The Myth Of The Easier Past: How Every Era Has Its Own Struggles

Let me guess: You feel stress has compounded manifold in the current times compared to how it was during your growing-up years, and your parents had a much easier time in school and college than you.

I felt it too.

For the longest time I can remember. Till it struck me how I was so sure of something I was not best placed to evaluate.

I was too young to know. Much like my ten-year-old daughter is now.

Her life revolves around her school, friends, fun, and games. She doesn’t know what her parents go through or the pressures of daily existence. She spends her day carefree and cheerful, as she ought to.

So did I at her age. And till much later. My parents would not tell me if anything bothered or worried them. They’d figure it out.

The Fallacy of Comparative Struggles

You speak and hear about how competitive it has become for the present generation and how things were so much simpler during your or your parents’ time.

That’s a fallacy.

Every generation goes through the same degree that holds true for the times they live in. It’s not that you have to struggle much more now, and your parents had it easy. Their struggle was equal, if not more. Just the context has changed.

To use an arithmetic analogy, it is much like a percentage. The calculation is per 100 – that’s the context.

You can argue now that your child needs 95% or more to secure a seat in a top college – and that may have been 85% for you. But that’s not to say that you had it easy.

You struggled just as much in your time as your child does now. What has changed is the context, a.k.a, environment, or the prevailing times. That’s the cent or 100 I mentioned earlier. Your challenges were relative to the prevailing times then, as is your child’s to the environment now.

Scoring a century in a One-Day International cricket match was huge when I was a teenager. Now we hear of double centuries in the same format. In a T20 match (that’s 30 overs less), you hear of a batsman scoring 100 or more.

The format has changed. Along with it, the way we approach the game has changed too. We adapt to the times we live in. It does not mean it’s tough now or it was easy earlier. It is what you’re exposed to – the environment you are part of.

You could argue conversely about how easy it is for the present generation to find out or learn anything. A simple Google search can reveal what would take much time and effort 25 years ago. Now, you can learn just about anything on YouTube. All you need is a device – a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Yes, it is much easier now for your child to learn and grow. But then, so is the case for all other children who can access the same devices and Internet connectivity. It continues to be a very competitive environment, as it was earlier. Just that the universe has changed.

Our children know much more at an earlier age than we did. But that’s how the times are. It does not make it tough or easy. The present generation imbibes information and knowledge earlier because they are exposed to so much more.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that the earlier times were free of stress or that the current competitive environment is much tougher. Every generation faces its own unique challenges. When the times change, so do the challenges.

Why make assumptions or pass judgments on now versus then? Just adapt to the times and thrive.