Modern Life is Rubbish
Jason Gardner responds to the results of the Looking at life survey 'Pressures faced by those in their 20s and 30s'
My first reaction to this report was 'no alarms and no surprises' - we'd expect people to be concerned about careers, debt, appearance and self image and we know that what people want out of life is, as one respondent put it 'friendships, relationships and significance.' But, reading between the lines, you can also detect a tangible uneasiness that distinctly says, as Blur once put it, 'Modern life is rubbish.'
Reality check
So, for instance, we're bothered by 'aspiration deficit' - being sold the idea that the world is our oyster when we're in our teens but then finding, later in life, that however true that is, there are only so many 'pearls' to go round - we're not all going to be Leo or Kate - we can't all be 'king of the world.'
But, and it's a big but, we're beginning to find 'treasure' in other places. We don't want the false comfort of 'virtual' relationships in chat rooms, we want to develop deep and lasting friendships in 'real time.'
And our heroes aren't sad sack celebrities who are in Hello today and gone tomorrow. The people we admire are those who've made a lasting impact, Bono, Jesus, Mother Theresa.
Relationships
Thinking about it maybe we do have 'aspiration deficit' but our aspirations have changed. We've realised that when it comes to providing a true sense of self worth, fame and riches are just a veneer - as the increase in celebrity rehab cases prove. What we really aspire to, and in today's world often can't find, is a celebration of deep and meaningful relationships that will enrich our well being.
So how do we go about achieving that? Easier said than done but at least we've started the conversation, and, thinking of that oyster again, at least we've got a hint about where we might just find the odd pearl.
You can see the survey results here.
Written by Jason Gardner.
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