Are you witnessing a generation gap? 

When your parents come to you to have a video editing on their mobile. When your grandparents ask to to teach them how to use the smart TV. When you have a liberal mindset in contrast to that of your parents. When you are okay to marry a person from another caste or another religion but your parents aren’t. When you know a variety of career options but are only presented with options to be an engineer or doctor. When you are okay to sleep late till morning but your parents aren’t. All these are the characteristics of the generation gap in society. 

The generation gap is a natural phenomenon. It will be very obvious that the next generation will be ahead of its prior generation in many terms. This is because the next generation has got all the fruits of toils of thousands of years by birth. For instance, every generation doesn’t learn to produce fire through friction. When the matchbox was developed, every generation started to use this device and thereafter the lighter.

Genz and Gen Alpha are the latest generations enjoying this advanced era of artificial intelligence and robots. Thus when intelligentsia in the society becomes dominant, the communal boundaries start to get spoiled. Similarly due to such drastic changes in society nowadays bridging this gap seems to be very difficult. 

Is it a problem or a phenomenon? 

The generation gap can be categorized as a phenomenon. Problems may arise because of this gap. The thing is, if humans tend to produce offspring, then having the generation gap is very natural. The difference is in the way of dealing with it. The problem arises when adamancy of the behaviors is there.

Individuals dealing with the phenomenon must understand that is not necessary that their counter-generation will hold the same view that they are holding. Differences may exist in viewpoints, on the way of handling the situations. Because time is moving forward, the social context will not remain fixed. Thus the root cause of the problems arising in the phenomena is our inability to respect the differences. 

Why do your words matter? 

As a parent or as a child your words matter a lot. Words are here the messengers that carry your messages to someone you want. Thus it becomes very necessary specifically for the parents of teenagers to use their words very precisely. What children need is just an appreciation for whatever efforts they are putting in

. They must be protected from any kind of physical violence and should get the equal respect that everyone gets. One of the psychological research here proves that if children need to get educated, just the positive and negative reinforcement will suffice. There is no need for punishment as this will tend to increase the revolt in teenager’s minds.  

Thus while dictating anything to Genz and Gen Alpha it must have a goal to impart some value to them. It is very necessary to teach them how to question rather than to answer their questions. It is a unanimously accepted fact that parenting is successful when parents provide questions to their children to search out rather than answer their questions.  

Children who are brought up with equal respect will respect everyone else too. Their habit of questioning and then searching for their answers will provide them with a scientific mindset. Thus parents to trespass this gap parents must be friends of their children for the holistic development of their children. 

Deliberation: a way forward. 

Psychologists claim that discussion and deliberation are the best way to solve any of the problems. Thus problems arise because the generation gap has its solutions in deliberations. Parents must not have any communication gaps with their children. They must have regular conversations with them.

Parents must be aware of what is happening in their children’s life and this can only be possible through deliberations. The only way to bridge this gap is the proper transfer of information from one generation to another. A successful parent is the one whose children feel free to share their life incidents with them. Love language is universal no matter what the generation is thus it is the only instrument that can bridge his gap 

Are you a good parent? 

The descriptions of a good parent may differ according to context. But generally, parents who can freely converse with their children, who can pay equal respect to them, can reinforce them towards the ethical direction must fall within this category. You must be very tolerant if you are a parent of a teenager. The rollercoaster of their emotions can only be managed by you. If you can form an emotional bond with your child where your child need not hide their tears from you, congratulations you have cracked it! 

Are you a good ward? 

Here also being good has a variety of meanings according to context. But as a ward please understand the fact that your generation is too much different. It has been revolutionized through technology. The variety of ideologies that exist today is just the result of changes in the past 10 years. Thus please respect the differences that exist. If your parents believe that touching the feet of elders is a symbol of respect for them, here the concept of dignity must not be included. Remember it is not the sole responsibility of your parents to form that emotional bond with you. You are equally responsible for how far you are tolerant of the viewpoints that are against you. 

Thus in a nutshell we can say that the generation gap is a natural phenomenon. Problems are just the part of it that can easily be solved through deliberations. Differences demonstrate different shades of life and we must respect it.  

References

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