Recently
I was introduced to a video that every parent of a high school or
college recent graduate has to watch. Click here to watch Simon Sinek nails it. If
you think your child lacks patience or is maybe confused with their
future, then you
need to have the 15-minute attention span to watch this. Even better
you need to pass it on to.... well maybe a friend or relative.
Like
past generations, many adults when looking at the next generation roll
their eyes and mumble "these kids nowadays". I heard my parents say it.
How about "nobody ever taught us how to be parents". That is simply not
true. Our parents gave us a shining example how to be parents. Most
actually did some belly flops, but in general they did a pretty good
job. Their technology challenge was the television and our time watching
the "boob tube". The major technology transformation was from three
networks to four and even five.
The
legitimization and acceptance of the television was either Walter
Cronkite or watching Neil Armstrong step off the ladder. The current day
legitimization of technology is the ability to "Google it". The
difference is that once we could access Google in mobile form it had
other unintended consequences. It allowed the world to come to us
instead of us exploring further. Social media has amplified this
paradigm change adding more content and dopamine. The addiction is
changing our culture right in front of us.
Now
parents are themselves becoming hooked. I see it at board meetings with
the sneak peek at the phone. Parents are more distracted themselves
today. The number of two earner households has tripled in a generation.
Divorce rates are up 50%. Either consciously or not, we changed from our
parents who had more defined roles and certainly seemed stricter. As a
generation of parents changed, so did their children. Technology was a
big influence but helicopter parenting has resulted in a change of
outcomes. It certainly is not all parents that have hovered over
children, but the proliferation of participation trophies and
adjustments to repercussions of behavior is certainly prevalent.
If
we want to understand our youth today, we should look at their adult
role models for clues. Watch Simon's video. It is a start. Realizing our
children have grown up differently means we must adjust and either help
them in their life mission or accept many of their characteristics. At
face value, more jobs before you are 30 may
be a good thing. In most cases, it will mean less skill development and
less pay for less productivity. Is that by design or by default of not
preparing earlier for careers? We will continue to discover. Send me
your comments.
