Generation Fast Forward!
The young and trendy like to be referred as Generation Next... but the generation that's catching up loud and clear is Generation Fast Forward - a generation branding that I've done for the kids of today, clearly much quicker in thought and action than most of us who'd want to call ourselves GenNext just coz it sounds cool.
My little niece, who's as little as one does so many things that we would have probably never imagined when we were that age. She does everything from humming a lullaby to put her doll to sleep to walking around so matter-of-factly with a mobile when someone calls. She even speaks in some kind of language that she understands so well and speaks with a 'you don't understand this??!!' attitude!
When we were kids, we were known to be sweet, cute and cuddly. Kids of today are not just all of that but are also smart, intelligent and quick!
Here's a conversation I heard at a bookstore between an affluent mom and her smart little kid, a young guy all of 7 years maybe:
Rich Affluent Mom (RAM): Come on son, we've picked up enough books for yourself.
Smart Little Kid (SLK): Yes mom, just for Rs.2000. We can add some more to it. Check out this one, its ONLY Rs.675/-
RAM: Don't you think its expensive, son!
SLK: It's really worth it, mom! I've read about it somewhere and it is really worth the price (economics pro in the making... I never knew to judge if things were worth their price at 7 years of age!!!)
RAM: Son..!!
SLK: Come on mom, be a sport! You could even pick a copy for yourself!!!
Now how mean was that! Just imagine your own kid not willing to 'share' his books with you. Imagine him/ her asking you to get yourself your own copy of music, books or whatever else. I'm sure the kid didn't mean to sound rude, he was just being practical and detached... Now whether that's a good sign or a bad sign or no sign at all... I'm really not sure. Somehow that conversation struck me... and in a way made me believe that Generation Fast Forward have ways of their own... ways that may shake you up at times.
I'm intimidated at times... sometimes amused!!!
My little niece, who's as little as one does so many things that we would have probably never imagined when we were that age. She does everything from humming a lullaby to put her doll to sleep to walking around so matter-of-factly with a mobile when someone calls. She even speaks in some kind of language that she understands so well and speaks with a 'you don't understand this??!!' attitude!
When we were kids, we were known to be sweet, cute and cuddly. Kids of today are not just all of that but are also smart, intelligent and quick!
Here's a conversation I heard at a bookstore between an affluent mom and her smart little kid, a young guy all of 7 years maybe:
Rich Affluent Mom (RAM): Come on son, we've picked up enough books for yourself.
Smart Little Kid (SLK): Yes mom, just for Rs.2000. We can add some more to it. Check out this one, its ONLY Rs.675/-
RAM: Don't you think its expensive, son!
SLK: It's really worth it, mom! I've read about it somewhere and it is really worth the price (economics pro in the making... I never knew to judge if things were worth their price at 7 years of age!!!)
RAM: Son..!!
SLK: Come on mom, be a sport! You could even pick a copy for yourself!!!
Now how mean was that! Just imagine your own kid not willing to 'share' his books with you. Imagine him/ her asking you to get yourself your own copy of music, books or whatever else. I'm sure the kid didn't mean to sound rude, he was just being practical and detached... Now whether that's a good sign or a bad sign or no sign at all... I'm really not sure. Somehow that conversation struck me... and in a way made me believe that Generation Fast Forward have ways of their own... ways that may shake you up at times.
I'm intimidated at times... sometimes amused!!!
9 comments:
Priya,
Nice post. Do you read the comic strip Hi and Lois? You can find in Trixie all of what Harini does these days.
I hope these Generation Fast Forward kids understand over a period of time what sharing and caring is all about.
- Ravi
Hey..
Great post..Something i have always pondered upon..
The first time i noticed a kid from 'GenNext', I simply shrugged him aside thinking, the kid's too smart. THEN i suddenly realized, ALL kids of his age seemed to be like that! And THEN i realized, the generation has changed!
Whoopsh! Sometimes i still keep saying..we were so damn innocent and naive! I can't imagine myself saying all those things kids do/say these days. While it is very, very amusing and cute most of the times, at times you feel like.."Aaaargh! Talk like a child, kid!" :D
I too agree to this...the most recent question by my cousins kid who is 3 years old was "Do the railway tracks have speed breakers?"...at the age of 3 I wonder if I really knew why a speed breaker was needed?
Oh here's one more quip i heard..
Have put it up in one of me blog entries too..
"Once, a li'l girl of 6 was playing around me. She suddenly came up to me and said, “Didi! You know how people in my class tease us if we happen to be friends with a boy-classmate?”
Curious, I shook my head and asked her how. She said, “They start teasing the boy and girl by saying 'Seeeee! Love Story 2050!!'"
@Ravi Sir
Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comment too.
I do not think Generation Fast Forward do not believe in sharing and caring... its just that they have their own ways... ways that are far far different from the ones we've all seen. Maybe this, in the true sense, is a Generation Gap!!!
@Namrata
Thanks for the comments, dear. The li'l snippets you've added brings in more facets of Generation Fast Forward.
You're right about how we would sometimes be so badly prompted to tell a kid to talk and act like a kid... sometimes though I wonder if its just that or more of a 'been there not done that' feeling that we may have :P
I loved the Love Story 2050 thing :)
@Prasi
Thanks for the comment. Kids these days are truly many many steps ahead... leaving us wondering whether they're too fast or were we too slow :)
Priya,
Nice post. Here is what I have to share.
One of my nephews who is about 9-10 yrs old grabs my sister's Barbie doll whenever he comes to our place and locks him in a room with Barbie for some time. And then for all the time he is at our place he is always hugging the Barbie doll. My sister kind of wants to get her doll back but even she is amazed by the way this guys thinks that he is actually dating this Barbie doll.
And not only this he was also telling me how one can lock and unlock the TV channels so that you can enjoy them at your convenience. He was like that they show all kinds of stuff almost all the time so one has to be smart.
God only knows I was so dumb when I was at his age.
@Ankit
Thanks for leaving your comment on my blog post.
That's sooo sweet... the Barbie doll dating idea :)Come to imagine... the little lad even values his privacy during a date!!! :P
Kids of today sure are far more superior than most of us :)
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