Generation Three-Fer

I want to have a better understanding of the human mind. For the past few years I’ve been trying to figure out the cultural malaise that has gripped America, specifically young people. It’s been like watching a family member sick with the flu but instead of getting better they become more compromised…weaker.

I’ve wracked my brain in a futile effort to identify a cause. Surely it has to be the confluence of events – variables – that have created a culture of youth that has mutated, becoming zombie-like in movement, appearance, and verve. There’s simply a dearth of life-energy in this group. They speak of hopelessness and boredom, unable to get out of bed to go to work or school and face the mundane “challenges” that we eagerly embrace as a means to an end. I’ve seen young men at work standing disengaged, sitting, staring, moving at a disinterested sloth-like pace, that is until the “recess” bell rings, while their older co-workers move like the Energizer Bunny on Red Bull to pick up the slack.

Recognizing the problem (hoping it’s only a hiccup on the cultural continuum), I have over-staffed my company to maintain full production. The managers and I refer to it as the “Three For Two Rule.” We have three people doing the work of two because we never know who’s going to call in because they’re “just not feeling it today.” And while the economy enjoys full employment, it’s difficult to purge and maintain viability. It is the proverbial less than cozy spot between a rock and a hard place.

I think the pendulum will swing the other way eventually, recoiling from the next wave of political “hope and change.” When it does, I hope it falls like a battle axe, forcing the disengaged to take a revitalized approach or starve. But by then the cultural damage will be so engrained that it will take the next generation to recognize the error and plow a new course. If we’re lucky.

The confusing part of this mess is that it’s not with the entire generation. There are some that are engaged and are more than placeholders. That gives me hope.

So what’s the difference between the doers and three-fers of the same generation? Is it physiological, psychological, cultural…a failure of parenting and schools? The wounded animal posture, pace, and attendance record of the three-fers would indicate a physiological anomaly. The disengaged, often mental absence, would indicate a short in their wiring.

Is there a single cause or is it the perfect storm of single parenting, over-prescribed ADHD medication that has turned energetic boys into eunuchs, a lifetime of do overs, the end of grade school competition and scorekeeping, a hyper-sensitive “behavioral science” approach to all human interaction, requiring counseling to heal tissue-weak egos, or is it the constant and continual mind-pounding overstimulation of gaming and personal electronics?

Out of frustration I have lost my filter. I ask. “Are you eating ok? How’s your diet? Do you game? (Showing a fascination and cursory knowledge – buzzwords – of the gaming culture.)

This is what I have discovered in my less than scientific study of an albeit small study group (but I think they’re a generational cross section). The three-fers are not healthy. Their diets are dismal; consisting of fast or frozen food and energy drinks. Outside of work very few exercise or lift anything consistently more than 12 ounce cans. Physical maintenance in the form of health and dental care is nearly non-existent, with the exception of injury requiring mandatory attention. And the grasshopper, devil-may-care approach to personal maintenance is ridiculous given my company bears the full cost of health insurance and individually coaches employees on how to access benefits.

By law I’m not allowed to ask about illicit or prescribed drug use. Company policies mandate absolute sobriety and the “ability” to drug test. The practicality of drug testing is another story and would almost certainly thin the work force to a production-crippling level. Some individuals have openly divulged their use of prescribed antidepressant, ADHD, allergy, and anxiety meds. (Pharmacology appears to be mainstay of current American culture, with an emphasis on “coping” meds.)

So there’s a big bag of parts that have created the new Frankenstein, with no obvious single part jumping out as more culpable for its creation. But I can’t help but slide back in time and compare this with previous generations to look for a root cause. Gaming and electronics seem to be one of the major variables in the newness of this monster. Yet some who game seem unaffected. Maybe it’s like head injuries in sports; the cumulative damage of repetitive hits being more injurious than one single concussion.

I don’t think the effect of continuous mental overstimulation can be understated. I see the crack-like addiction of electronics everywhere. My company has created policies to prevent cellphone usage in our production areas. Those policies are perceived only as a “suggestion” and require constant vigilance by supervisors. Catching a rule violator is met with near panic, not because they’ve been caught but because they’re unable to finish a text with a friend. It’s as if they’ve been interrupted in mid-sneeze, unfairly deprived of relief. As an employer, it’s an unacceptable time-wasting distraction.

Perhaps the constant electronic brain-pounding stimulation is the cause of pervasive boredom and fatigue. After living vicariously – fighting for your life – in cyber reality, anything by comparison is “boring.” I’d like to hook gamers up to an EKG and blood pressure monitor to record the physiological effects of prolonged hyper-stimulation. I’d also like to run a full blood panel before and after prolonged gaming sessions to determine if there are chemical changes.

In a very real way hyper-stimulation has become the cyber bully of the 21st century, creating a culture of mentally and physically tired three-fers.

Perhaps my inability to wrap my brain around the cultural change is the same old broken record that grumpy old taxpayers have ranted about with each new generation: Groundhog Day. But maybe not. I’ve had friends say that every generation has had its youthful misfits; an apparent sign of the end of humanity or at least the American way. The Hippies and Yippies of the 60’s and 70’s were seen as a cultural death-spiral by their previous generation. But we survived. The difference is that Hippies grew up.

I see the current generation stuck: trapped between the carefree dependence of childhood and the reality of independence and adulthood. Dependent. Frustrated. Bored. Hopeless. Restless. Medicated.

And now they want to legalize recreational marijuana in Wisconsin. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, that’ll help. This is the same generation that eats Tide Pods.

I don’t get a lot of feedback on my blog. I’d honestly like to hear what you think about this because I think we’ve taken a wrong turn culturally and would like your opinion on whether the car has gone over the cliff… or if there’s still a chance to grab the wheel…