The communication gap between successive generations is not a new phenomenon. Parents and children across the world have been facing this issue of generation gap. And it only trenches more when children are in their teens. Sanskruti takes a hard look at the generation gap. Here’s an interesting account, in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.

A chasm amorphously situated in time and space that separates those who have grown up from those who will is the generation gap.

The communication gap between successive generations is not a new phenomenon. Parents and children across the world have been facing this issue of generation gap. And it only trenches more when children are in their teens.

Our parents work hard to earn us better lives and we too are busy with school, hangouts and hobbies. We’re hardly left with time to spend with each other. Thus, both the generations are unable to express their thoughts and ideas leading to more clashes. In such a situation, we often turn to our peers for seeking advice; who are as inexperienced as we are. This only takes us and our parents to the counselors!

Our parents lived a teenage that was much ‘offline’, where the TV and internet were oddities. On the other hand, we’re born in the ‘online’ world flooding with gizmos, play stations, smartphones and tabs. We cannot think of surviving a single day without our gaming and texting apps. This rush of the world on our fingertips leads to the problem of our parents not relating with us.

The major issue where this gap leads to tussles and tension is the choice of career. Many of us are keen on traversing the cool, trendy and starry streams of glamour, photography, literature, music, arts and sports – symbolised by the ‘grassy other road’ that Kipling took!

It’s really thrilling and brave of us that we want to pursue these careers that are unconventional, but since our parents are very well aware of the rat-race in this world we’re born in, they end up enforcing certain career options on us so that we travel safe.

We teens often fidget with our parents over our lifestyle, fashion, choice of friends and extent of freedom. At his age of hormonal rush, we’re often attracted to the cool dudes and the hot and happening divas, and we so desperately want to seek the similar attention and tags. The parents usually dislike such kind of our friends as to them they are too tacky and not so oriented towards academics. Such peers and our attraction towards them always finds drinking the best and the most and smoking out the perfect rings really cool. Having a toned, hot and happening girlfriend or boyfriend is the best way to soak all the limelight to us. We surrender to wrong addictions and abuses and are easily turned towards crimes. That’s when our parents want to control us, at times even as tyrants. In this crucial age when we can easily be the doers and victims of crime; our parents want to protect us, it takes no time (at times!) for their guidance to turn into constant monitoring that makes the teens feel oppressed and we tend to turn rebellious.

Gone are the days when children were submissive and words of the elders were taken as the Gospel Truth. But, the teenagers today are equally vociferous, independent and a more vibrant part of the family. They are aware of their choices and goals. But just because we want to be ourselves and express our hearts out, we should never forget to owe our parents the respect and gratitude they deserve. And parents at the same time should treat us like individuals for always being treated like a kid is irritating and even humiliating when within ourselves we are yearning for the aspirations of adolescence and youth. We must reciprocate with due respect, attention and care on the matters such as choice of career, lifestyle, making friends and freedom of choice, and deal with each other with maturity; so that we need not consult the Counselors.

It isn’t grandiloquent to say that bridging this generation gap is like crossing a Burma-bridge as that which seems the height of absurdity to one generation is the height of maturity to another. The best way to cross this adventuresome and twisted bridge between two generations is walking towards each other with love and understanding. Spending quality time together and efficiently interacting are the antidotes to the ever deepening bite of generation gap.

First, we are children to our parents, then parents to our children, then parents to our parents, then children to our children. This issue of generation gap is rather a cycle. Being there for each other is the best way to get through this trickery of age.

Picture design Anumita Roy

Sanskruti Chitore

Sanskruti Chitore, 18-year-old, began writing since childhood. She writes under the pen-name ‘Skies’. A Rajput by blood, she has learnt the art of using her weapon, the pen, quite well. Born and brought up in Maharashtra, she is an ordinary teenager with extraordinary talent. With positive attitude, a reader with lots of love in her heart, she is well-known for her verses.

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