Current Vs Previous Generation..who Had It Better?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by anika987, Mar 2, 2019.

  1. anika987

    anika987 IL Hall of Fame

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    I clearly remember telling my mom(when I was 15 to 16 years) as to how lucky I was to in this (80’s kid) generation.My mom told me that she had more fun than what we had...
    I never understood.:)


    Now with the rise of money,technology..I am now my mom saying that we had it better than this generation:)

    I could see a rise in the stress level,peer pressure,lack of relationships,organized playtimes, rise in obesity,status conscious.

    In fact on a note..I had gone to a doctor for treatment for hair grey back in India on my last trip.He bluntly laughed at me as said”Madam,you are in your late thirties and worried about hair grey?kids as young as 11 has lot of grey hair”.

    I remember my grandma had very less greying around 75!! Well that could be
    An exclusion.

    Nowadays,people including me are happy getting ORGANIC products but the sad thing is...those days food was naturally organic!! Now we have to pay so much for getting organic products.

    People are happy about getting kids through fertility treatments and saying medical field has improved.I too got my kid through fertility treatment BUT how many people went through these kind of treatments before?kids happened naturally.So is this something we should actually think about..


    So many western foods in India and it became a Status symbol to eat those foods.Our traditional foods are so healthy and eating out other foods once in a while is fine but in our country ..step out and there is zillion restaurants and so many temptations.

    In a hot country like India..personally I feel one should wear more of cottons
    Or dresses,palazzos or skirts rather than jeans.It has been linked to infertility.

    With so much improvements with products and technology..why has our lifestyles detoriated?? Scared it might get worse.


    The above is my opinion.I feel those days were much better.
    What are your thoughts? Do you feel these days life is better?
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2019
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  2. iyerviji

    iyerviji Finest Post Winner

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    Previous generation were much better. They were not much educated like now,had financial problems but they were happy in life. They lived in joint family and adjusted with each other.

    In present times everyone has money all the facilities but have so much tension regarding their job , children etc. They have to face many challenges in life.
     
  3. anika987

    anika987 IL Hall of Fame

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    Well said vijima! True that
     
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  4. Ammu2886

    Ammu2886 Gold IL'ite

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    This is what I feel.

    Previous Generation had much time for family ,kids and everyone

    Wife and Husband had so much to talk because there were No mobiles in-between.
    Every happiness and sadness stories were shared face to face.These days though we talk concentration is always on mobile.I wonder what they hear or act as though they hear..In fact we spend less time with each other.Before women used to handle House work and Children.Now they work,take care of everything,including buying groceries,pay bills,bank works run all around.A always occupied.
    Now both earn,get more money but no peace of mind!!!

    When it comes to kids,we all grew up playing outdoor games. Kids are habituated to mobile phones .
    I remember my KG teacher playing rhymes on Fridays on Tape recorder. NOW before kids turn 1 they know to swipe mobiles.

    Our grand parents were healthy because of the food they had.All healthy food and they were even active at old age.
     
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  5. anika987

    anika987 IL Hall of Fame

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    Very well said points!

    No face to face interactions and then loneliness

    Too much stress and lot of money but same time too much stress and unhealthy


    Nothing like before..
     
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  6. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks @anika987 for this thread.
    I was thinking along the same line, yet on a different matter....

    I think we were the most luckiest in terms of everything in a right balance to enjoy life like this.
    And i want my kids to have the similar life if not better.

    This is one of the reason for us to settle in Sri Lanka (home) despite of having a dual citizenship (other is Canadian).

    Any life that happens naturally and spontaneously is the better life, JMO.

    To be honest, I hate this indoor generation. Luckily we are far away from that tragedy.

    Kids need to play, make friends, spend quality time with family- including extended family, and they should have the knowledge and awareness about their roots.
    It is important that they feel special at everyplace. No discrimination on the face of race or religion.
    And more importantly, they should be able to speak and think in their native language.
    This can happen if they live at their home country. JMO

    These kids are lucky that they enjoy the best of both worlds by having the luxury of technology, metro cities and flying around the world.
    They have good education and health care too unlike our previous generation.

    On the other hand, adults after a certain age needs peaceful life. We are not wired to live in retirement homes under social care.

    Here at home, I witness many parents live with their children, yet having complete financial independence.
    This make a lot of difference than the traditional dependent life of our elders.
    You get to enjoy the warmth of having your loved ones nearby, at the same time you also have your fullest independence. Isn't it great?
    We will be the first generation to have them both here.

    All these should happen naturally and spontaneously for everyone's physical and emotional wellbeing.

    And, this will play a major role on determining our health and life style down the line.

    Apart from certain metros, almost all the cities (small or big) have decent lifestyle, where kids and adults could enjoy all the above in our part of the world. Less pollution, and no mechanical life.

    We cook 3 hot meals, and we have domestic helps around. Yet, we enjoy the warmth of having a salaried job with pride.

    We live our independent life at our own home, away from dramatic extended family, yet we are just one phone call away from each other at times of necessity.

    Despite of insurance benefits and quality health packages, we could ensure healthy long life by living naturally.

    We can't compare the lifestyle of ours or kids with that of those who live in abroad due to the above reasons.

    To each their own. But for me, life here is amazing and i truly enjoy how it happens for us now.
     
