Gen X, Y, Z. What About Gen WTF?

I am a “Boomer II”, otherwise known as “Generation Jones”! Then there’s “Generation X” followed by “Generation Y”, then “Z”. Now maybe it’s just me, but in my opinion I think we could lump a couple of those together and just re-name them “Generation WTF”.

I realize that every generation has the same concern. “How will they ever survive?”…“The next generation is in BIIIIIIG trouble!”

I was always told how easy our generation had it. My dad reminded me about how he “Walked 50 miles to school EACH day… uphill both ways”… in snow “up to here” as he gestured towards his chest. I’ve been to my dad’s home town… it has two streets that wouldn’t even be total span of 5 miles. But I understand. He was genuinely concerned about future generations and our survival.

Now I hear my family and friends expressing the same concerns. And I have to admit, sometimes I find myself facing the same thoughts. Having the same concerns. I understand that we evolve, lifestyles change, and technology advances along with terminologies. To be honest, they no longer make any sense. Growing up as a generation Jones or any of the generations before me, things were much more different than today’s generation.

Gone are the days of kids playing outside. ALONE. UNTIL DARK! I understand it’s a different world now, but I really can’t recall a day growing up when we weren’t active. Whether it was riding my bike, skipping rope, playing hide and seek or running around the playground. We were always on the go. Snow or shine, we rarely relied on any indoor activities. Not to mention my dad’s threats that if we “couldn’t find something to do outside”, he would find something for us to do inside. Which usually meant some kind of annoying strenuous chore. So needless to say, we stayed out as long as we could. And we didn’t need a watch, we were just supposed to be home by dark.

Everyday tasks were simple, albeit more physical. The mail wasn’t preceded by an “e”. It involved a letter, an envelope and stamps. We would then walk…gasp….yes, walk to the mail box or post office.

There was no such thing as texting. Back then the only text we knew was followed by the word book. And a cell? Well that was just a term used in science.

Transportation options were limited. As a kid we had a choice.

We could walk
Ride our bike
Or option #1… we could walk. Get the picture.

If we were lucky, we could take the school bus. But getting a ride to school wasn’t common and “Drop off lanes” weren’t a thing.

Indoor entertainment was much more different than today. We were very fortunate. We had a TV. There were three, yes THREE channels to choose from. And one of those channels was French. So unless you were fluent in French, then technically we only had TWO channels. The difference though was that unlike today, watching TV wasn’t a daily occurrence. It was only on certain days or special occasions. Our “fancy” TV was the size of a small couch encased by about a hundred pounds of quality wood cabinetry and laminate. For many years it was only turned on for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays and “The Wonderful World of Disney” on Sundays.

Let’s look at music. We had MANY options:

Radios, record players, cassettes and the ever stylish 8-track tapes.
For my family, we also had the wonderful opportunity of listening to my Granny play the accordion after she consumed a few glasses of her “special juice”. Trust me, that juice gave her more musical talent, so for that we were grateful.
If we wanted to listen to a variety of our favorite top 40 singles, we simply stacked our 45’s on the record player… praying they wouldn’t skip as each record dropped onto the turntable.
Recording music? Easy peasy! We simply placed our cassette player right next to the radio and waited for our favorite songs to come on. Fast fingers pressing the record and play button simultaneously at JUST the right time. That resulted in a better quality recording as it minimized remnants of the DJ’s voice or the start of the next song.
The 8-track tapes offered a very cool feature. You could advance to the next song without fast forwarding. You just pushed the “next” button, listened for the loud, concerning “clunk”… and voila! The next song started.

However, I think the generational change that has created the most confusion for me has been the revised definition of words and phrases. For example, when something was unpleasant we would say “That’s Sick!” Now, when kids think something is cool, they say “That is sooooo sic!” A “fly” was on the front of your pants, now apparently it means “cool”. “Wicked” described a witch… now it defines excellence. “Word” was…well a word. Now it is a term of agreement. “Rubbers” were worn on your feet… now? Well let’s just say they’re worn on a different appendage. “Peeps” were a marshmallow Easter treat. Now it describes your friends.

My realization of just how different the definitions of words have varied from generation to generation a few years ago. It started out very innocently one summer day. I simply just wanted to go walking outside on the grass. I don’t like how it feels on my bare feet so I asked my son’s if they had seen my thongs. Now, in my defense, back when I was a kid, thongs were NOT called flip-flops. Thongs were worn on the feet. Today? Let’s just say thongs are no longer worn on the feet.

I was confused at the look of absolute disgust on their faces. Yet, I continued… “Boys! WHERE. ARE. MY. THONGS?” Now they were speechless. I wasn’t in a mood to play around and was starting to get impatient and insisted that I KNEW they had them. “I know you know where they are!”… “I’ve seen them on both of you”. “I saw Brandon wearing them the other day when he was running through the sprinkler in the front yard”.

Well now my eldest son’s look of utter shock was aimed at his little brother. “Why were you wearing mom’s thongs? Outside?” Brandon denied it… but I kept on insisting that “HE was the last one to be wearing them… so he has to know where they are”. It wasn’t until I noticed that Brandon looked like he was on the verge of tears of embarrassment that I paused, thinking I now understood. But unfortunately for him… I didn’t. Instead, I just changed my tone. Gently telling him that I wasn’t mad. “You can wear my thongs honey… just as long as you put them back where you found them”

Well by this point his older brother was speechless… and my youngest too shocked and confused to even defend himself. Finally his older brother, sounding completely confused and in a bit of a panic, again asked his brother WHY he was wearing mom’s underwear. It was only then that I realized that I wasn’t as “hip” as I thought. That MY definition of thongs was no longer current… at least for what I was referring to. In actuality I should have been asking them where my flip flops were.

So now I try to be more cautious and aware of using current terminology and phrases. Even abbreviations. LOL is laugh out loud. BFF is best friend forever. And CT?…. no, it’s not a scan… it means “Can’t Talk”. Which oddly enough is sometimes how I feel.

I have to admit though that I’m concerned with this generations over-use and dependence on abbreviations. This is going to result in CSADT!! Or as my generation would say. Can’t Spell A Damn Thing!

When I hear this next generation talking non-stop on their smart phones, watching them text feverishly to the person who is… Sitting. Right. Beside Them! Or slamming on my brakes as they walk right into traffic donning their headphones, with their eyes fixated on their phone, completely oblivious to the sound of my horn. As I watch all this, I still can’t help repeating the same words my parents would say. “I worry about this generation”… “What is this world coming to”?

But then again, our parents said the same about us, and I’m sure the generation before them had the same concerns. And most likely, this next generation will be saying the same thing…. Just in their own abbreviated way. I can hear them now!…. “OMG! This new gen! to think of what their future will bring makes me LMFAO! Kids these days…WTF”?