I think Mark Twain would be disappointed. This generation should be called the second gilded age for its lack of authenticity, originality and dependency on material items. Today is glittered or gilded with messages of material wealth backed by the public constant purchase of these fake cultural items to identify themselves with a certain group or class. The main driving force behind this new generation agent of socialization is rapidly becoming the television. The norms and values of society are vigorously molding into what society is producing on the television screen. The constant bombardment of advertisements focused on the individual to purchase merchandise creates a value emphasizing on the individual, selfishness, and materialistic success which damages our traditional sense of meritocracy.
Today’s values cuts the middle man out or gets rid of the hard work and achievement out of success, and immediately claims rewards and benefits. To compound to this, the average American child is beginning to listen to the television more than his or her parents, so rather serving as a place to escape suffering and relieve pain like in the past generations television has transform into a bad nanny that the American child is raised on, thus this child feeds on materialistic objects and thrill seeking adventures to mimic there idol or guardian on the screen. This “television movement” inevitably has shaped me in ways that I will never calculate. It honed my strong idea of individualism and an eventual independence from my mom and dad. It also perhaps enhanced my idea of adventure be exposing me to countless foreign scenes on a screen, and thousands of messages to explore the world and to be daring. And most of all it challenged myself and allowed for a self destructive attitude towards my views and body; persistently questioning why I wasn’t purchasing the latest gadgets and outfits. In essence a screen can question the core of what is underneath that t-shirt. I must admit I am a strong product of this generation.
I, too, am a product of the television generation and I possess all of those qualities strongly except the need to buy the latest gadgets. I feel I need it when it's on the TV, but when it's off the screen the need fades away and I realize that it was just the advertisement creating that craving. Other than that though... I feel a strong sense of independence from my parents, a strong sense of adventure and willingness to explore the world and I used to have a self-destructive view of my body, although I've learned how to enjoy my body and eat right. I liked your post, it was kind of scary because I've never connected those qualities in myself to the television.
i feel as though television was the first of many inventions of its kind. television prevented people from interacting with one another and replaced it with a person watching people interact (this is why I do not understand talk shows at all - why would you watch someone talk when you can just go have your own conversation). Since then internet and social networking sites, has further removed the importance of the person-to-person aspect of our lives. this has indeed impacted our generation as we find that communicating via email, texting, or through watching television programs is often preferable than communicating by person.