“Me, me, me!”

One of the most important foundations in a society is the common set of ethical rules and laws which every individual must acknowledge and abide by. Every new generation brings with it a new perspective on the current state of the society and they must all try to adhere to their own interests while trying to meet the demands and expectations of their social environment. The gap between the philosophies of the younger and older generations have grown in recent years as a result of the technological evolution and the social possibilities that it has brought along with it. As a result, the generational differences have widened. Not only socially but also philosophically.

The hippie movements of the 70’s marked the beginning of what some are calling the first “Me-Generation”; a generation of people prioritizing individual happiness and prosperity while often ignoring the welfare of other citizens. It popularized the use of Eastern and Asian medicine and more people seemed to become more aware of the state of not only their physical health, but also their spiritual and emotional health. As a consequence, a new wave of egotism swept the Western nations as people became convinced that one has to believe oneself in order to become an achiever in the truest capitalist sense of the word.

Every following generation seems to have spun further down this track, leading to a new, more ego-centered “Me-Generation” than the preceding one. It is obvious that today’s culture is obsessed with the maximization of individual self-esteem which, in turn, has led the current generation to become the most self-centered one yet. How is this a bad thing, you might ask? Paradoxically enough, I am convinced that our egotism will become the death of us, as we are constantly convinced that we are unhappy. The goal of every parent is to make sure that their child is confident, naturally so, but what has happened is that every new generation is more infatuated with themselves than the previous ever had the chance to become.

Our children are seldom allowed to experience defeat. Afraid of what consequences the confrontation with reality might have on our children, we won’t let anyone stand out from the rest. Ever attended a child contest? Everyone is a winner, no one is a loser. These children, growing up with a false sense of self-esteem as a result of always believing that what they do will be more than enough to get through life’s hardships, will face reality in the harshest way possible. They will fall into depression and self-doubt as they have no clue as to how to approach the world they’ve been plunged into when their nations decided that they were old enough to take care of themselves.

The ideology of the “Me-Generation” has left a devastating mark on the Western culture. Not only do we not properly prepare our children for the only lives they are given, we ourselves live in constant unhappiness since we never will experience the social anarchy and self-perpetuation. Never before has self-help books and seminars had such a big audience; we have been disillusioned into believing that there is something wrong with us as we do not seem to cope with our social surroundings. Always in search of something more, never realizing our true potential (or lack of it), we are proof of one of the greatest paradoxes of all time; how the most prosperous society can foster the unhappiest people.