Stress knows no age

We carried an opinion piece last week (Those Varsity Blues) that talks about how the world is so much more competitive for the younger generation than it used to be.

It got me to thinking (yes, ouch!). In many ways life is much more competitive and stressful for the younger generation because we expect so much more from them at a younger age.
This however is not exclusive to the younger generation. The world is a more competitive place as a whole and that means that stress levels are up across the board. There seem to be fewer and fewer jobs to be had and more and more competition for every opening. Whereas in our parents’ generation, in many cases, experience was worth more than a college degree, these days you practically need PhD to become a shopkeeper. God forbid you should lose your job because back in their day they were a dime a dozen, these days there are 20+ people for every job going and each candidate is younger and more highly educated than the last.
While expectations are higher for our younger generations these days, achieving them are easier than when our parents were growing. With ever evolving technology, better education and job opportunities are only a mouse click away.
In fact, opportunities of all kinds have never been more available. Celebrity status can be gained by anyone with the least amount of talent, fortunes can earned in garages by anyone with a good Internet idea and success is measured by the shortest of rules.
When our parents were growing up satisfaction came is smaller packages and because less was available, less was required. These days nothing ever seems to be good enough. The more we give our young the more they want. This is an age of bigger, better, faster, younger and satisfaction is a four letter word.
There is a real possibility that as generations progress, the demands of the young with be greater than even evolving times can provide. When that day comes, anarchy will reign and those old enough to remember will long for the lazy simple days of years gone by.