We associate youth with energy. Having the stamina to “burn the candle at both ends”. To continue working long after we, as older people, have gotten tired. What they lack in wisdom they make up for in effort. This is a classic argument for the power of youth.
Gary Vaynerchuk, described a phenomenon about youth (and the power of youth) that I had not heard before but found very interesting. He said that the explosion and increasing importance of social media in our lives came about because of youth. It was they who pioneered Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, Snapchat, etc………
Because these platforms have become so prominent they have made our smart phones even more valuable and have made us younger. He calls this the “youthification of our society”. We act and do things, as we age, that younger people do today — more often. He states that Facebook is now a platform that is widely used by 30-65 year olds & selfies on Instagram are most popular with 40 year olds.
What we normally think of as a top down society where the older population shares its traditions with the younger generation for them to endure is no longer quite as prevalent. Is this better or worse? I am not sure. I can only say that this is different.
The takeaway for me in understanding the increasing power of youth in our world is that they now, more than ever, need to be trained well at a young age. To not only be book smart but must be taught the basic values of good and bad, respect, and hard work. A belief in a God that guides them when the world they create weakens and becomes disorienting.
Trust, patience, discipline, hard work and respect cannot be innovated. They do not change but endure from the time of Aristotle, Plato and all the philosophers that have come before us. Breaking through the clutter and energy generated by the power of our youth is necessary so that with all of the expansive platforms they are creating to engage, communicate, and participate with each other they never lose site of a more basic enduring flame of values that will help keep their families from self destructing and their personal relationships strong.
No smartphone needed.