The topic seems very close to the hearts of youths today; particularly those belonging to eastern civilizations. Reason being it’s only in last few years that the eastern civilizations have seen a massive westernization of themselves. The western cultures have experienced the same feeling almost 60-70 years back. One of the very drastic impacts of the idea “My Way, My Life, My Yuvalution” is the youths demanding complete freedom from shackles of the traditional setup of institutions like family and society. Gen Y demands freedom to live life in its own way from Gen X; and in same footsteps Gen Z demands from both Gen X and Y.
The concept of joint family has been discarded - as “Compromise”[/b] is no longer a word in people’s dictionary. Our ears have become habituated to hear and our mouths have become used to utter statements like “Dude I have got a life of my own[/i]”, “Who are you to interfere in my life[/i]” , “I am mature enough to take my own decision; you need not guide me every time[/i]” ,“ I know what is right for me[/i]” or “Come on, I am not a kid”. Some of the many consequences of this unbounded freedom have been the rising number of love marriages and so do the number of divorces. If the young generation is so mature; the social institution of marriage should not have suffered the acute lack of respect, faith and stability. The young generation cannot tolerate the queries and boundaries created by the older generation; thus either decides to separate away or places the old ones in old age homes. Elder abuse has become so rampant across the globe that the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) has to designate June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
“My Way, My Life, My Yuvalution” the strong emphasis on the word “My” brings in a selfish connote to this phrase. If everyone starts thinking and acting on these lines; can any political setup survive; let alone a social setup? No form of government or organization can survive the turmoil that would be created due to everyone living life on his/her own terms. Cross countries negotiations, global summits etc all rely on understanding of problems of each and other and making comprises wherever required. If the young developing nations of the world stop cooperating with the developed ones on issues of global warming or increasing carbon foot-print; just think what could happen. What would happen to the world order if the Big eight (G8) decide to walk their own way?
The multi-national companies, small and medium scale industries which are driving the consumer market and GDP of nations have a set framework in place. They have clearly defined policies, rules and regulations; which employees ought to follow. They themselves have to comply with different regulatory bodies and have to clear audits. If the young employees -campus hires, fresh graduates or first jobbers who are considered to be the source of energy and enthusiasm decide to live their professional lives their own way, the companies would not be able to exist. Following ethical standards would rely on individual discretion. The concept of company would itself cease to exist as shareholders would not have reliability in their investments.
Freedom but within limits is a must to keep things going. No one wants to remain shackled in an orthodox stagnant society. Every individual in a society whether collectivist or individualist[/b] needs certain degree of personal space and personal freedom to exercise. Everyone wants to grow, develop and change with time; as is also stated by “Survival of the fittest theory[/b]”. It is said “Change is the only thing that is constant[/i] “; but at the same time it is also true “Change should be for a better present and tomorrow[/i]”. There had been several instances where a company went for a major technological change and collapsed because its customers were not ready to adapt to that rapid a change. Similarly if youths of the countries ask for such a change, the entire country can collapse. Modernity does not mean absolute freedom. Every country, every society and every family has a structure that acts as glue holding its various components together. One can modify this structure for good instead of destroying it completely such that entire structure itself falls apart.
The Gen Y and Z need to rephrase the feeling as “Our Way, Our Life, Our Yuvalution[/b]” and adopt a way and a life that would add meaning or value not only to their youth; but would be value proposition for the entire family, society, nation or planet they belong to. That would be the true meaning to “Yuvalution” i.e Value addition by Youths.[/b]