You are the lost generation
Op-ed: Young people stuck because older generation refuses to adapt to changing world
You are the members of a lost generation, not us. Yes you, our parents, the CEOs of the companies we work for and the rest of the people who bemoan our demise. It is we who are apparently not lost, but as is the case with all lengthy processes, we will understand this only in hindsight.
We are not lost because we know the world has changed; that there is no such thing as a job for life; that job stability has been replaced by variety in the job market; and that being connected to technology does not mean to waste away.
Israeli Society
Liat Behr
Op-ed: We want to sustain ourselves, fed up with supporting sector of society that doesn't work
We know there is no point in memorizing information and then regurgitated it on a piece of paper, because this is the digital age. You tell us that we are addicted to social networks and detached from real society; that real flesh and blood people are waiting just outside our doors. But the social networks allow us to come in contact with people from all over the world and give us the ability to learn almost anything, and for free.
You prove that you are the lost generation when you call us spoiled. We are probably the most educated generation that has ever existed here. By the age you completed your bachelor's degrees and had children, we already had to two degrees and a lot of work experience. We work much longer hours than you did at our age, and raising children is much more difficult these days – it is more expensive, and we work more. We are not spoiled or lost, just stuck, because of you.
It is difficult for you to part from what is familiar, but your fear is condemning us to a life of poverty. Your unwillingness to change the economic and social world and adapt to the changes taking place everywhere is our real obstacle. You instill within us a fear that we will have no tomorrow, while you stubbornly cling to the past and refuse to move towards the future. You refuse to stop for a moment and accept the fact that the world has changed and understand that there is no choice but to change the rules of the game which have served you well and brought you affluence and stability. These are the same rules that are the cause of our catatonic state, because they are your rules, but now we are here as well.
I've done all that you have asked of me. I received high scores in high school; I served in a meaningful position in the army; I graduated from university (almost with honors); I've lived in the periphery and in the center; I've had jobs that are suited for students and jobs that are suited for adults with academic degrees - but it is not working. I'm 26 years old and the future that awaits me is too foggy. So what exactly are you accusing us of? We did exactly what you told us to do, and it isn't working. It isn’t working because the "life preparation courses" you gave us were relevant to a way of life that does not exist anymore.
You call us – with both conceit and pity - the "lost generation," but we are not lost. We got stuck in the middle of a global transition period; a period in which you are not letting go of the old and we are stuck in the new, without infrastructures. So before you point a finger at us again and before you instill in us a fear of a collapsing world, check to see who is clinging to rules and frameworks that create social and financial crises and who is preventing this world from advancing.
Lior Har-Tov is originally from a moshav in the south and currently lives in Tel Aviv. She has a degree in communications and journalism from Sapir College is making a career change to QA
