Generation Z

Remember the good old days? The time when the world was so different,
when the world was so much simpler, with its typewriters, bell-bottom pants, and
that sinful music known as rock ‘n roll? My parents remember the good old days.
Hell, I remember the good old days. …Well, I wasn’t even born remotely close to the
good old days, but I know enough about it to make it seem like I was there.

World War II ended, and all the soldiers went home to their wives and bred
like rabbits. Yes, that’s right; I’m talking about the Baby Boomers! The 1950’s, a
period full of happiness, simplicity and bliss, where every little boy and girl grew up,
got married, moved to the suburbs, and had five kids.

Now, those five kids, the Baby Boomers, grew up, and each of those children
had more children. These offspring are part of Generation X. Born from 1961 to
1981; Generation X was a much different era than their parents’. It was a time full
of rebellion by the youth, listening to The Beatles and ACDC. If your parents can
remember the Cold War, the invention of video games, and Ronald Regan, then
they’re probably from this generation.

So, those Generation X-errs paired off, and had… you got it! More children!
Say hello to Generation Y! Your older sibling or maybe even your really young
parents could be part of Generation Y. If they were born between 1982 and 1994,
they belong here. In this generation, technology was on a rise, the birth of the home
computer, everyone owning a TV, and the home gaming system known as
ColecoVision. This is when things started to go all downhill. So, after the yuppies
were done working themselves to the bone, they once again paired off and had
children.

Now, say ‘sup to your generation, Generation Z. Now, as an un-proud

member of this Generation, I have to say that we suck! Yes, we are part of the
Technology Age, but all these fancy machines and TVs have made us inexplicably
stupid. During this generation, which ended only a year ago, we don’t value the
same things that we valued 50 years ago. Remember those Baby Boomers, like
your grandparents? Back in their day, they valued thriftiness, kindness, knowledge,
and just being social!

I might just be yet another teenager in suburbia, planning a revolution, but I

have to say that we Generation Z-errs are failures as a group. I attend a middle
school, and things are all screwed up in there. And when I say screwed up, I mean
almost everybody is missing a few screws.

I have many instances of how stupidity is plaguing today’s youth. Everybody

knows where they live, right? Well, as I previously said, I live in Suburbia, U.S.A.,
and the one day that I say the word “suburbia”, I get many questioning looks from
my peers. Even one person had the nerve to shout “What’s that?” My teacher
sighed, I rolled my eyes, and then said “You live in it,” then I thought “What a
moron, how could you possibly not know what that is? You live in it and see it every
day.”

Another example of Generation Z’s lack of intelligence was shown in science

class. That day, we were discussing continental drift and Pangaea. So, my teacher
was talking about India, and how it collided with Eurasia. She then asked the class
what happened when India ran into Eurasia. Now, I’m a smart person, and knew the
answer, but I was curious to see if anyone else knew the answer.

Alas, no one knew, so my teacher gave another hint, that it was a mountain
range. Again, not a hand went up, and I blurted out “The Himalayas!” Not knowing
that is somewhat acceptable, sad, but somewhat acceptable. But, next, our teacher
asked about the Appalachian Mountains. Again, no one knew what those were but
me. These mountains are in our own country. Why does no body but me know what
these are? Could it just be the school not telling us something, or could it be the
students, themselves?

Another instance of “Sheltered-Suburban-Child-Syndrome” was when one of

my friends was in class, and they were discussing poetry and art. Nobody but my
friend and several other people have heard of some of the greatest artists to have
ever walked this Earth. For starters, poets; No one could name any poets, famous
poets, such as Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, or Edgar Allen Poe. Then, for artists,
everyone knew Leonardo Da Vinci, but all but a few could connect him to more than
the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was so much more than a painter. He was a doctor, a
scientist, an inventor, an architect.

But, let’s not forget other great people who contributed to the Renaissance,
such as Raphael or Michelangelo. The people who didn’t know these important
people are able to drop the name of any celebrity. Who is more important, in
retrospect, Emily Dickinson or Paris Hilton?

Also, one of the most important examples of the reduction of intelligence is

the increased use of cell phones and texting. I have never seen so many children
who can type out a text message faster than they can type a word. I have never
seen such a lack of spelling skills; people ask me how to spell simple words, such as
“was”.

Is this reversal of evolution just natures course, something done wrong by our
parents, or are all of the technological machines in our world influencing our
thinking abilities?