Is life harder for young adults today compared to earlier generations? If so, what has changed in the last few decades that makes it more difficult? Baby boomers are quick to point out that young people today have so many more perks and luxuries available to them, not to mention access to all kinds of information, that they can't possibly feel their lives are harder than those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s. The thought of having a phone that doubles as a radio, movie and still camera, and a calculator is still hard for many of us to comprehend. Throw in the fact that these mobile phones are powerful computers, many times faster than the dinosaurs we cut our teeth on, with a constant connection to the internet (also mind-blowing), one can't possibly think that life could be worse for today's youth. But... they might.
Is Life Harder For Young Adults in the 21st Century?
The truth is, life for young adults probably is more difficult, at least in some ways. Granted they have fun tech gadgets and games, and information travels at the speed of light these days, but with that comes stresses that earlier generations have never experienced. Mental over-stimulation has become a problem for many people. At our fingertips is information on everything we are interested, and it is delivered instantly. I am of the opinion that access to so much has caused us to change behaviors that have been developing in humans for thousands of year. No longer do we need to remember phone numbers. No longer do we have to wait to read the evening paper. No longer do we need to meet up with people to visit or get caught up. No longer to we even need to dress up and go into work. Now we can do all those things, plus thousands more, with the use of our hand-held device. We don't interact with other humans as much, and we certainly have lost the ability to be patient.
So how does this translate into a harder life for young adults? Although life is more convenient and comfortable, there are certainly more distractions, making it harder to concentrate. The constant bombardment of pop culture, shoving the success of celebrities at young people, can only result in a perpetuating negative self images, especially for young girls. We so many interesting distractions readily available, it is no wonder that youth of today feel isolated and confused. Comfort doesn't necessarily translate in to better or easier life.