As long as humans are human, kids will always have tough things to face. So will adults. No amount of technology really changes that.

My father and aunts and uncles really did have to go miles to get to school. Not only that, but they had to gather and deliver eggs beforehand. And they went through a lot more. They knew field labor in unshod feet. They knew northern winter nights with no heat. They knew a heck of a lot of things that I am glad never to have known. My dad doesn't talk about it.

But I must be my father's daughter, because there are plenty of things that I don't talk about either. I can say with certainty that my trials were, for the most part, different from my father's, but I can't say they were preferable.

Individual experiences vary, of course. I have peers who had it worse and peers who had it better. But from generation to generation, the experience of growing up doesn't vary much. You don't have to look far to see why. Grownups simply forget, and the cycle renews.

You that really is true, Iris. While the thing Gidget posted is also true, and humerous and all of us "30-somethings" can relate to it completely... these are tough times my kids are growning up in too.

Sure, they have email and cell phones and IPods and 35415677 channels on the televisions in their rooms. But they cant go outside and play without an adult because of the possibility of being kidnapped, and unspeakable things being done to them. They have to live in fear of going to school and being shot because they were PMS'ing and an emotionally unstable kid took it the wrong way. Or anthrax, or any other type of terrorism.

So yeah, while we did grow up in an era where we had to walk to school, and write letters and deal with missed calls, and if the President was on- he was on EVERY channel, those are minor compared to the trials and tribulations facing kids today.

But it does make for some good reading and remenising.(sp?)

I agree with you Gidget. The author of that wasn't talking about all of the world's problems and such. I've read similar things written about people who grew up in the 50's and 60's versus today's world. Those things are always fun to read and are meant to be entertaining. But it did open up some great discussions!

As far as those modern conveniences, yes, life is much easier now, thank goodness! And some of those very same modern things are also creating the scenarios you described, like kids confusing TV shows with reality and all the pressure the media puts on today's youth.

I know you came into your kids' lives late in the game so it is very hard to "undo" ideals and attitudes that were already in place when you came along. I think my daughter had it good growing up and had a lot of nice things and such, but I made sure she appreciated everything and she had to work a little for it too. Things were not just handed to her. For example, she wanted a car when she was 16 so she spent the entire summer working as a life guard and saved almost every dime she made and at the end of the summer, she paid for her first car with cash. Yet she had friends who were given BMW's on their 16th birthday who never even appreciated it, they expected it. But on the same hand, my daughter never felt she was deprived because she had to work for what she got because that was instilled in her at a young age, to appreciate and not 'expect'. I was a single parent her entire life so things were tight, but she was given a lot by family and friends and still appreciated everything and expected nothing.

I see both aspects...

Yeah, living today for people my age probably is easier... physically. Teens would laugh if an adult told them to walk all the way to the store which is one whole mile away. We (I'm talking about the majority of teens here) take transportation, teachnology, the unlimited amount of clothing choices, and esspically money for granted. Looking for a certain scene from our favorite movie takes just seconds. Our variety of selections are greater, helpful, and less time consuming.

On the other hand, I think that my generation has a tougher time "mentally." Pressures from teachers, coaches, parents sound much greater. Today, teens worry a LOT more about their choice of music, clothes, a boyfriends/girlfriends IMO thanks to the media. People my age are uber stressed because adults expect us to be able to handle more (like homework and things like that) which lead to disorders and such.

Yeap... lol

quote:

On the other hand, I think that my generation has a tougher time "mentally." Pressures from teachers, coaches, parents sound much greater. Today, teens worry a LOT more about their choice of music, clothes, a boyfriends/girlfriends IMO thanks to the media. People my age are uber stressed because adults expect us to be able to handle more (like homework and things like that) which lead to disorders and such.

except for the people who are just stupid and use drugs and drink and stuff