How much freedom did your generation have as a child?
By Austin McGee
My generation gets many things thrown at them. From schoolwork, spare time, and the vast world of the Internet, I, as a teen, am trusted to manage all of these things, and not take advantage of them. I was given the freedom, at a very early age, to control most aspects of my life. I have the online community at my disposal every day. I can say anything, to anyone, at any time. I can access things that are all the way across the world with just the press of a button. There are pictures, videos, and websites of almost any topic you can think of. I can learn very interesting and important things just from going online. Chat rooms and video calls give my generation the ability to see and hear anyone. Texting allows me to get together with friends quicker and easier. Most teens are even granted a smartphone, which allows all of this at our disposal on the go.
With all of these things, there came a price. At school, the nation expects so much from my friends and I. Especially since I am placed in an advanced class. With the freedom to access any information online, my generation is expected to work like a machine, making no errors and constantly producing flawless, in depth work. My generation is constantly getting information slammed into our heads, with no stop to take a breather. But, outside of school, we are free to do whatever we want, when we want.
My generation can do anything but fly. We can know anything we want, see anything we want to see, and virtually go anywhere we want to go. Our parents just stand back and watch the magic happen. With the freedom to know anything, and do anything, we are expected to be superhuman, and be able to turn anything into gold. So we definitely have lots of freedom. Maybe even too much to handle.
By Ms. Creef
In many aspects, my generation had a lot of freedom as children. In the afternoons or the weekends, we would play outside until the sun went down. That was the rule, be home before it gets dark. We would play in the park, woods, neighborhood, or someone’s house. It was not unusual to see children walking or riding down the street alone. We were free to explore, create, play, and roam. That is not something we would be able to do now. Communities were safer. Communities were an extension of the family. I knew I was being watched by my parents, and everyone in the neighborhood. If I needed something, I knew I could go anyone’s house and get help. If I did something wrong, I knew any of my neighbors or friend’s parents would give me a consequence and tell my parents. This sense of community allowed us to have more freedom. We were safe because we were cared for everywhere we went.
With all of the freedom I was given outside, I was given very little freedom with technology in the home. Technology was something new to our generation. I was in the third grade when we get our first VCR. I was not allowed to watch it alone and only for short amounts of time unless we were watching a family movie. Nickelodeon, VH1 and MTV were new to television. I was not allowed to watch any of the programs on those channels. When we got our first answering machine, I was not allowed to use it. We did not have call waiting, so calls had to be limited to no longer than fifteen minutes at a time. My first ‘digital’ phone (digital meant it was a push button phone, not a dial), was in my room but I could not answer it. When we purchased our first computer, I was in middle school. I was not allowed to use the computer without a parent. I was given no freedom with technology and all the freedom you could imagine outside.
My generation was given more freedom outside than in our homes with technology. Our outside environment was safer because we lived in a community. Everyone looked out for each other. Technology was new and unsafe. There was freedom in numbers, no freedom in the fast and ever changing technology world.
