Simon Sinek , a favourite author of mine said that in one of the youtube that today's millennials suffer from lack of self esteem, living in a technologically advanced society, incorrect parenting values and the environment. If they are the only child, they were told from young that they were special and they can get anything they want. That remains true until they step into the real working world where they painfully discovered they are not that special and they cannot get everything they want. They want to make an impact but they are impatient. He gave the analogy of climbing a mountain and said that at 800 feet these young climbers are giving up because they could not make an impact. What the failed to see is climbing the mountain is a journey of ups and downs , not one that can be easily scaled in hours.
They also lived in a fast paced technological world filled with instant gratification like the likes they get from Facebook, instagram and etc. They are addicted to a device and they lack the social skills to make meaningful relationship with people. He gave the example of texting on the phone even in meetings and fail to make eye to eye contact with people in the office, thereby decreasing the bond and trust within each other.
I too feel the effect of this addiction where I have to check something, read something on the Laptop for fear of missing out something. But I don't really if I just let it be for a day or two. The world is still pretty much the same. Trend takes a long time to form and we need not be so edgy about it , obsessed to the point of checking it every now and then and sacrificing the all important people skills that we sorely lack.
What happens to picking up the phone and talk for 5 minutes with your friends instead of texting? I remembered that was what we do in the 80's to 90's but suddenly with the mobile phone penetration, all these have changed. What happened?
I believe if one is living in a remote village where it is not so advanced, where material things are less taken seriously, you would not see many using the phone and they have to travel by foot or motor cycle to go from one village to another to catch up with each other. This inconvenience is what we pay for now in the form of convenience where we are so closed to one another virtually that we can contact anyone in the world. Is this good or bad ? I think it depends on the context.