What is the Generation Gap?
Generation Gap is a term given to the gap or age difference between two sets of people; the young people and their elders, especially between children and their parents. Everything is influenced by the change of time- the age, the culture, mannerism, and morality. This change affects everyone. The generation gap is an endless social phenomenon. Every generation lives at a certain time under certain circumstances and conditions. So, all generations have their own set of values and views. Every generation wants to uphold the principles they believe in. This is a problem that has continued for ages.
People born in different periods under different conditions have their views based on the circumstances they have been through. The patterns of life have been changing continuously according to time. Everyone wants to live and behave in his way and no one wants to compromise with his or her values and views. There has always been a difference in attitude or lack of understanding between the younger and older generations. This attitude has augmented the generation gap and it is becoming wider day by day. This gap now has started impacting our lives in the wrong way.
It is always good to have a wide range of ideas, views, and opinions. It indicates how we are developing and advancing but sometimes this becomes worrisome when the views and ideas are not accepted by both generations. Parents create a certain image in their minds for their children. They want to bring up their children with values that they have been brought up with and expect their children to follow the same. Parents want children to act following their values, as they believe, it is for their benefit and would do well for them.
Children on the other hand have a broader outlook and refuse to accept the traditional ways. They want to do things their way and don’t like going by any rulebook. Mostly, young people experience conflict during their adolescence. They are desperately searching for self-identity. Parents at times fail to understand the demands of this fast-paced world. Ultimately, despite love and affection for each other both are drained out of energy and not able to comprehend the other. Consequently, there is a lack of communication and giving up on relationships.
Different Ways to Reduce the Generation Gap
Nothing in the world can be as beautiful as a parent-child relationship. It should be nurtured very delicately and so it is important to bridge the gap between the two generations. It is time to realize that neither is completely right nor wrong. Both generations have to develop more understanding and acceptance for each other. Having a dialogue with each other calmly, with the idea of sorting out conflict amicably in ideas, changing their mindset for each other, and coming to a middle ground can be the most helpful instrument in bridging the gap between the two generations.
Spending more time with each other like family outings, vacations, picnics, shopping, watching movies together could be some effective ways to build up a strong bond with each other. Both the generations need to study the ways of the society during their growing period and have mutual respect for it. To reduce the friction between the two generations, both parents and children have to give space to each other and define certain boundaries that the latter should respect.
The generation gap occurs because society is constantly changing. It is the responsibility of both generations to fill this gap with love, affection, and trust. Both generations should have mutual respect for the views and opinions that they uphold and advance cautiously with the development of society.
Conclusion
The generation gap is a very critical concept that occurs because of the different natures of every person. No one can end this generation gap but obviously, you can opt for some way in which it can be reduced.
There should be efforts made by both sides to get a better relationship between two people. The generation gap may cause conflict between families but if you try to understand the thinking of another person and choose a path in between then you can get a happy living family.
No one wants to live in a tense environment and you always need your elders with yourself no matter what, they are the ones who care for you, they may have different ways of expressing their love and care for you and you might feel awkward but you need to understand them and their ways. Having your elders with you in your family is a blessing, you can talk with them and let them know your views and understand your ways to approach a particular situation.
FAQs on Generation Gap Essay: Bridging the Differences
1. What do you Understand by Generation Gap?
The gap between the old people and the young is called the generation gap. The generation gap is not only the age difference between young people, their parents, and grandparents, but it is also caused by differences in opinion between two generations; it can be differences in beliefs, differences in views like politics, or differences in values. Therefore a generational gap is a conflict in thoughts, actions, and tastes of the young generation to that of older ones. We can have a good relationship even with a generational gap. All we need to do is understand others' way of thinking.
2. Why Does the Generation Gap Occur?
The generation gap occurs due to differences in views and opinions between the younger and older generation. Both generations want to uphold the principles they believe in. The reason for the generation gap is not only age but it can be because of reasons like:
Difference in beliefs
Difference in interests
Difference in opinion
In today's time, the generational gap has caused conflict between many families. The generational gap occurs because of the following reasons:
Increased life expectancy
The rapid change in society
Mobility of society
The generation gap can be reduced if we work on it with patience and understanding. So whatever may be the reason for the occurrence of the generation gap it can be overcome and a happy relationship can be built between two different people.
3. How Should the Gap in the two Generations be Bridged?
The gap between the two generations should be bridged by mutual respect, understanding, love, and affection for each other. They both should come to a middle ground and sort things out amicably. Here are a few tips to help children to improve the differences because of the generational gap between their parents and them:
Try to talk more often even if you do not have the time, make time for it.
Spend more time with your parents regularly to develop and maintain your relationship.
Make them feel special with genuine gestures.
Share your worries and problems with them.
Respect is the most important thing which you should give them.
Be responsible
Have patience and understand their perspective in every situation.
4. How Does the Generation Gap Impact Relationships?
Generation gaps disrupt the family completely. Due to a lack of understanding and acceptance, the relationship between the older and the younger generations become strained. Most families can not enjoy their family lives because of disturbed routines either they are too busy with work or other commitments, they are unable to spend time with each other. This increases the generational gap between children and parents. The child is unable to communicate his or her thoughts because of lack of communication and parents are unable to understand what the child is thinking; this causes more differences between them.
The generation gap can cause conflict between a relation of child, parent, and grandparent. Because of the generational gap, there is a huge difference in the living pattern and pattern in which a person responds to a difficult situation. Elder people often take every situation on themselves and try to seek out the things for others but in today’s generation they believe in working only for themself they do not get bothered by others and they don’t try to seek things for others. But if we work to understand the differences and get a path out in between then the conflicts can be reduced and so the generational gap will not be that bothersome.
5. Where can I find the best essay on Generation Gap?
The generation gap can have a different point of view. Each person has a different way of thinking. Vedantu provides you with the best study material to understand the topic well and write about it. Vedantu is a leading online learning portal that has excellent teachers with years of experience to help students score good marks in exams. The team of Vedantu provides you with study material by subject specialists that have deep knowledge of the topic and excel in providing the best knowledge to their students to get the best results. Visit Vedantu now!
