The problem with generations other than Gen Z- Part 1

 

In 1955 there was a cult classic movie named “A rebel without a cause” which portrayed the angst of teenagers of that era. There is a group of teenagers who get into trouble with the law because they last out at everything in the society. The ‘60s are of course famous for the Hippie generation which rebelled against the prosperous American society and started drug abuse, disowned their parents’ wealth and went to exotic places like India in search of inner peace. The ‘70s were even worse with hardcore drugs like LSD in common use of the youth, Vietnam war which entailed every youth being drafted into military and the civil rights movement.

Though the above examples are from the USA, which has been the dominant economic, military and most importantly cultural power after second world war, the point I am trying to make is that every generation and every decade had its own rebellious teenagers who disrupted the normal fabric of our society. Whatever happened in the USA happened in our country after a time lag. The music, fashion, lingo all used to come down to India after a time lag of a few months or years. Now of course, in the knowledge age, information is travelling instantaneously and easily. Today’s elite are more or less in tune with each other in all parts of the world. So, whatever happens in one corner of the world is reflected in some other corner almost immediately.

So the moral of the story is that Gen Z movement is nothing new. i had a colleague at the start of my career who was a Naxalite in Calcutta(So named then) college. He grew up into an Executive Director of a well known professionatley run Indian corporate. We had our streakers running across stadiums stark naked and we now have Gen Z clamouring for a change. Relax, let them grow up and then let them face their children who will come out with their own ideas of what is wrong with Gen Z!