Recently, a blogger asked what New Year's gift to buy for his eight-year-old niece. Most of us in the group were at a loss and gave some unreliable answers like "buy a server". I forwarded this question to my classmates and teachers, but most of them couldn't come up with a definite answer. This shows that we lack understanding of the interests and hobbies of different generations. It's like there is a wall between us, and if we don't observe each other closely, we don't even know what the other person is doing.
Mr. Wu Guangzhang pointed out in his article "On the Generation Gap" that the generation gap is a gap in value recognition between two generations. With the rapid economic development and progress in productivity, there has been a significant improvement in the material standard of living. The problem of "generation gap" has become increasingly apparent and common. People not only need to satisfy their basic needs, but also pursue spiritual self-realization and liberation. When people seek spiritual liberation, they may conflict with existing conservative and stubborn old things. Middle-aged people believe that the existing system is their guarantee of survival, and if the existing system is threatened, they will defend it to the death. On the other hand, young people believe that the existing system is their obstacle and they want to overthrow it. This confrontation between young people and middle-aged people within the system is the intergenerational conflict. Intergenerational conflict is a kind of internal friction in society, which hinders the process of modernization. Intergenerational conflict is also very common. Mr. Zhou Yi said in his article "Generational Gap Theory: An Attempt to Bridge Intergenerational Opposition": "Almost any major social conflict is to some extent manifested as intergenerational conflict, or at least has the color of intergenerational conflict."
Intergenerational conflict is the extreme manifestation of the generation gap, and the conflicts and gaps between parents and children in the family are the most common manifestation of the generation gap. I have heard similar statements on TV, such as "Don't force your child to be what you want them to be." When I had conflicts with my parents, I also heard phrases like "You're becoming more disobedient as you grow older." In my opinion at that time, my parents couldn't understand my thoughts, psychology, and interests. They couldn't keep up with the trends and didn't understand the vocabulary we used. I felt pressured when communicating with my parents, and it often felt like talking to a brick wall. The conflict between me and my parents reached a point where I just said, "Do whatever you want." In the short film "Bao Baobao," this kind of conflict between parents and children is vividly portrayed. Parents want to hold their children tightly, but the children want to have their own little world.
The generation gap is an objectively existing social phenomenon. In my opinion, the way to narrow the generation gap is for both sides to have contact with each other, learn from each other, and recognize each other. I sent the initial question to my elementary school teacher, and she quickly told me in detail what is currently popular among girls of this age. Just as investigations need to delve into the subjects being investigated, narrowing the generation gap requires frequent contact with different generations.
There are some community organizations where young volunteers teach the elderly how to use smartphones, helping them bridge the digital divide. On a video website mainly targeted at young people, a video creator invited his 70-year-old grandfather to play games, and after a while, the grandfather fit in perfectly with the young people. Netizens praised the grandfather as "stylish" and "young." Zhou Xiaohong vividly referred to this phenomenon as "cultural nourishment," where the older generation learns from the younger generation.
In recent years, with the help of his children, my grandfather has started using a smartphone and often has video calls with my mother. They have a great time chatting and the atmosphere is very harmonious. Narrowing or even eliminating the generation gap is a two-way effort. Only through mutual learning, understanding, and tolerance between the older and younger generations can we better solve the social problems in our country and promote the process of modernization.