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  7. anika987

    anika987 IL Hall of Fame

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    This is not about India or America.
    It is about lifestyle in general!

    Honestly,stress levels have increased a lot in India despite being in home country even after being among family and friends. Lot of infertility centers, junk foods,status conscious etc etc are also a lot at our home country too.

    Here I have my family and friends nearby and living in a densely populated Indian state in the USA we get to enjoy a lot of benefits too and it makes no difference.

    This is not about lifestyles for people abroad or India.


    The question is Generally all over the world be it health, Be it stress etc have increased and decreased despite all technologies and improvements.. how can one control it and find a balance?
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2019
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  8. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    Yup, I do understand your question. Yet my answer remains the same.

    Stress level, health, happiness, emotional and physical well-being, pollution, facilities etc etc are major factors in determining one's life style.

    We compare it based on how happy, healthy and successful a person in his/her life.

    Our parents had a poor lifestyle here compared to the richness their American counterparts.
    Though they may claim that they had enjoyed it, there were lots of hurdles for them to survive. Success was definitely a question back then for women.

    Compared to them we had it easy in our times. We had the best of both worlds.
    And honestly our American counterparts did not have it all good either.

    Sunder pichchai, Indrani Nooyi and all the successful people like you and me have spent our childhood in our natives, and that helped us to excellent in our lives more successfully.
    While our fellow American's either remained as same as their elders or worsened both emotionally and socially, we as a nation developed and climbed on the ladder by preserving our traditions.

    I bet you, our kids would be having it better in our home than they would in the west.
    It depends on various factors though.

    But if happiness, health and success is the scale, I think it is important to consider our place of living than blindly comparing the generations
     
  9. anika987

    anika987 IL Hall of Fame

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    As an example,Yoga is a big thing in America.Anericans like to follow Indian culture which is great but the thing is we are exchange the wealth of India giving back western Fads. Maids are not a luxury but a necessity.One day if people don’t clean the home Back in India ..it’s gets dirty but not the same here.

    Without help,women here can go for work,gym,manage kids,vacation,night outs etc etc and even drive back alone at 2 am in the morning.This does not mean we have no other go but shows even without help one can manage here.It could get tough but it’s not the same like running behind the maids to get work done,some days she will come and some won’t and if one day she does not come..it’s the end of the world for many.

    Private life,good spacious homes,good cars ,good schools are affordable here for a person who comes from a basic middle class society.The list is endless.

    Life is different for each and every induvidual according to their situations and just coz one is in their home country does not mean they are super happy and people abroad are always unhappy.

    Tomorrow if someone or the current generation gets visa to come abroad how many are always going to refuse?people will still want to come atleast for on-site.


    Life is the same more or less here and there but better infrastructure and standard of living is affordable for many than just for certain sect of the population.

    I enjoy my vacations in India and would love to go and get settled there but I am liking the kind of life am living here generally (which is a whole other topic) and hence scared to take the plunge.same with many of our peers.

    If Home is always the best...none will stay back and no one will ever step foot out.The amount of nri’s are still on the rise.people go back yes..but many do return back.It also happens.


    Anyways,digressed a lot ha ha...


    The fact is Be it India or anywhere else stress levels coz of education,peer pressure ,status conscious etc etc has
    Increased a lot everywhere.Obesity,infertility rates Are peaking.

    Wealth maybe more but health has detoriated.Spending time as families have generally decreased.Basic things like that is what am talking about..

    We use quality brands but still many have more skin problems,so many hair products still not happy,relationship problems..these are the things I wanna talk about.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2019
  10. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    Yup, digressed a lot. Sorry...
    But let me state my POV more clearly this time.

    What is quality life style?
    Is it wealth? Affordability? Health? Independence? Or what?
    The scale can vary as per person to person.

    But for me, just for me (and for those who like me- I mean the ones who could afford a wealthy life here at home too) is happiness, success and good physical and emotional health is what a quality life style means.

    And i feel it here at home than anywhere else.

    And it is not a debate about India Vs America life.
    It is about what a person wants in life to feel happy and live successful.
    In my case, I feel this natural environment with all my near and dear ones around, and this independent life style is what i cherish the most.
    That's what the reason why i think "my times" is the best time ever.
    And i want the same for my kids too.
    And it doesn't mean we don't travel outside. In fact, more than average Americans we travel a lot across the countries and that adds more value to this life style.

    Again... I am not talking about everyone. Its about me.

    As well, I have no idea about how India works.
    I don't know whether it is polluted or the quality of water and food there. It is a huge country and even the weather in India is not same everywhere.

    I only talk about my small Paradise of today.
    The weather, the lifestyle, the environment, the rich culture, familial bond, spicy food, free education, free health care and blah blah blah is what i cherish. And here, maids are only luxurious, not at all a necessity.
    And we can afford one when needed, not necessarily we have one all the time. Our home is still very clean.

    We too had a lot of people migrating to the west in the past. Because we had a brutal war before.
    That pushed people away from this country as it was not safe or luxurious back then. In fact my parents have moved to Canada when we were too young in late 80s seeking asylum.

    But after the war, the amount of people wanting to migrate has drastically decreased. Even people who have left the country in the past are coming back to home with lots of money to invest here.
    And that tells a different story, right?

    Just for clarity sake Anika. Sorry for the digressions.
     

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