Stereotypes In Today's Society

Today’s youth is misunderstood by people from the generation before them. The new generation, known as Generation Z, is always referred to as lazy and spoiled but it might not be all their fault. A generational gap is too blame as the society of today is much different than from previous generations. This gap is very prevalent when one looks at the difference in upbringing, the advancement in technology, and the difference in stereotyping. It is plain to see that although only years apart, the generational gap is very prevalent in today’s society.

The upbringing of a child is very important as it is the foundation to shape the child’s mind. Although, the upbringing of children has changed over the years as the views of society have changed.

The difference in upbringing is evident in how sheltered the children of today are protected from everything around them. Back in the late 1900’s a child could just act like a child and do things out of fun and having a good time. Though as the year grew closer to the 2000’s parents began sheltering and protecting children like they were all delicate flowers. Realizing that sheltering your kids is not the way to go, parents have now began to allow their kids to express themselves in whichever way they choose. “[Generation] Z will be less doted upon and sheltered than Millennials were as children” (Raines, 2013). This is a good sign as the kids of today will not be as removed from the world around them. They will be able to experiment with life in general and not be afraid to fail. Another difference in upbringing that is different is the difference in discipline. Kids nowadays are not disciplined in the same way as they were years ago. The difference nowadays is that one cannot spank their kids and this is giving kids the idea that they will not face discipline for their actions. In the past few years the act of spanking a child has become widely debated and will continue to be debated for a long time.
As a modern mama, you probably use more modern discipline tactics with your toddlers and preschoolers, like setting up a time-out chair or corner, working with a rewards chart and using positive reinforcement. However, this can be a stark contrast to more old-school types of discipline that involve spanking, washing mouths out with soap and other harsh punishments (Sundstrom, 2015, p.2)
This is from a mom who is talking about the changes in discipline and how these changes are less harsh. One could argue that these measures of non-harsh discipline are too lenient on their children and they do not learn their lessons. Finally the understanding of mental health has really changed over the years and it has made the conditions of mental health easier to understand and manage. It was not until the 1980’s that mental health was first investigated so the generations before then would have had no idea about people and how there could be an illness that made them behave differently. “Mental health is now more a part of the broader health care discussion than in earlier decades. Mental health gained traction during Jimmy Carter’s presidency with the first President’s Commission on Mental Health and passage of the Mental Health Systems Act in 1980” (Mechanic, 2007, p.2-3). This would have made growing up before this time frame very difficult. All these Topics are an example of how the generation gap is rooted from how much different the upbringing of a child has become.
The expression, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, means that it is quite difficult to teach someone who has done stuff the same way for years, a new way to do it. This has caused many changes to how jobs are done and how older people have to adapt to the changes. When studying a career nowadays, people are taught how to do jobs more efficiently and with new technology. This is causing people from other generations to either adapt to the new ways or have to stop doing that job. “’There are more pronounced differences between the generations today than there ever has been before,’ says Claire Raines, co-author of Generations at Work. ‘That's simply because our world has changed so much in the last 50 to 80 years’"(Kersten, 2002, p.2). These differences have proved costly to the many people who cannot adapt to the changes in the workplace. The technology has also caused major rifts in the ways that are completely new. The advances of social media has left the world disconnected from each other. “Millennials form the largest share of Internet users 16-64 (48.5%) globally, while Baby Boomers account for just over a tenth of the total 16-64 online population”(Millar, 2014, p.2). This is making the older people less involved with the world as a lot of today’s media is spread over social media. This can cause people being left in the dark about a lot of things from current events, news and even family relations. With these advances in technology, some older people want to catch up and learn the changes in technology and to do that the young generation is teaching them how to do just that. These actions have led to programs that have younger people reach out and try to end teach older people about today’s technology. “First piloted in 2013, in 2014 Mentor Up began to partner with youth organizations, such as the National 4H Council and DoSomething.org, to introduce intergenerational service to youth members already engaged in social advocacy, social engagement, leadership, and volunteerism” (Rosenfeld, 2015, p.5). These programs are very good for people who want to become more involved in today’s technology. The generational gap is very prevalent because of the advances in technology and will exist forever.
There has always been stereotyping in this world but recently it has become evident in the way older generations are much different than the younger generations.

Stereotyping is the unfair belief that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. This is viewed as a negative thing as all people are different or unique, but those views were not always the case. The older generations of today were very prejudice and stereotypical back in their day, and nowadays it is beginning to catch up with them. Back many years ago, the times were much different as people of race, gender and culture were all divided and not treated equally. These days, those divisions are virtually gone as people have become more inclusive and equal. “Millennials view diversity as the blending of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives within a team, which is known as cognitive diversity” (Dishman, 2015, p 3). This view on life has caused for more happiness as all people are included. Also, stereotyping is now looked upon as politically incorrect as it is usually not accepted in society. “News, movies and the Internet show many negative aspects of certain characteristics from specific ethnicities in order to relate more to the audience due to their recognizable behavior. Cultural aspects, accent or skin color may be the first clues to identify the origins and background of that character” (Alvarez, 2004, p.3). These stereotypes have been caused by lack of knowledge or being taught the wrong way in the first place. It is very clear that the youth of today have been taught not to stereotype people into groups based on race, gender or ethnicity. Finally, the older generations are beginning to learn the mistakes they have made by stereotyping. The older generations of today are now learning to respect people for who they are and not what they are. With understanding and learning the world can come together and generations can live in

peace.
With the all the heat on today’s youth it is easy to see we are misunderstood by the older generation. With this generational misunderstanding, a gap is very prevalent in today’s society. The generational gap is caused by a difference in upbringing, the technology of today, and the social acceptance of stereotyping. With more education for the older generation about the younger generation, the gap can become less prevalent and the world can be a happier place.