The uncontrollable impulse

^{Image by Andrzej Rembowski from Pixabay}

I was born in 1978. Just this week, I was talking to @pardinus and Oleg about this, regarding a video that @oleg326756 shared with us. In that video, Generation X was the target. It showed what was happening many years ago, some of you weren't even born yet, but many more probably were. I confess that I identified with many of the things that were mentioned in that video, which used a comic strip to illustrate what the narrator's voice was saying about the characteristics of Generation X.

And why was Generation X so special? I absolutely agree with what the video says; we were at the end of an era when technology was just beginning to appear, but when the technology of the 60s and 70s was still the most common.

Our generation came into contact with personal computers, but we were also skilled enough to build our own toys and entertain ourselves with our own thoughts, without fear or apprehension of becoming bored. Our generation was not afraid of not being the best in the class. We knew there would always be someone who was, and even if we weren't, we didn't get depressed about it. At that time, there wasn't so much pressure to be the best at everything.

My generation, Generation X, did not have an immediate need to publicize our achievements and accomplishments. Completing a particular task did not lead us to share it with “the whole world.” At that time, we might not even tell our best friend.

My generation got used to hearing that we should work harder to overcome difficulties. And that if we weren't the best, we could always do better... Even if, after all that sacrifice and effort, we still weren't the best.

Nowadays, criticism is demonized. Everyone has to be supported, which necessarily leads these younger generations to create a strong connection with the result. They don't see tasks as something that is good to do, but simply as a means to be rewarded. They do not allow themselves to not be recognized, rewarded, awarded, or distinguished... There is a huge taboo in saying that someone else is not the best... And I don't understand it. I don't understand why we are creating a society of young people who don't know that not being the best at something does not mean they are less valuable. That there is no problem with someone with more qualifications having a better salary. Of course, we all agree that everyone should have similar opportunities, but I think that much of what we have and achieve in life can, and does, depend almost exclusively on us.

In the current generation, there is a huge need to share everything you do. Everything you experience. The meals you eat. The cities you visit, and even the friendships you make.

This is not necessarily a negative factor. But I think that this almost irrational urge to share, publish, and give an opinion on practically everything and everyone leads us to create a generation that is ill-prepared and lacking in resilience. A society in which everyone complains and lives in a virtual world, where communication with others only takes place in a virtual world...

I am glad that I belong to a generation that experienced the best of two worlds...

^{Free image from Pixabay.com
Original text written by me in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)}