Gotham Gal: What's up with this Generation?

Tonight, as we were sitting around the dinner table, Jessica mentioned that kids take a particular drug to take the SAT's. She couldn't remember but it is something that makes you focus. My reaction was pretty quick. "What's up with that"?

Then we started to talk. Why is this generation so crazed? Is it this generation of parents? Their desire to make sure their kids succeed? Have they created the insanity of making sure that their kids have everything they wanted but weren't able to get? Not sure. But, taking drugs to make sure you focus on your SAT's seem a bit crazy to me.

Jessica seems to think a little bit of the insanity is from the Internet. The constant communication. The 24/7 world. The world is now flat. Facebook. Blogs. Everything coming at you all the time, anytime, when you want it.

Are we becoming gerbils on a wheel? I see Fred's world. Web 1.0, one month equals 1 day. Web 2.0, one month equals a morning. Everybody wants a part of the Internet. The world is hurling toward us with a click of a finger.

I do find it amazing how this Facebook Generation is growing up. When I was running sales in a start-up in the 90's, I had over 150 emails a day and was on the phone for 8 hours straight. Seems like nothing compared to now. Forget the phone part but the Facebook Generation is doing just as much on their computer connecting with the world nightly.

Kids who do video games brains are growing in a certain direction. Good or bad? Kids on the Facebook are learning an interesting set of skills for their future. What are those skills?

I'd like to shout to the world that everybody should take a breath of air and enjoy the moment but this is just a different world than I grew up in. I am on top of the technology world just as much as anybody but watching my kids and the insanity of getting into colleges, taking the SAT's and the stress of getting ahead in life almost takes your breath away. You don't want to take a back seat because nobody else is but you do because your kids want to and have to compete in the world that they live in.

Taking drugs to make sure you can focus on the SAT's? There is something there that has definitely crossed the line. Personally, that scares the shit out of me.

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What's up with this Generation?

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