So, for this assignment we are doing in this class, we have to discuss a paradigm shift that has happened over time in society. There are many, many options to choose from, since society is so free-flowing and ever-changing. Society hasn't remained at a standstill for a very long time; there are always aspects of our culture that are changing as we learn and progress. There are two paradigm shifts, however that stick out to me:
1) Today's youth are obviously very different from past generations. One thing that is different about today's youth, in my opinion, is that we are less rebellious. Past generations of teens actively went against anything their parents said, going out and getting in fights, getting drunker than today's kids, and getting pregnant at MUCH higher rates than our generation. Today's kids obviously rebel, but at lower rates than other decades and generations. Just look at social movements: the 60s had the hippie counterculture, the 70s had punks and anti-war activists, the 80s were notorious for casual cocaine use, and the 90s had the grunge and alt-rock movements. Often coinciding with music movements, countercultures such as those haven't sprung up among millenials. While radical social changes are happening in our lifetime, they are being facilitated by business leaders and politicians of our parents' generation and older. We haven't really done anything as a youth that has changed anything on a large scale, nor have we really had large movements of rebelling against society, or our parents. This idea would need more work, but it is something I could go on about.
2) This is one that I talked about in class. The advent of the Internet has caused many things, but one that I have noticed is the proliferation of underground culture among anyone and everyone. Anyone nowadays can research and experience any part of an "underground" culture in our country. In past generations, you would have to find the right people or stumble upon the right clubs in order to find people as weird as you and create culture. Nowadays, anyone can let out their inner "weird" and listen to alternative music, watch hipster movies, and read bohemian literature. This allowed for "hipster" things to become cool in mainstream culture. This is a very interesting paradigm shift to me because I like things that are traditionally underground.
I think both topics would provide you with a lot of substance and make a very interesting paradigm shift essay. Although I personally think your first shift is more interesting since you parallel it to a shift in music over the decades, I feel as though you are more interested in the second and therefore will do a better job at analyzing that paradigm shift.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I never ever, ever thought I would ever hear someone say, "Today's kids obviously rebel, but at lower rates than other decades and generations" or that we are less drunk today than back then! When I first read your first idea I immediately thought "no way", so I would be very interested in reading what evidence and ideas you have on this specific paradigm shift! I agree that we may not have had similar movements like the 60s, 70s, and 80s but, just a thought, maybe we do have something along the lines of these movements but they pass by so quickly because we are now able to share and spread ideas so quickly through social media? I could be completely wrong but just a thought...
ReplyDeleteYour first shift is very interesting. I never really noticed that our generation is less rebellious, but compared to other generations it's easier to see. For this shift, you could research the social situations surrounding the main periods of rebellion. Maybe you could find a trend in social issues that spur this rebellion. I noticed that you are really interested in your second shift when you discussed it yesterday in class. It may be easier to analyze this trend because it is something developing, where as the other shift is something we are lacking.
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