23. Generation Gap

Generation gap is one the most vivid problem in age-related psychology (возрастная психология). It existed all the time since early ages when time passed through and generations substituted one another. As an example I want to recollect the great work by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev «Fathers and sons», where the problem of mutual relations between generations covered skillfully.

The generation gap appears when growing up and reaching the definite age young people want to receive independence from the parents, usually not ready for it yet, at the same time parents are afraid to give them freedom because don’t want them to be hurt by cruelty of life, consider also that they are not ready for independent life yet. The age when such problems appear begins more and more early within every generation. Also the problem of generation gap becomes apparent (проявляться) when appear contradictions, differences of opinions on life events. Such differences may be explained by differences in perception between generations, which are normal, because life don’t stop, there is dynamics in everything, even if sometimes negative.

There are cases when young generation blame their parents for mistakes, they do not understand that it’s impossible to blame older generation for anything not only because they are close people and that’s useless to blame for what had happened, possible only to admit the mistakes and try to correct the mistake, but also because their actions were caused by definite reasons and conditions of their time. Also there are cases when vice verse the old generation blames young generation for not appropriate life that they consider irresponsible, aimless and senseless(бесчувственный). But everything in our life has its reasons. Young generation has a lot of problems, one of the reason for this is the medium (среда, обстановка), but the other is the upbringing. Maybe the problem lies right in petting and too nursing with young people? For example I think that most men now are irresponsible, childish, weak and the main reason for this is that their mothers nursed them too thoughtful, bringing up not men but dependent and selfish pets.

Of course at special age I experienced the problem of the generation gap and sometimes experience it today. The fully mutual understanding is impossible to obtain but we need to respect each other if we want to reveal respect to ourselves in the generation of our own children. Anyway much depends not only on the generation but also on personal character, moral values. Also the attitude towards many things changes due to experience, since some time in our minds when we getting older, not concerning the problem of generation gap.

To those who faces with the problem of the generation gap, to teenagers who are experiencing the lack of understanding from their parents’ part, to parents who don’t understand their children and try to change them, I would have advised first of all to look at themselves and begin to solve the problem from themselves. Often the problem of the generation gap solves when young people becomes responsible, independent, stopped to be selfish, usually becoming parents themselves. That’s also obviously important to love, talk and discuss, to listen to, try to understand, to admit, to be patient and forgivable. But we should admit that there are cases in which it’s impossible to come to an agreement, the only way out of such a situation is to leave everything the way it is (оставить всё как есть) and just wait, the time orders everything.