Modern society, with a fast development of technology, modernized ways of raising our children and, above all, rapidly expanding global communication, is taking us in new directions. These new directions are appreciated by many but they're also a source of concern. Is the world becoming a better place for everyone, or are we simply creating more problems that will affect future generations?

The mobility of our society is convenient in theory. We have quick access to most things we need, cell phones make sure friends and family are close by and people are always within close reach. However, this also results in the loss of friendships and relations as we used to know them. Once we're done, contact is broken. We're gradually losing our grip on reality and fade into a false sense of management. But in reality, do we really cope better with all these modern assets?

Many look at it this way: the structure of our community is changing and thus we need to adapt. This is not the case, however. We are the ones changing and thus the community needs to keep up. This causes problems that we might not see at first, but which will affect generations to come. We think of ourselves as convenient, productive and efficient but we forget about the essentials in life.

Stress is an increasing factor and research hint that this is due to the increasing pressure of being efficient. We develop new ways of dealing with things and we strive to be faster and more competent with each step. Unfortunately, the change that the world is going through, shaping our community, is too fast for many, and eventually it will catch up with most people.

So why is it that we make us feel the need of being more effective? It's in the human nature to constantly aim for improvement and while this in most cases is a good thing, the picture as a whole is changing too rapidly.

So are we creating a complacent generation? Our children, who grow up in this world, will have learned how to cope with and even rely on what's considered to be modern, and after all, things have changed from generation to generation since the dawn of mankind. It's important to remember, though, that with each change people will still strive for improvement.

Older generations might think we're stepping away from a complacent world while younger generations see the changes as a step forward. And in a hundred years, the situation will be the same, as there are still ways to improve ourselves and our community. So no, we're not creating a complacent generation, at least not one that is, or will be, more complacent than generations of the past.

Learn more about this author, Johan Dahlberg.
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