Monday, September 03, 2007

A Decade Apart: Subtle but Gaping Differences in 10 Years’ Time

[Note from Matthew: Due to the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., today's will be a shorter post.]

Relative to many out there, I’m a young fellow: Born in Montana in 1979, spending my formative years in the upper Midwest, I was exposed to a great mix of the culture of those from decades previous to me and I was able to see the cultures developing in those in decades younger than me. I don’t know if my upbringing was necessarily anything special, but it offered me a perspective that other people might not have. Every so often it seems that a quarrel between the generations arises: Which is better, which is worse, and where the starker of the contrasts lie. People like to compare; with that being said…

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2011” offers insight into the worldview of people born circa 1989, who will graduate college in 2011. A few of the insights are covered below; for another perspective, try this Google News Search.

1. What Berlin wall?

I remember keenly when this happened, as well as when the Soviet Union…in fact…

15. Russia has always had a multi-party political system

I was on a vacation with my family in Red Lodge when this happened.

7. They have grown up with bottled water.

Remember when water was actually okay to drink from the tap?

23. Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than Sears and has always employed more workers than GM.

I didn’t even hear about Wal-Mart until years after these kids were born.

26. Katie Couric has always had screen cred.

I remember her early days before she anchored NBC’s morning program.

55. MTV has never featured music videos.

Gosh, I remember when they actually played music videos and it wasn’t something like “My Super Sweet 16.”

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