I was born in 1978 (BIG party this October). I grew up in the 80’s… officially became an adult in the 90’s… and continue to do adult(ish) things in the 2000’s. Gather ‘round fellow folks of this fine generation. I coined a name for us.
“Betweeners.”
Our time in history has positioned us between two very real realities — We were once kids in a world without oodles of technology… now raising kids in a world with OODLES of technology.
It’s a tricky fence to straddle.
Neither reality is necessarily better or more affording than the other. Just different. Very, very different. And I truly believe Betweeners do our darnedest to assign value to both sides. We open-mindedly acclimate to today’s advancements while attempting to resuscitate the simplicities of yesterday.
As a child, I climbed trees. I played tennis against our garage door and wiffle ball against our neighborhood pals. I raced my banana seat bike around the block. I picked lilacs, penny-dropped off the monkey bars, hiked in the woods, and played, played, played until my dad’s exceptionally loud whistle summoned me home.
All without a cell phone in my back pocket.
There were Homecoming dances, slumber parties, softball tournaments, talent shows, family vacations, track meets, holiday gatherings, field trips, graduations, and summers at our neighborhood pool.
Not one single selfie was snapped.
Betweeners enjoyed the authenticity of undistracted childhoods. Wherever we were, whatever we did, whoever we were with… we were fully there. Our eyes were not in a constant state of looking down. There were no status updates. Our memories were captured on rolls of film (fingers crossed for doubles). And get this. We communicated by talking — not with fast-moving thumbs, but with our mouths (or intricately-folded, handwritten notes).
Sure. We may have had Walkmans, Game Boys, walkie-talkies, Tamagotchis, and TI-95’s. But c’mon. They were playthings, not a way of life.
I was alive for two whole decades and then…
I sent my first email in college; I got my first cell phone when I was twenty-three; and I joined the world of social media at the age of thirty.
The girl who once lived contently without these things… now cannot fathom living void of them. Isn’t it paradoxical?!
Technology. Smart devices. The Cloud. They are all here to stay, and their worth is insurmountable. We literally have the world at our fingertips — instant connection, instant answers, instant resources, instant gratification. It’s pretty remarkable when you really think about it.
Yet the Betweener in me tries to remain cognizant of my screen time. I don’t want my children to fly the coop feeling like my iPhone was the favorite child. (Of course I just typed that sentence ten feet away from my kids playing sans mommy. Sigh. I’m a work in progress, people.)
The truth is…
Our smart phones accompany us just about everywhere, and we use them for just about everything. Have you ever left home without it? Uh-huh, panic in the streets! We have developed a paralyzing reliance on a 5.5 x 2.5 inch device. It’s bananas.
Nonetheless, this digital revolution doesn’t have to be the bane of our existence.
Betweeners, here’s where we come in.
With whatever time we have remaining on this planet, let us be voices of reason. Let us find a balance between yesterday (the way we knew it) and today, and let us imprint the best of both worlds into the next generation. Let us be active participants in our children’s lives. Let us institute sensible restrictions. Let us gather around our dinner tables without our gadgets, and let us transport our precious cargo without texting and driving. Let us model the art of powering down and looking up. Let us be smart with our smart phones. (And let us encourage our youth to become ophthalmologists or chiropractors… ‘cause our eyes and necks are sure gonna need ‘em.)
Betweeners. Yep, that’s us.
Actually, I reckon this nickname suits every generation. We all belong to a designated time in history, living with ABC or without XYZ, making us a bit different from those before and after us.
So whether you’re a kid of the 80’s or the 50’s or the 2010’s… make the most of your place in the middle.
XOXO. TTYL.