To my mind generation gap is rather reality than a psychological prejudice. It has always been a topical problem and it still remains urgent nowadays.
So what does a generation gap mean? It is a popular term used to describe big differences between people of a younger generation and their elders. This can be defined as occurring 'when older and younger people do not understand each other because of their different experiences, opinions, habits and behavior'. Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, during this era differences between the two generations grew significantly in comparison to previous times, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, drug use, culture and politics.
Nowadays you will hardly find a boy or a girl satisfied with their parents. Neither will you find a grown-up, a parent not grumbling over 'younger generation' of their children. Pop music, ultra-modern clothes, noisy parties and children's wish to have more freedom become a stumbling-block on the way of mutual understanding between adults and their offspring and help foster differences between parents and teenagers. So it seems that in most families parents don't understand their children and children don't understand their parents.
According to the older generation teenagers are lazy, carefree, ungrateful, impolite and rude. They wear ridiculous clothes, listen to awful music and all they think about is parties, dates, friends and entertainment. Teenagers have very little responsibility and very few problems. But is it really so? If we look inside the mind of a teenager, we will see a very different picture. Teenagers are greatly worried about a great number of things: their appearance, relations with friends, parents and teachers, the way other people (especially their peers) treat them. They suffer from pimples, bullies, problems at school, misunderstanding with their boyfriend/girlfriend, lack of self-confidence, etc. Teenagers often don't know what they are good at and their future seems to be rather vague. Every day they face a lot of stressful situations and feel depressed. Besides they have constant pressure from betters and elders as to how they should act, behave, look and feel.
There are a lot of books and films devoted to the problem of the generation gap. One of such films is 'Freaky Friday' (2003). The wide generation gap between Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) is more than evident. They simply cannot understand each other's preferences. They have absolutely different views on clothes, hair, music, duties and even people. On a Friday morning the mother and the daughter switch bodies. As they adjust with their new personalities, they begin to understand each other more and eventually they gain respect for the other's point of view. It is 'selfless love' that changes them back.
But of course there is no magic in real life, that's why there should be some other way to bridge the gap between parents and their children. To my mind communication is the best way to solve the problem. The more time adults and children spend together, the more they talk and discuss different things the better they understand each other. It is very important to be selfless and open-minded, patient and sincere. Despite the great changes in the electronic and technological environment in the last several decades, a defined gap does not separate today's generations as it did in the sixties and seventies. So the 'generation gap' can disappear. If we are a little wiser, children will find a key to the heart of their parents and vice versa.
