The Now Factor
Millennials, Generation Y, The Whatever Generation. Our generation has been called by many names. Personally, I prefer to refer to my era of birth-mates as the "Now Generation". I have been accused of not caring about the world around me. I spend all my days cooped up in front of my computer, interacting with faceless profiles in a virtual setting. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to all the horrible things you were saying about me. I was too engrossed by the flashy lights and sounds and oooh shiny! I have been told that I am part of a generation that doesn't want to give anything back. We just want to take everything for ourselves. Apparently, I'm a narcissist (and I didn't even know it!). I can't get a job because I don't apply myself; I spend too many years going to school and not working; I don't follow orders; and, most importantly, I can't listen.
Newsflash: If I have exhibited signs of having poor listening skills, perhaps you should do your part to prevent global warming and shut your mouth. Do us all a favor and stop being boring. Please? See, I even asked nicely because I was learned (sic) my manners like a good little boy. I was taught that being polite and waiting for the right opportunity went hand-in-hand. Guess what? I reject your reality. There, I said it. I will be polite. I will also desire that everything gets done in the now. Let's discuss this in depth.
Why I want my life to revolve around the word "Now"
The simple answer to the question of now or later is that it has to be now. Why must I be such a rebel? Why can't I see that it's better if I work long and hard for it? Why am I obsessed with the concept of instant gratification?
Two reasons: Firstly, I want it now because I can have it now. Straight and simple. You had to wait several days for your letter to arrive before your lover could even think about responding. You had to sit in your room for hours waiting for that phone call, chained by the same cord that keeps your phone close to the wall jack. You had to wait to get noticed because that's how it was done in your time. However, I am not attached to the mailbox. I am not attached to the phone call. I am not attached to any location, time, or purpose. I have the opportunity to talk to someone in space as easily as I can talk to my friend in the next room. Why wouldn't I take advantage of that amazing ability? It's essentially a superpower.
I can. I can communicate in the blink of an eye, receiving aid in a timely manner. I can change the world from my mobile device! I can manage my finances with the touch of a button. I can speak and have a computer transpose my words onto the computer screen, awaiting my command to save my thoughts for time immemorial. I can watch an astronaut perform experiments in space. Oh and I can ask him questions while he's running the experiments. Yep. Me. I'm a nobody. I don't work for NASA (although it would be so freaking awesome if I did); I didn't design a rocket. But I have the power to get noticed. Because that's the power of the internet. That's the power that I hold. I harness the storm of information and direct it from my fingers.
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| Because We Can. |
I want instant gratification because I can have instant gratification. I am despised because I have adapted to the change.
Secondly (and really the most important point that I will make tonight (at least in the eyes of the author)), I have a desire to live in the now because I have to have it now. My desire is shaped by necessity. I don't have the luxury of waiting. You, the baby boomers, had that luxury. You were born into a world of peace and quiet. You were taught that the world will wait while you work your way to the top. Innovation is all well and good, but peace is paramount. The world was tired of conflict. It was tired of sacrifice. Hastiness brought confusion and action brought pain.
I wish I could have grown up in that world. I wish my world was a different place. It pains me to say that all my wishing will not change anything. Why? Because your generation failed. You, baby boomers. You failed. You had a "Cold War" because you were afraid of action. You failed to change the world. Believing that it could wait. You fools.
I no longer have an option to change the world later. I must make a difference now. You know that thing called global warming? It was a myth in your heyday. It is a reality in mine. We call it climate change. It scares me. However, I know that if I don't act, then my children won't have the luxury of seeing the sun rise in the morning. That is the burden that you have laid upon my back. You believe me to be disrespectful to authority. My generation "suffers" from Attention Deficit Disorder. You hide behind lies of disorders. You diagnose our "problems" at every turn, but you can't seem to recall that it was you who ruined this world. Your greed. Your deceptive nature.
Are computers to blame? Is social media destroying our brain cells? Do we lack social skills? Who are you to judge? Your idea of a good time involved LSD and hate-filled anti-government protests. Woohoo there. I wish I had the time to relax and get high. I do. But you have taken that from me. You were irresponsible with your time on this earth. I must have everything now because I have no choice. You robbed me of the option to choose.
In conclusion, I would like to point out that your parents placed the blame for your rebellious behavior on rock and roll. You have placed the blame for my rebellious behavior on computers and technology. However, I say that time will prove which rebellion was justified and which was simply selfishness. Do not envy my opportunity to live in the now, and definitely do not stand in the way of the work I have to do. Because I have to save this planet. That is not a choice I was given. If I don't act now, then there will be no later.
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| Just to end on a happy note. Boom! Instant gratification. It feels good. |
