What’s causing the discord between the voices of our generations and the next?

Written By Melbourne Microfinance Initiative
 

Authors: Dorothy Hou & Rio Otake | National Affairs Officers 2022

It began with a conversation with my dad, a man of 50 with generously tanned skin from habitual golfing and wrinkles starting to pronounce around his eyes. Our father-daughter chat always ends up in a serious discussion about society and that day, I was asking him about the current progress in making the production of steel “green”. Expecting some eye-opening initiatives from a middle aged man who works for a steel company, I was disappointed by his response which pointed to the reality that such initiatives are far from being implemented in the real world. “It’s easier to modify what we already have than starting something new,” he said. 

His tone of composure was unsettling to me. He should be more worried and taking drastic action like adopting new innovation. Right? If I were in his position, I would go above and beyond to bring green steel to life! At that moment, it struck me that there was a stark difference in the way we adopted new ideas. Knowing my dad’s own concerns towards climate change, I knew that this was not a matter of whether climate change is important or not, but rather a difference in attitude towards how this global issue should be tackled. But, what exactly is it that sets us apart? In what ways are our generation and our parents’ generation different in approaching pressing matters in society? 

The latest results from the 2021 Census revealed that millennials (25-39 years old) have now tied with Baby Boomers (55-74 years old) as the largest generational group in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). With my generation, Gen Z(10-25 years old), about to become the prime fraction of the workforce in the coming years, it only seems appropriate to bring about the topic of intergenerational discord and how that comes into being. 

To begin with, there tends to be a pattern that young people are more politically progressive than the older generation. From the School Strike for Climate, Black Lives Matter, to the LGBTQ movement, young people are generally more likely to advocate towards movements on the left side of the political spectrum (The Annie E Casey Foundation, 2022). This trend could be attributed purely to the length of time and types of experience the younger generation has had in their lives. As we come out of the formal education where we are taught the ideals of how society should be, we are suddenly challenged and gutted by reality. In some ways, we are the young American Pyle in Greene’s political novel “The Quiet American”. The naivety coming from our lack of experience in the real world makes us believe that change is possible and that it is our responsibility to be the one to shift the status quo. As time allows one to live through a variety of social and economical disputes, we start to seek security and stability which pushes us to the right side of the political spectrum. As such, one way to explain the generational difference in young and old is simply our difference in time and experience. 

***

Right. Right?

Over time, the innocent GenZ find themselves creeping closer into an indolent trap as our coming-of-age story makes us realise no-one likes getting taxed 50/50, being underpaid and overworked. Once you’re in the trap, and the thought of ‘money’ is at the forefront of your mind, you stand indolent to world pollution because sometimes life is too overwhelming to consider the biodiversity of bees. Of course at the end of the day you say: I support 90% of modern day activism, but I can’t do everything. Then the dystopia unravels and your children are blaming you again. 

Albeit, there are exceptions. Some parents are out there advocating for change alongside their children. But for the majority, it’s not a common sight - especially if your parents are burdened with financial stress or they grew up surrounded by contrasting beliefs to you.

The discord between our generational differences is veneered by time and experience. It’s a systemic issue with democratic and capitalist countries that occupies the headspace of our citizens. For one, growing up as children, many of us readers have had the privilege of not dabbling into their parents finances. But remember when your favourite Littlest Pet Shop or Hot Wheels got an advertisement break on ABC3 and you begged your parents with the fervour of Romeo asking for his Juliet? Then, as you grow into adults, the pressures of living costs and high taxation primes you up to be conservative with money. The structure of economic systems in the US and Australia frames a society where wants are turned into needs, and cash is king. As you age, your accountant tells you to buy a house to stave off tax payments and suddenly you can’t meet your next loan repayment. Your needs grow as you accumulate wealth and it becomes harder to put the needs of the ‘earth’ and humanitarian crises first. 

But it’s not just about big corporation brainwashing tactics. A fault lies with our democracy’s voting system. The world’s population has been increasing, but somehow, our votes are always in favour of the older populace. Despite youth population growth, the number of 18-30 year olds that can vote will always be outnumbered by the middle-aged parents and grandparents who might find it harder to look after the earth in the same way we do. A democratic system makes it difficult to prioritise ‘tax the rich’ and ‘go green’ policies when half of your Gen Z supporters today will tip to the other side in another ten years if they are asked to buy a Tesla over a Toyota Sedan. On the inside, we all care. Just not as much when you are supporting two children and you’re losing half your income to tax.

Juliet drugged herself as a last resort, we drugged ourselves into indolence when faced by a capitalistic system that lulls us into believing wants become needs. Then Romeo chases after us as we chase after our parents, trying to pull Juliet back into Romeo’s arms, the reality of a world beginning to burn and crash. Romeo dies. The world dies. When Juliet finally awakens, she realises there is nothing of the world left to save and it’s too late. A classic tragedy, but only if all of it could be avoided without the bureaucracy between Montagues and Capulets. Perhaps the opinions of the young could finally be humoured without our bureaucracy. 

Right? Right.

***

Yet, to simply conclude that time and experience or our societal systems cause or not cause difference between generations is perhaps not enough. At the end of the day, different generations are segregated by historical circumstances that inherently set us apart from one another. The social trends and subtle changes in our thoughts and behaviour are thus far from cyclical across generations －rather, it is an evolution.

Each generation has their own set of socio-economic contexts that preceded their life beforehand. The Baby Boomers, born in the post-war period where the revitalisation of the economy was of utmost importance, had grown to aspire to the possession of cars, family and house to demonstrate their economic prosperity. Over time, as society manifested economic growth on the basis of capitalism, the world began to show its toll in the form of environmental degradation and volatile risk to supply chains. Our generation has seen the continuation of globalisation, but also the “slowbalisation” (The Economist, 2022) as organisations saw increasing risks and environmental concerns related to complex supply chains. We have established a renewed understanding towards ethical and sustainable operation practices as the concerns about global warming finally mounted over the years. The young people nowadays have a focus on value-driven products perhaps because we question the long-term consequences of the cost-minimising and profit-maximising model where people and the environment in developing countries are being exploited for the manifestation of the developed world’s capitalism. Watching and being subconsciously affected by the generation beforehand, each generation is a product of our parents’ ethos. Yet as new circumstances arise that challenge the pre-existing ethos, we are presented with the inauguration of a new generation. 

In this way, the emergence of the internet has been another crucial event in recent history that has separated our generation from the older generation. In particular, social media has given all of us voices to spread our concerns towards society and power to perform political activism on topics that have previously been suppressed or underrepresented. Being the first generation of digital natives, Generation Z skilfully spreads ‘viral’ content on social media to raise questions about society. Arguably, our access to social media has given us a better exposure to various opinions and perspectives and have made this generation more diverse and inclusive. Whereas previously, the minority groups have lacked opportunities to maximise their voice in society because the only people able to voice their opinions were those in power. Even though different generations may share similarities at each stage of their life, historical circumstance is the factor that truly sets each generation distinct from another. 

The question on all our minds now is, can we share the world view between generations? Is it possible for my father to see through my eyes and actively tackle sustainability? Maybe. Perhaps in a world where the grey hairs of time and experience did not dim our childhood aspirations, where bureaucracy never hindered Romeo and Juliet, and in a timeline of historic recurrence. 

Given the fundamental differences, coming to a cross-generational consensus might not be the approach to address the generational discord. Maybe it’s a time for all of us, regardless of our generations, to open up and be receptive to each other’s perspectives. My question to dad should change from, “How can I get you to change your opinion?” to “How can I understand your opinion more?” A casual conversation could go a long way.

References: 

 
Melbourne Microfinance Initiative
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