Generation X Squared and the Desensitization of Today's Youth
Eddie Somers
Eddie Somers, Yahoo Contributor Network
Aug 22, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo websites. Start Here."
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An interesting tidbit: Did you know a frog placed in hot water will jump out immediately? But a frog placed in cool water, gradually becoming hotter, will remain in the water, even to the point of boiling. It will die because it doesn't sense the harmful change of environment. Gone are the days known as "a simpler time." Goodbye Generation X; you are now "square"(d) with the ushering in of what Business Week calls "Generation Y." Also known as the Echo Boomers or the Millennium Generation, Generation Y refers to the group born between 1979 and 1994. They are today's youth, and the future of America. But what is in store for America's future?
It seems that movies are unsatisfying and downright boring if they are not packed with action, sex, and violence; well at least for today's youth. Children are being exposed with graphic and suggestive imagery, as well as crude language, at an earlier age. As a result, they have become increasingly desensitized to the heinous components that have become embedded in our culture.
Our nation has seen a moral decline, unparalleled with any other time period. There has always been war and hate, but we now live in a time when our nation capitalizes on a people who feed off these things. This isn't something entirely new, but now more than ever, it has seeped into almost every aspect of our culture, and the media is the prime outlet. Commercials have become more provocative; humor has become cruder.
Shielding your kids from watching R-rated movies and music that is riddled with profanity seems to be enough, but have you considered the subtleties that they are exposed to everyday? With little hints of sexuality and violence masked with humor, television and the World Wide Web has taken America by storm, penetrating the minds of the youth.
If you've never heard of Myspace or Facebook, or if you don't know what the word "blog" means, then you might just live under a rock. Have these also contributed to this moral decline? Well, there's no denying that they have increased time spent on the internet. Remember not too long ago when we used to be glued to the TV? Now it's the internet! Kids can't get enough of enforcing and reinforcing their social status through the use of social websites which, by the way, seems to have reduced the need for actual human contact. All the while they drink in, with big gulps, the corrupted culture that we have marketed so well.
And let's not forget about drugs. Perhaps it was just my lower-key childhood, but has drug use seemed to have become more prevalent among the preteen group? I recently enjoyed a free Big Band concert in the center of town one evening. Accompanied by my father, his fiancé, and my fiancé, we walked over from the school parking lot to the town green where the band would perform. Suddenly, the pungent smell of marijuana slapped us all in the face. A moment later two kids on bikes, no older than 10 or 11, whizzed by. "Are you responsible for that smell?" my dad's fiancé boldly asked. To that, one kid responded, "I wish!"
It is sad to see what we have been reduced to. Sex, violence, drugs, and profanity: all things that have become intrinsic to our everyday lives. How much more numb can we become to these horrors? When will we move toward more wholesome environments? When will Generation X2 take a stand, and redirect the youth, our future? The time is now!
Guidelines for Generation X2
1. Instill good and moral qualities from the very beginning.
The most crucial and defining period in our lives are our early years. Our earliest years are when we are still "new" and we're absorbing everything around us. Not only do parents need to monitor and control what children are taking in, they also need to explain just what it is they are taking in.
2. Follow through
Good follow-through is key. The problem is: Generation X was largely impacted by the earlier stages of the desensitization process. They were living the changing times, and as a result, the desensitized "gene" was passed down. Hence the evolved state of Generation Y. The main point here is this: continuing your child's character development every step of the way is vital. But it isn't that simple. Children are still being exposed to provocative images on TV, crude humor, and an unhealthy set of priorities that have been established and accepted by our self-absorbed culture. What are kids watching on TV? They're not watching Barney anymore; they're watching Hannah Montana and other shows that prioritize looks, fashion, dating, and having a grand time.
3. Reteach, remediate, enrich
Remind your kids of good values. Correct undesirable behavior at an early age, before it becomes part of their being. And enrich kids with wholesome activities, programs, and all around environment. Who is guilty of bringing along their child to the movie theater because you can't get a sitter? We are all aware of the hustle and bustle world we live in. Everything is fast paced, life on the go. But we can't let children fall through the cracks because of our failure to slow things down a bit, put things into perspective, and reevaluate our priorities.
4. Make a difference individually; make a difference heard round the world.
Alone, we cannot change the condition of our generation. But together we can make a difference. And though it sounds cliché, it's true. We do not revolve around the entertainment market, it revolves around us. It reflects who we are and what we demand, and it gladly gives us what we want. Let's make every effort to demand only wholesome things for our children; for the more things that taint the youth of today, the more they will become fully submerged in the culture that has us in foothold.
5. Have a close, personal, and loving relationship with your children.
This is such an important rule, especially as your children are creeping closer to adulthood. Can you imagine hurting someone you love and someone who has shown so much love for you? The more you feel that love, the less willing you will be to hurt that someone you love. You see the kids of today out there, the 10 and 11 year olds, maybe even younger, involved with drugs and alcohol. Do they think about how it hurts their parents? Well, does it hurt you in the first place? And do they know it hurts you? Take the time to show your kids just how much you care. It can make a world of difference.
And have we just arrived at the core of the problem of desensitization? We just don't care. We don't care about the horror we see on TV to the point we are entertained by it, much less blink an eye when we see stories about murders in the news. We have become callused, unaffected by the crazy world around us. We, like the unaware frog in the boiling water, will sit in a hostile environment because we fail to recognize a gradually elevating destruction.
