We thought it would be interesting to mix things up a bit and talk about the experiences of the Traditionalists, the Boomers and Generation X. A lot of time is spent dissecting the methods, communication styles and habits of Millennials and Generation Z, so we thought a trip down memory lane would serve us well and might even be interesting to the younger among us. Now, we certainly don’t want to be “that guy” - you know the one we’re talking about: the old guy, rocking back on his heels, thumbs in suspenders harkening back to ‘the good ole days,’ bemoaning how easy the young folks have it and reminding us about how ‘when he was young, life was so hard, walking to school, uphill – both ways – in a snowstorm, alone’. Nor do we want to begrudge all of the miraculous advances in technology which have most definitely made all of our lives easier, more accessible and expedient.
We do, however, wish to honor and highlight some of the experiences these 3 more senior generations had, how enriching some of their practices were in their lives, and how engaging it would be to draw from memorializing some of them recalling a simpler, slower time - a time when we actually made time to be present, largely due to the lack of interruptions we sometimes struggle with each and every day in these more modern times.
Back in the day…….(no, sorry, just kidding!)
Imagine: a time when you had to be at your home or office to receive a phone call AND you had to stay within 2 feet of it because of a phone cord. When you called someone who was already talking to someone else, you got a busy signal and had to wait to try them back until they were finished talking, potentially for hours. A time when penmanship was too important not to master because if the reader couldn’t understand your writing, you would fail to communicate your thoughts. A time when you were unable to delete a written word mistakenly misspelled with no ‘spell check’ and no internet to look up how to correctly spell it. A time when you had to wait 7 days for your thoughts to be read. A time when meals were meant to gather together, share the experiences of the day, discuss stories you read in the morning and evening newspapers that you picked up at the local gas station or bus stop. A time when having to cook 3 meals a day was what we did and had to schedule the time to do so. A time when you changed from your ‘day clothes’ and dressed for cocktail hour and dinner. A time when plans to meet someone were sacred and fixed; you had to know where you were going (and if not, know how to read a map) and how long it would take to get there to show up on time. If you were late or got the location wrong, you had to go home, call to apologize and hope that the person you were supposed to meet wasn’t on the phone with someone else, only to get that pesky busy signal. A time when air travel didn’t exist and a 7 day voyage was the only way to get to overseas: you were confined to a ship with a thousand people you’d never met, eating your meals with them and forced to get to know them, have conversations with them and share the experience you were all having, verbally. A time when you HAD to speak to people in order to get directions, an answer, an opinion, guidance or information, even if you didn’t like them or were scared by them - a scary parent, elder or boss for example. A time when not responding was simply not an option if you wanted to be taken seriously.
These experiences are anathema to us these days and we can’t imagine going back to them. Our lives have become MUCH more streamlined and immediate. The common thread however is TIME. We had to think, be intentional, understand social nuance, conversational cadence and practice societal norms. We had TIME to initiate, develop, sustain and nurture relationships that were important to us. The urgency of our lives nowadays has constructed the expectation of immediacy, the ability to ignore that which we find uncomfortable or challenging, and the tools with which to do so.
Future Image Group submits that there is and ought to be, a hybrid approach incorporating some of the above examples with our high tech world of today: Talking is important. Consistency is important. Being uncomfortable and doing something you don’t want to do can be the best teacher and is important. Engaging with others in person (or on Zoom in this Covid world) is important. Most of all, RELATIONSHIPS are important and imperative to us as a species. If we can fold in the best from both disciplines, low and high tech, we believe we can create a much more enriching, fulfilling and meaningful society.
We write this blog with the intention of transparency and to cultivate understanding. Two weeks ago, we explored the hesitancy of the younger generations to pick up the phone or have a meaningful conversation instead of sending a text or email, and the older generations’ struggle to understand why. The five generations in the workplace have completely different experiences, and we need to understand all of them to reach a compromise. Curiosity about the experiences of our counterparts represents a fundamental piece of building and maintaining the meaningful and fulfilling relationships that are core to the Future Image Group mission.