Generation Gap: Childhood, Adulthood, Old Age Essay

The relations between the generations were always complicated. The older people always indicate that it their time the situation was different and people behaved in the different way. At the same period, the younger generation says about the impact of the modern tendencies, changes of the way of life that give an opportunity to claim that the younger generation is more advanced.

However, as it clearly seen though the history, such attitude of the generations to each other was always the same. Therefore, although the technical facilities, cultural and economical changes impact the society, it is possible to claim that there are no significant changes in the relations between the generations, they are neither improving, nor getting worse.

Analyzing the cultural aspect within the conflict between generations, it is necessary to admit that such cultural issues as art, music, fashion have a tendency of the permanent change. Thereby, it is obvious that the different generations which do not have the same tastes and fashion, cannot understand each other’s needs. And especially this aspect is sharp within the relations between teenagers and their parents.

Today, the tradition hierarchy of family is different than two centuries ago. Elder members of family feel themselves as the intruders. From the other side, their children can easily send parents to the social houses. During the past century, the patterns of solidarity in friend and family relations had been changed (Allan 2008).

The transformation of the family and friendship aspects influences the Western communities since 1970s. People got more freedom and, as the result, the gap in the relations between young people and their parents increased (Thompson 1998).

From the other hand, the flexibility in the constructing of personal life and relations within the social groups is also increased. As the diversity in the priorization provided more facilities and made the personal choice more complex, the cultural changes of the past century can be considered as positive.

The relations between adult and old people can be also considered from the mentioned below position (Edmunds & Turner 2002, Huntley 2006). Thus, in the article Building Positive Relationships (2008) is written about the relations between 57-years old woman and her 89-years old mother.

As it understandable from the article, the conflict between the generations still exists, however, due to the physical disability of old mother, both woman try to find a solution and to rebuild their relations.

Being in the difficult situation, old people need more attention. For adult people, “the decline of a parent’s health, death of one parent or financial pressures often mean an aging parent will need increased social and emotional support or services from family – such as help with meals, cleaning, transportation or financial matters” (Building Positive Relationships 2010).

In this context, it is necessary to admit the position of Klinenberg (2001) who indicates the tendency of increase of a number of old people who are estranged from their previous social circle and who live alone without a strong connection with their children.

Many old people have to live in the social establishments due to unwillingness of their younger relatives to care about them. This tendency demonstrates that the traditional cultural attitude to family, marriage and old parent is changed.

Obviously, the economic conditions influence generations. Wyn (2006) explores the rupture of the educational and employment outcomes as the peculiarity of the current situation of the young generation.

As it was normal order of things, today, such disbalance is widely spread that makes young people face with a number of problems while searching a job as “the transition processes for the majority of young people born after 1970 are different from those of the majority of their parents’ generation” (Wyn 2006, p. 6).

From this point of view, it is possible to notice that the younger generation has a significant reason to claim that the current situation on the labor market is more difficult than it was years ago.

According to the statistics provided by Wyn, “by the year 2000, at the age of 27, 68 per cent of the respondents had achieved permanent jobs, and 76 per cent were in full-time jobs” (Wyn 2006, p. 10). However, from the other hand, the elder generation has much more problems within this aspect. Although old people are more experienced, many employers prefer to accept a young person than the elder one.

Analyzing Mannheim’s essay The Problem of Generation, Pilcher (1994) indicates that “the notion of generation being widespread in everyday language as a way of understanding differences between age groups and as a means of locating individuals and groups within historical times” (Mannheim’s sociology of generations: an undervalued legacy, p. 481).

Thereby, it is possible to say that the present problem existed during the history and never turned into the tendency of improvement or worsening. Different social models, tendencies, fashion and other issues dictate the rules of the relations between generations. Although a number of researchers indicate the increasing way of generation gap, history demonstrates that such tendencies were presented at all times.

Today, teenagers and young people feel themselves free and independent as the world is controlled by them. The number of old people is growing day by day as the result of the demographic characteristics. The present century requires more fast reaction, creative ideas and flexibility which are typical for younger generation. Wyn claims that today the process for becoming adult is different and emerging.

The typical issues of those changes are “an increasingly flexible labor market, dissolution of occupational boundaries, deregulation of labour, and increases in contrast, part-time employment” (2006, p. 12). At the same period, the cultural aspect also changes. Thus, the attitude of the young people to marriage and family is different while the level of fertility reduces.

Privatization of educational services diminishes the capability of young people to get better education. Changed attitude to the elder relatives led to a big number of the old people abandoned in the social houses. Generation gap is the key moment within the understanding of the relations between generations.

There is possible to say about the sharp conflict which is concerned with different parts of life and particularly with economic and cultural aspects. Young adults and elder people have the different possibilities to find a job, to increase their financial status according to the current tendencies in the society and they have different cultural tastes and traditional values.

However, although the cultural and economical changes impact the society and the generation gap is significant, it is necessary to claim that the relations between the generations are neither improving, nor getting worse. The historical knowledge provides the demonstration that such situation was always actual and topical.

Reference List

Allan, G 2008, ‘Flexibility, Friendship and Family’, Personal Relationships, 15: 1-16.

Building Positive Relationships 2010. Web.

Edmunds, J & Turner, B. S 2002, ‘Introduction: Generations, War and Intellectuals’, Generations, Culture and Society, Open University Press, Buckingham, pp. 1-23.

Huntley, R 2006, ‘From X to Y’, The World According to Y: Inside the New Adult Generation, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, pp. 1-23.

Klinenberg, E 2001, ‘Dying Alone: The Social Production of Urban Isolation’, Ethnography, 4:2, pp. 501-531. Web.

Pilcher,J (1994), ‘Mannheim’s sociology of generations: an undervalued legacy’, BJC, Vol. 45, Issue 3: pp. 481-495.

Thompson, K 1998, ‘The Classic Moral Panic: Mods and Rockers’, Moral Panics, Routledge, London, pp. 31-56.

Wyn, J 2004, ‘Becoming Adult in the 2000s: New Transitions and New Careers’, Family Matters, 68: pp. 6-12.