The Generation Gap...

A Small Conversation that I had with my Aayi (Grani, Mom's Mom) some years back when I got ready to go out with my friends.

AAYI :  What is that you are wearing?
ME     : My new Jeans and a Sleeveless top.
AAYI  :  But why are you wearing the clothes like a boy wear and where are the hands of your top?
ME     : Oh Aayi, this is the way nowadays most of the girls dress up.
AAYI  :  But I never dressed up like this and nor did your Mom. So from where did you learn
ME     : (In a hurry who had no answers for my Grani's questions with a sarcastic laugh)
             Bye Aayi :-)

Everyone amongst us must have gone through a similar kind a situation. May be with our grand parents or even with our parents. There is so many times when I buy certain dress and my friends love it, but my mom finds the same dress weird. This is the most common thing we all must have come across. The Television shows which we watch and our parents watch are so completely different. The same fight for remote control in everybody's house. And finally its we younger generation who compromises with the TV shows and ends the fight by silently handing over the remote to our parents. Why is that our likes and dislikes vary so much. Is this is what called as  THE GENERATION GAP?

Whenever I liked to do something during my High school days and if I was being restricted by my elder cousins I hated it. I use to think so backward and old fashioned my cousins are. But, now when my younger cousin who is studying in 7th standard wanted to create her Facebook account, I was the first person to restrict her in spite of knowing the fact that most of her classmates already has a FB account. OMG!!! What is wrong with me now???  Well, this restriction is just because of my own experience. I am thinking when I myself am so much addicted to FB then how much will she be, as she is now stepping into her teen age which is the best age to get distracted. Obviously, even she might be thinking the same about me as I am backward and old fashioned as I would think about my elder cousins.

I was allowed to use a cell phone from the time I joined my Graduation college and that too because it was a necessity as I was staying away from home at a hostel. But, now my younger cousin brother is using a cell phone right from the class 8th even after staying at home. He even has a personal computer with internet access. Is this the development in technology or a Generation Gap again?

If this is the case now itself then what will be our kids demand. May be they will demand for a cell phone right from the Kinder Garden. And when I did not allow my cousin to create a FB account, will I allow my kids to use a cell right from their KG class.? Or I will be among those strict sunkey Mother who screws all the freedom of her kids? How will they feel about me when all their other friends will use a cell phone but I would not permit them? Ohh Nooo..... Why am I thinking all this? When I have got so much of freedom from my Mom and when all my wishes have been fulfilled then obviously even my kids wishes also will be. No doubt.

After experiencing all these things the thoughts which I am getting is, the only reason why the elder generation restricts their younger generation is they care for them and so they don't want their younger generation to commit the same mistake as they themselves had once committed. But, it is only after falling one learn to stand. We learn  only after committing mistakes and we have to accept the fact that even our younger generation will learn from their own mistakes and not from our suggestions and restrictions. The more we restrict some one the tendency of that person to break the restriction also increases and its a human nature. So its good to be a friend to the younger generation rather then restricting them for each and everything. I think restriction can only make them hide the mistakes that they commit because of our fear and which may lead them in a wrong path.

The only way to understand both our elder as well as younger generation is that we need to keep our self in their shoes and think how would we react if we were to be in their place. Only then we will realize neither our elders who keeps questioning us are wrong and nor our younger's who keep committing mistakes are wrong. The only differences in all these people is nothing but THE GENERATION GAP..