Bridge the Gap
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 he generation gap? On one side: the twenty something and younger. On the other side fifty or something older (Age is indeed relative, it seems) It is often listened to variations on many conflicting point of views .These are the difference due to the difference in age, and second is the difference in the culture and environment as it existed at different periods of time, a difference (especially an unfortunate difference) between two opinions or two views or two situations.Over the last 22 years since migration the Changed pattern of living, geographical and economic conditions have profoundly affected people’s lives. The family, the basic unit of all societies, is adapting itself to new challenges, opportunities, and changing its structure and activities to cope with new realities and enhance the quality of life of its members. According to me, this is connected with changes in lifestyle and even with technical progress. Living standard has rapidly risen in latest years. Life became nicer and better but running faster as well, with such a s peed that we want to live and don’t want to look after others, another thing is that formerly, old people were an important link of information, knowledge and experience resource, everybody listened to the interesting stories that grandparents, or elders told to their grandchildren and old people used to be considered the intelligence of the community, they gave advices, helped, and assisted. We can say that old people were much more experienced able and more conductive and helpful to the society, to its contrary today’s little child rather turns on the television, face-book than listens to grandparents, thus today old people aren’t significant information resource any more, they are in fact outdated and not required for any type of information or guidance and move them to stay in old age homes, many people say that old people like standstill and solitude, and they don’t need the society so much, old generation people involve in unnecessary arguments and want to live in that Stereotype of 19th century mind set and never allow the new generation to go ahead. The new generation has grown up with the World Wide Web (WWW), it is the Tech Generation, it would mean that this generation is filled with technology, which became increasingly available from 1991 onwards, the Electronic and Digital Divide is the main gap between tech and non-tech people. It is more of a problem solving technique, as technology is something you can figure out if you apply your problem solving skills. Yet, some people are less open to this change, and more prone to remain in the same boat they have been for ages- regardless of their age, that whomever, I would call "the old generation". Many of us are of the opinion that there is a certain percentage or some level of egoism in young generation that they think Spending time with seniors a wastage and makes the young people realize that old people are grouchy, they find out they can have no fun with them, old people are the stereotype of Bronze age thinking that too may be right up to certain level, but many friends of mine believed that there should be more interaction between older people and young generation. Many young people had no contact with older people, either because their grandparents had died, or lived in other regions or no longer played an active part of the family lives. Some people are of the opinion that the family is the pivot around of which articulate the actions of natural solidarity, in a joint family system the grand parents can contribute a lot to the forming of their grandchild’s personality. In some countries, Law is already there which grants the permission for grandparent’s specific rights to take care of their grandkids particularly in cases of divorced parents or death. One of the basic facts of human psychology is that we do not seek or desire something that has not been experienced previously. For example, if one has never tasted a mango, there cannot be a burning desire to have a mango. This suggests that desires might be arising from previous life of experiences or contacts. In fact, it is impossible for a human being to act or desire outside the field of his or her own experience. The search for peace, love and happiness is so fundamental to the human within the original parental relationship is very important around us ,the family support networks are in decline and the proportion of single-parent-headed households is growing, Particularly In rural areas often leads to young people being separated from their grandparents, who previously played a special role in the traditional education and socialization of the young, and the traditional extended families are gradually disappearing. Present Youth is everything for future, they have clear objectives in life; ,they need to look for tomorrow, but at the same time we have all the baby-boomers (born between1943 to 1960)in their sixties, having mind set Idealistic, with a focus on vision and values. Who are actively fit and engaged in day-to-day life, they are not retiring from life, we should not just put them to grass once they hit 60, youth should also compromise for adjustment. If you were to ask your kids (and maybe even grandkids), they would definitely tell you that you are the "Old Generation" That need to get up to speed with today's reality, and if you ask your elders they would tell you that you are just a young you can still do everything, So we can't help but wonder where do we fit? Increasing numbers of elderly people and the erosion of family support systems will call for new arrangements for elders, for the adjustment and some compromise. An author (Benjamin Disraeli) has said that a man who is not a Liberal at sixteen has no heart; a man who is not a Conservative at sixty has no head, only Compromise is the Solution. The practice of being not introverted helps in experiencing those good qualities within us, which otherwise remain hidden during difficult times and situations. Thus, it makes us to have true self-respect and enables to finish our ego. It also gives the power to recognize and accept our small mistakes even, thus giving us the courage to work out successfully. Those who are ever ready and active immediately react, and so when a task comes up, they quickly understand it and attain success, they do not waste time and energy thinking too much about it. They recognize the importance of the task, involve fully in it, and attain success. From my experience, I would say that it is important that the elderly stay open to new thoughts and ideas, stay alert and active in day-to-day technology to the extent that they can. All have experienced some change in their age structures in these two decades of migration, adaptation to the new realities have changed relationships between generations, as well as approaches to work, system and life style. Improving health, financial security and comfort in later life will become a higher priority as populations grow older and older, issues that should be assessed as an integral part of the formulation of social development policy, pro-grammars and strategies, which need to be considered by the new generation, for their future right now. The present youth are energetic, enthusiastic and full of zeal; a large number of them are capable, devoted, dedicated idealists and are fond of their work. The new generation also are supposed to be open to New ideas, believe in the free world and spare time to attend the gatherings, and like to hearing the truth, and mix with old and middle aged generation in order to discover the new world. That intensity of feeling is not something easy to translate into formal shape perhaps because of this, we are increasingly feeling the tension of an inter-generational discontentment between the way traditional and the way the new or old generation sees. Some interventions resulting from inter-generational research may prove successful in bridging the generation gap. Examples include like Contacts, cultural and religious functions, music groups, programs bringing elders and preschoolers together on one platform or in nursery, daycare centers where the elderly mentor the young, relationships built between unrelated children and elders in these settings tend to be generalized to relationships within the Community, through social contacts. Youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also the partners of today; young people think that they are not afforded the opportunities to share power with adults because they are viewed as lacking the requisite skills. Consequently, they are not invited to the common table. The very idea of youth citizenship young people participating in politics should be as equals as any other adults. The irony is, however, that once at the table, young people are often viewed as a threat to adult power, it may be either political, religious or any cultural activity, adults should rather work with young people to build their skills, adults and youth should work out to control it and find out a common solution to end the impasse. In order to bridge the Generational gap we need to cultivate a conducive atmosphere of mutual acceptance and create a climate where every generation feels valued, it is essential to establish an understanding of the characteristics and attitudes of each generation. Show Respect for each other; acknowledge if you have less experience and can learn from each other, even the brightest people can always learn something new. Choose face-to-face conversations – Many Baby Boomers find e-mail or voice mail too much impersonal and prefer speaking with people directly on a common platform, there should be room for the adjustment. Most people are afraid to take action. Sure, they have ideas, but they do not do anything about it. It is scary to go down that path, which is why so few do. In the end, you have to determine what kind of life you want to live: one of mediocrity, or one of greatness. Building a robust relationship leads both generations to share their ideas of a successful life, neither it is required to embrace the others outlook, just to examine the viewpoint. This necessitates tolerance and respect by both parties. Ultimately, both generations have to bridge the gap to build successful lives and satisfying relationships. |
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 Bushan Bhat Hali, Chairman Devasthan Pranandakh Samiti, Hall, Pulwama (Kashmir) |
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