The Evolution of Youth Values Over Generations

 

Millennials, Gen X, Boomers – A Rough Guide To Generations

Nowadays, the term youth usually applies to people commonly considered to be “Gen Z”. What does that actually mean though?  To put it shortly (and not drown you with dates), Gen Z is anyone between 15 and 30 years of age.  You’re probably asking yourself why that would be relevant now – let me explain. There’s a huge difference between our youth and those who aren’t quite… youthful anymore, such as Millennials - also known as Gen Y, or those between 31 and 45 years old – or Gen X and Boomers: respectively 46 to 60 and 61 to 80 years old. Now you can find out which generation you belong to, see? 

 

Traditional Values

The fact that youths do have different values than other generations is, as I said, a fact, and we can’t really argue with that. As every generation adapts to some of the traits that it finds to be significant, so does Gen Z – the traditional ethics and principals that it’s raised on by its parents and grandparents. The true question is whether these will actually become a part of our identities and evolve, or if they will simply fade and be forgotten.  No matter how sad it is, the truth is that no cohort will ever adapt to rules of conduct that are not forced upon its members. Wars, crises and catastrophes have always shaped the people who lived through them, and unfortunately our young are no different in this matter.

 

 Historical and Canon Events

The Great Recession, COVID, the Ukrainian conflict – we’ve all heard about these or suffered from them personally, but let’s be honest, who was the most shaped by the biggest events of the past 15 years? The people who had to grow up among, sometimes in them. As children, they experienced the effect that the economic crash has on your typical gray person. As teenagers, they had to go through a pandemic that reshaped the entire world and, as adults, they had to face the ghost of a potential war and the nightmare of massacres in the East. These events are canon events in their lives. They twist and meld these young spirits’ morals and ethics, their patriotism and political views.
All of this doesn’t simply change the views of young adults – instead, it creates it.  
In many cases, Gen Z wants and attempts to change the world.  
Raised in the spirit of the 80s and 90s, with vivid first-hand stories of the 30s and 40s, the modern youth is probably one of the most international and all-embracing generations that our planet has witnessed in a very long time. These circumstances and various globally famous situations that keep occurring in their lifetimes make their ethics – even if a bit questionable sometimes – absolutely indestructible. Even though not so long ago they were only children, now they can teach us to stand our ground regardless of the circumstances, for if we do, we can change the world as well.  

 Dorota Pogoda