Don’t be daunted by generational gaps

Don’t be daunted by the generational gaps.

This is the advice that Senator Andre Worrell sent out to the young people as delivered the feature address at the Charity Awards Dinner of the United Youth Leaders of Barbados (UYLB) to mark their 10 year anniversary on Saturday night at Almond Bay Caterers.

He stated that those generational gaps would always exist and when they are older, they may have a different perspective on things, where they may not necessarily agree with everything that the young people are saying and doing.

“It is called the generational gap. You would always have those generational gaps. You would never see eye to eye with your parents. Ten years from now, you will distance yourself from young people because you may think that you may not necessarily agree with what they are doing and the way that they are thinking.”

“Therefore, while they may not always agree with what the older generation thinks and does and likewise, the older generation would not always agree with what they are saying and doing and while there would also be times when you as young people may feel that the older generation is not listening to you and/or trying to see your point of view, rather than be daunted by this, you must recognize it for what it is and take the necessary steps to fix it.”

“I know that it will always be said that being a youth, no one listens, you would always have your struggles or that you are not necessarily getting support. That would always be said…There would always be a constant struggle among young people for recognition, but does not mean that you ought to be daunted. It just means that you need to grasp that struggle within your hands and recognize that you have the ability to overcome that struggle.”

He suggested that one of the ways that they could aim to bridge these generational gaps is to take to social media.

“So there would constantly be generational gaps, but that does not mean that you ought to be daunted. It just means that we need to overcome the barriers and work through the situation through communication, focusing on what your goals are. Identify your goals and try desperately to get that message out.”

This is because the youth are the ones that control social media, said the Senator.

“You control the technology. Young people know more about technology than the older people. So right now social media is in your hands. Use it wisely and promote the positive things that you are doing and not necessarily the negativity among young people and where you see negativity, you speak out about it and try to correct it and point it in a better direction.”