Having a meal with my granddaughter and her friends recently, I was struck as usual by the extraordinary differences between their lives now compared to what mine had been like at their age, more than half a century ago.
Probably the most obvious difference was that because of their smart phones and computers, they could always be in touch with their friends and boyfriends – and maybe lovers. Nobody is assuming they would be virgins on their wedding day, as had been the assumption in my day – even if it was not actually going to be the case.
One of the girls from a comprehensive had gone on a school trip – not to Calais or Ireland but to the Galapagos; she had also later been round Europe by train, whereas I went round France hitchhiking as everybody did because everyone had done it during the war. While the radio had a more dominant place before TV sets appeared in every home, these girls have the internet as well, and I assume that it is the normal way to find anything.
Most youngsters think they are different from and better than their aged relatives – that’s just part of growing up – but we thought we were the new lucky ones. My postwar experience had been shaped by the war, so there were lots of things we hadn’t seen when we were growing up.
It is often assumed that it was the 60s that changed everything for the young and lucky, bringing in fewer rules, more fun with sex and less restriction on love – but a great deal of that had already started in the 50s. I daresay those who come of age in 2050 will think nothing interesting happened till 2040. Time actually does move on.
What do you think? Have your say below
