If my generation were the Baby Boomers and; as dubbed by Coupland, our offspring Generation X; then what epithet will be applied to the present late-teen twentysomethings of today? Decrying the morals and lifestyle choices of succeeding generations is an age-old tradition but let’s indulge anyway. What can we say about a generation brought up with cell-phones, text-messaging, iPods, computer-tech, X-Box, Ecstasy, Rap…?
Due to the lack of exercise in their lives and the resultant weight-gain they are destined to be the first generation in centuries that will live shorter lives than their parents. A lifestyle supported by unprecedented credit card debt mirrored by National debts that exceed the gross yearly incomes of their citizens means that this generation will also be the first in decades who will not be as financially secure as their parents. They will also be forced to support their long-lived aging Baby-Boom Grandparents who considerably out-number them. Years of listening to loud music with ear-phones and 1000 watt thumping sub-bass woofers means they’ll be hearing-impaired by 35. Educated in schools where self-expression was more important than learning the basics of reading, ‘riting & ‘rithmatic, and failure was a dirty word; they’ll be a semi-literate culture that communicates in broken phrases who have no concept of financial planning. They will live in a world where global warming and the resulting catastrophic climate change will displace millions of people; world population will exceed energy, food, and water resources; environmental degradation will result in mass-extinctions; and epidemics of drug-resistant diseases will sweep the planet. Worse yet these people will be rearing our Great-Grandchildren.
Nostradamus is starting to depress himself. My generation was raised to believe that no matter what insults we perpetrated against our world, science could find the answers. In a results-driven culture Corporations honour the hallowed bottom-line over being good corporate citizens, and research and development plays second fiddle to productivity. Unfortunately this environment leaves little room for the funding of pure research—a decision that fails to recognize the historical fact that most of the greatest inventions over the millennia were discovered by accident. All this means, among other things, that the few multi-national pharmaceutical corporate giants left do not have in development, the next generation of wonder-drugs that will fight the coming global epidemics. Despite all this gloom and doom our earth remains a resilient biosphere and given some co-operation on our part, will probably surprise us with its ability to bounce back. What no power on earth or in the heavens can do is shield us from the consequences of our own actions.
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