The generation debate is not new and it will continue forever because it is this contextual correlation that creates the sense of being better or worse and accordingly plans the strategy to justify one or the other. Let us take to the extremes, didn’t teenage of 1940s in middle of the WWII and depression kissed and hugged each other or in the contemporary world do the girls in Iran have the liberty to walk free without being in defined attire. Let us take it back to ancient world when Indian philosopher Vatsyayana wrote about sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in Kamasutra and in contemporary world a young cartoonist faces life threat only because he dared to share his view via cartoons. Isn’t this generational debate is futile when in this generation has itself a huge divide among different socio-cultural groups? Can a black girl of African origin claim the same set of freedom as the white girl, legally might be but socially definitely not.
Let us move forward and try and find the difference in a fun quotient in different generations and what factor used to decide or deciding the fun in a normal life of teenage. In psychological parlance, we humans are conditioned to explore heights of fun and entertainment during teenage. You fun element might vary depending on culture, society, resources, and taboos, but at a core, every generation has these five sets of personalities and they find their own way of having fun.
- Extraversion:These people normally enjoy our life with an extra dose of social energy. It is just opposite of the introversion.
- Neuroticism:As against the notion of emotional stability these people tend to be very anxious to feel different negative emotional states resulting in attraction towards trance-inducing substances.
- Open-mindedness: These people are friendly and open to any kind of ideas. They show amazing outward flexibility in knowing, but hold their own idea for comparative analysis. It is just opposite if the closed-mindedness who [refers to remain in their own world without interruptions.
- Conscientiousness:This is a rare breed in the contemporary world even if found they are love externally but hated internally. They are very meticulous, diligent, and organized in dealing with any kind of situation.
- Agreeableness:This is a very general personality with openness to accept and be supportive of any cause. Although good in a normal sense, they face the emotional load of being cheated.
Now, let us get back to the generation-specific fun debate involving the teenage people. Is there anyone who is beyond these five personality traits? If you will push yourself harder, you will fall in borderline of one and the other. This is universal and time-neutral. Whatever is the situation, circumstances, and resources these traits will remain there forever in any society. We will try to explore the fun quotient from the point of education, housing, family life and sex along with freedom and choice.
There is no doubt the American society has witnessed a drastic change in last 50 years or so in context of baby boomers and millennials teenage life. Millennials are better educated with higher degrees and better skill sets as compared to baby boomers, they have higher participation in jobs as compared to baby boomer generation and they are delaying marriages and family formation as compared to baby boomers. All is well with Millennial but when it comes to comparing on fun and happiness index, baby boomer generations leads the way with big margin despite having technological and several other advantages with this generation. Why so and what are the factors.
- Middle-Class Game
The upbringing with post-WWII and economic depression mindset created a totally different persona of freedom-loving baby boomers with strong democratic value assisted by government programs to explore newer opportunities. This made them the best fun-loving teenage generation having access to spacious backyards along with greatest education campuses of the world to learn the advanced tech. The passions to be happy at all cost made them explore new horizons in real sense. Interestingly, they were the first generation to see spacewalk and moonwalk live on television. They were the part of the future in the making in a sense that whatever we are enjoying today in terms of the internet, telephone mobility and entertainment all were seeded in their time.
Now, put this generation in the context. Now teenage is in “over syndrome” doing everything to extremes resulting in hyper stress and related abuses. You can say it the ultimate freedom, but the cost of this freedom is too heavy to bear. Because this is not the end of the world, you will have to pass something better to the coming generation.
- Mind at Play
As said while elaborating the personality traits, there is not much difference in terms of mind game. The difference is in terms of medium and resources and changing difference of fun. In the 70s, hanging out with friends in parks and playing some game used to be fun and today we count fun in terms of how many hours we spend in playing video games virtually with unknowns or simply how many friends we have on Facebook or how many likes my post gets. The generation moved from real world to virtual world and the core is still the same. In which direction this will go next nobody knows.
- Fun and Entertainment Box
The original track, original song, original theme and the search of this originality go to the baby boomer generation. Why this is so, is creativity dying or getting redefined? Maybe it is getting re-shaped. The search for happiness and joy is the core. Baby boomers were conditioned to explore new horizons and accordingly they created masterpieces. Unfortunately, this generation finds it difficult to find that spark to create something original. It would be not justified to blame them as they have access to everything possible in just a click away. It kills the spark to think and create. So, you miss the fun and pleasure of originality.
- Online vs. Offline
The biggest difference in terms fun in these two generations is the digital delivery versus physical delivery. In boomers period the fun was in going to theater with friends and watching movie. In this generation just tap few buttons and you have access to any movies in there in your device so you don’t feel the urge to be with friends.
- Adventure Redefined
Imagine anything that is called adventure like running, road trips, backpacking, ecotourism, and extreme sports and you will find that everything has its beginning in boomers era. This generation has very minuscule percentage of those who enjoy doing anything adventurous. We love watching adventure on Discovery and National Geography and let adrenaline go waste not in doing practical.
- Do Your Things
You can say, freedom from dependence that drove boomers away from home for a longer period of time doing experiments to find new meaning to lead life in own terms. May not be justified in a contemporary context, but this mindset helped in the realization of ultimate joy. This generation doesn’t feel the urge as they hate to take pain of doing anything out of the comfort zone.
- Vision and Dream
One thing that sets boomers far ahead of millennial in terms of fun quotient is the clarity of vision and passion to dream. The joy these two elements bring in long term is non-comparable to anything else. This generation has a very self-centric approach towards life vision and accordingly craft and custom their dreams.
The idea of youth and teenage culture is the gift of boomer generation which revolutionized the world. When it comes to counting generation-specific fun factors then baby boomers are definitely the winner. It is not just about technology, simplicity, and gadgets drove entertainment, fun is much more than that encompassing the zeal to follow your passion and make it real with your friends and family members. If you look around, you will find that most of the baby boomers are in their retirement age, but the charm, the passion, the energy they have and most importantly the dream to see America rising is commendable. This will realization will fill your heart with joy and inspiration to follow your dreams with the double effort so that you could make the difference in the lives of people you love.
As said irrespective of generation you are biologically a teenage and you will have certain things that will make you feel independent, emotional and rebellious maintain the balance and act accordingly. Your high level of energy will push you towards adventurous experimentation and risk-taking, so be calculative in your passion to follow these instincts. Your body is changing fast to seek a different level of gratification, learn the art to manage emotional flux and balancing emotions. Don’t overindulge in one activity as this could lead to stress and frustration. Keep the fundamental logic of joy in mind and live life to the fullest in your social circle.
