Between every generation, there’s a massive cultural gap– everyone hears about how their parents disapproved of what they did when they were kids, and the cycle repeats over and over again. New music, new clothes, and a new youth culture. The internet dictates so much of what my generation does and thinks, and opinion spreads like wildfire over the web.

I’m sure my parents don’t like the music that myself and most of my peers listen to, but their parents most likely felt the same way. They may not like how we spend so much time on our phones or computers, but when our generation has kids of their own, there will surely be parts of their culture that we don’t approve of. I’m growing more aware of this gap as I grow up, and it’s fascinating to me how we interact with those who came before us.

Something that comes to my mind is how after the college students left their summer jobs for school, I’ve spent much more time talking to my older coworkers and learning about their experiences and thoughts. After hearing about how some of them have worked a job that they don’t love for years upon years, I’ve wondered how many people my age would be content with doing that.

To me, it seems unbearable, and I can’t imagine working a job for such a long time if I didn’t wholly enjoy my career. Maybe it’s just because I’m only sixteen with a short attention span, but I do think that most kids my age feel similarly and will continue to hold that opinion into at least their twenties and thirties.

As a high school student, I spend copious amounts of time with technology and see it as a part of my daily life. However, my grandparents most likely don’t, and even my parents aren’t as enraptured by the digital world as I am. Maybe this gap will shrink over time as technology advances, but there’s no way for me to know. Fast forwarding years into the future, I often wonder if the children of my generation will see this situation the same way I do now– only time will tell.