Having touched on the possible evolution of the human body through lack of use in my last blog, I have been discussing it with various people, including members of the younger generation.
The general consensus seems to be quite complex, but maybe we have been running out of aspirations due to life being too easy?
People brought up in the world war 2 period had a hard life.
Fathers and brothers were at war, women were left to take care of the family and find enough money on which to live.
Education, although available, was almost for the privileged, as many had to leave school in order to augment the family income.
Women`s expectations were limited to homemaking and childcare with little thought of pursuing an alternative future, although many were involved in the war effort taking over tasks which had previously been in the male domain, and kept the country moving.
Post war brought a great deal of activity on every level.
House building introduced new choices of homes, employment for artisans, craftsmen and labourers was plentiful, so more household money was available.
Children were able to stay on at school and consider further education, as parents wanted their children to have the futures that they felt had been denied them due to the war years.
The NHS was started in 1948 which improved the health of all and was free.
There was a great deal to aspire to, and the UK populations very quickly made use of the improved situations and wanted the country and themselves to prosper.
Life still wasn`t easy, but it had improved and one could see that with hard work and financial diligence, a whole new life could be achieved.
The children of that post war period flourished and went on to have children of their own.
60s ROCK BAND:
In the 60`s and 70`s many social aspects had changed.
The legendary Swinging Sixties brought in a whole raft of relaxation and creativity.
The contraceptive pill was introduced, soft drugs and alcohol were freely available and strange clothes, music and musicians were all apart of this colourful revolution.
On the home front, mortgages became available to buy or build one`s own home, credit facilities became available which meant that goods could be purchased and paid up over a period of time.
Aspirations had changed.
This led on to items such as cars, holidays abroad and home furnishings could be purchased and paid up.
People were earning more money and there was a big shift of women moving from the homemaking and childcare environment, into a more professional bracket, as a result of further education.
Two salaried households became common place with nursery education increasing to take up the slack of working women.
EXTRA MONEY:
Because in many households money was not so scarce, and most things could be bought on credit, parents started to indulge their children.
Gone were the days when children hoped for something special at Xmas and birthdays. Now they could be given things all the year round.
As the years went on the items got bigger and more expensive.
They could have the food, clothes and technological gadgets that they wanted.
Children were growing up in a world of instant gratification, not knowing what it was like to go without.
Some might argue that this may have been in order for busy parents compensating their children if they were spending so much time at work.
The strict education discipline of earlier years began to lessen.
Students who had been previously labelled as academically challenged, were now often found to have learning difficulties, resulting in support being factored into the school system.
UNIVERSITY LIFE:
From an education point of view, university, far from being a distant centre of excellence for the privileged few, was now the further education aspiration available to everyone.
This brought huge opportunities to students, especially from lower income households, and made a significant contribution to many of our graduates today.
University is not for everyone, and for those who were happiest working with their hands, were now being encouraged to have a university or college education. The environment and lifestyle was not always enjoyed, but it was felt to be the socially expected thing to do.
The result has been a generation lacking in artisans and practical but necessary skills, and quite a few disillusioned degree holders of all sorts.
Thankfully it looks as if apprenticeships are now acceptable again, which has not come a minute too soon.
With the huge expansion of technology, it has all been about creating an easier lifestyle.
Household appliances became automatic and continue to do so.
Computers and screen devices are common place in almost every home, and have taken on rather an addictive role.
Working from home is widespread, so we are sitting for hours at a screen and not needing to travel or physically carry out tasks.
Most people will have a smart phone, which is a wonderful invention, but it is fast causing problems in schools as children want to spend every waking moment on them.
The internet is fantastic and most of us would miss it if we didn`t have access to it, as more and more of our lives are processed through the internet, so it is a necessary part of daily living.
For those who are not even basically computer literate, it is fast becoming the equivalent of not being able to read or write in the 1950s.
SPORTING ROLE MODELS:
Role models have always been around and are important.
Parents, teachers, friends and media figures have long been the images to which young people wanted to emulate and aspire to.
They admired their looks, talent, way of life or financial success, and often followed in their footsteps.
The internet with its vast audience, provides a platform for young people looking to it for role model guidance. It has become a world full of mixed messages and some very sad stories.
The sad part kicks in when young people do not always follow one person, but multiple influencers of all kinds. They feel that everyone else online is successful, popular, clever, good looking and wealthy, and they are not. They can feel anxious and suffer low self esteem, particularly when others online can reinforce that feeling of inadequacy.
POOR SELF ESTEEM AND ANXIETY:
It seems that putting everything together, the easy life with mixed aspirations, the expectations and gratification, few boundaries, and the chasing of improbable dreams, many young people feel that they are inadequate and not able to cope when it comes to dealing with real life situations, and do not have the back up of experience to help them through.
They feel like lost souls with no one understanding them, and few people able to help them.
Some basic instincts may start to to kick in.
Many are finding that they are disillusioned by a materialistic world which does not bring them happiness, and want to do something physical and not stare at a screen all day.
They want to explore practical skills which will improve their own self esteem and give them a feeling of achievement and sense of grounding.
There is more to life than making huge amounts money and pressing endless buttons to encourage our laziness and prevent us from being active.
We have perfectly good bodies and brains which work well together and can produce wonderful things.
It is therapeutic, relaxing and creative and done on the individual`s terms.
Surely we don`t want to become a lazy nation which just issues instructions to robots in order to get things done, but unfortunately that is the direction we are heading.
CREATIVE CARVING:
I must stress that whilst I have made collective references to families being better off with more disposable income in the post war period, not all families fell into these categories and not every parent would indulge their children. It is simply to highlight the contrast between periods of history and social change.
We have now reached a cross roads, as we are experiencing a severe cost of living crisis, where households are struggling and are having to do some financial balancing acts.
It may have a knock on effect, as certain household spending is having to be trimmed back, including buying items for children.
It has been reported that there are households which cannot feed a basic breakfast to their families, and schools are having to provide this essential start to the day.
The world is in a very precarious place at the moment and we could find that we may have to ditch the material items in favour of practicalities, skills and using our wits.
There may be new aspirations on the horizon!
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