Parent-child differences, older-younger sibling differences and grandparent-child differences, all are differences that have been known to be caused naturally by the generation gap. Each generation has its own mentality. However, in this day and age, the differences have never been so immense even with the smallest age difference. Modern day globalization, unlike previously, is not just economic but also cultural, and this aspect has created huge a generation gap that has affected families, often in a negative way.
Due to cultural globalization, many cultures are getting affected by other ones. This effect is more visible in countries that posses a culture different than the main world powers’ culture. (Which is mostly American culture) People are getting exposed to so many different things that some understand it while others do not, and it is mostly the younger generation that grasp it. Globalization, the cultural aspect of it of course, affects lifestyle, fashion, music, art, behavior, food and mentality in general.
How does this affect families? Well, the parents were brought up in a certain culture and thus they posses a certain mentality. They raise their children with that mentality however the culture those children are living is very different, and also the culture their younger siblings are living in is also very different. So basically, this leads to a huge misunderstanding and miscommunication issue within the family which, if not dealt with properly, leads to many social problems since the families are becoming unstable and stable families is a main building block for good societies.
Now, I will talk about the country and culture I know most, my own, Lebanon. Lifestyle, the field which causes maybe the most clashes: smoking, drugs, clubbing, drinking, sex et cetera are all new lifestyle habits that my ancestral generations did not have and the generation before me got first exposed to and now it is a natural thing. At my grandparents time, there was nothing of the sort, at my parents time smoking and disco was introduced, at my time drinking and pop music was introduced and now at my younger brother’s time (the electro generation) hardcore electric beats accompanied with drugs and alcohol is the trend. Fashion is the field where many disagreements occur. What my mom wears is totally different than what my younger sisters wear which is different than what my friends wear. Same goes for music and art. Today’s art and music is different than 5 years ago, which is different than 10 years ago which is different than 15. Behavior and gender roles differ from generation to generation also. Independence, sexual liberation, marriage and individualism, all are at a different strength in the mentality of people from different generations, most of these thought movements are foreign influence. My parents met and married, I started dating in college, and my younger brother started dating in middle school. My grandparents met for the first time at their wedding. Food is not negative but the difference can be very visible. My mom has never tried sushi. My grandparents do not know what sushi is. My younger brother worships it. I do not like it. (Japanese influence. Sushi is not a Mediterranean dish.)
All of these differences and many more, are due to foreign culture influence which in turn is due to globalization. Music, movies, magazines, internet, television et cetera, all influence people but each generation is influenced in a certain amount. Some of these differences are not precisely negative. For example, my dad and I are watching TV, and an unknown word pops up, what happens? My dad goes to the house bookshelves and picks up a dictionary and looks up the word. I, on the other hand, go to the computer, open up Google, Wikipedia or dictionary.com and look up the word. However, very often the differences cause clashes which sometimes can cause major family problems. There should be more caution and more awareness regarding this ever increasing age gap.
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