Their Struggle
One thing that characterized the neXt generation is that they were more traumatized by life. They seemed more isolated and alone, more fragile. The reason lies in the fact that many of them are brought up in dysfunctional or divorced homes.
Family Life - The Biggest Issue
Today's teenagers feel very much being abandoned by their parents, loved ones, and even the culture. Generation neXt is the most aborted generation, half of their parents are now divorced, one in four children is born to single mother, more than half of them have working mothers. They were the first generation being known as "latchkey" kids, who came home from school each day to an empty house and fended themselves. This is a widespread phenomenon not only among North Americans, but also happen to many immigrant homes coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China and southeast Asia.
To understand the pain teens are going through, one needs to understand their parents -- the Babyboomer Generation [those who born between 1946-1964]. Someone comments that the Boomers is arguably the most overtly self-centred generation in American history. They always insisted on "doing their own thing" during their youth. To many of them, it seems, continued to do so at their children's expense. George Barna, an American researcher, points out that a significant portion of Boomers' identity came from their status and performance on the job. A successful career has become synonymous with a successful person, this leads the Boomers to put all their energy into their career-building. Also, Boomers defined economic success as achieving greater wealth and prosperity, as a result both spouses are required to work to keep up with their materialistic lifestyle.
One of the damaging effects is that many teens are growing up without any rode model, this in turn affect their skill in communication and resolving conflicts. No wonder resentment toward Boomers are running high among young people today. One can simply say that the neXt generation is basically a rebel against the Boomer Generation. Since they have watched Boomers destroyed their families and relationships while pursuing affluent lifestyle, they disown to chase after a materialistic lifestyle such as owning expensive cars and homes. What they want is a cohesive family unit as well as the feeling of being loved and accepted. But unfortunately this is not commonly found at home, therefore friendship, or intimacy with opposite sex have become the top priority of generation neXt. To conclude, the neXt generation don't want to be a Boomer subset, waiting to become "legitimate." They think of Boomers as workaholics, too superficial, selfish, impersonal, uncaring, selfish, and unrealistic.
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Some Distinguish Generational Differences Between Boomers and Xers |
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Boomers Me Generation Live to Work Enlightenment Worldview Institutions Propositional Truth Excellence Growth Lonely Success |
Xers We Generation Work to Live Postmodern Worldview Relationships Relational Truth Authenticity Community Alone Wholeness |
| Table adapted from Dieter Zander
article "Gospel for Generation X" in Leadership Journal Vol.XVI No.2 p.38. |
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