Beloit College’s Mindset List was very interesting. It definitely got me thinking about society as we, the class of 2014, know it, and how those before and after us might see the world. It was very thought-provoking some of the things they said about our generation. Some things were accurate, and others not so much.
I found it interesting that the first thing on the list was that most of us don’t know how to write in cursive. I remember very well learning to use cursive in third grade and having to use it throughout middle school. They claimed that we would have to know how to use it in high school, though most of us didn’t use it much past the seventh grade. I also thought that the claim that email is too slow was slightly false. I use email on pretty much a daily basis because it’s just faster than snail mail. The idea that it’s too slow I think is crazy, considering there isn’t much faster than a simple email! And again, the claim about the coiled cord around the wrist I found funny. I remember when I was a kid doing that with our old phone; up until about sixth grade we had a cord phone!
There were many things on the list that were incredibly true though. The two about helping those with disabilities and hospices and assisted living were very true. We’ve never lived in a world where it was very hard to get help when disabled or needing a place to stay when sick. We’re very fortunate as a generation to have opportunities like this. The one about beanie babies was also very true and comical. I don’t think I knew anyone that didn’t have at least one beanie baby! And having adhesive bandages of varying skin tones has always been an advantage that our generation has had, along with the chances to do community service to earn money for college, and the North American countries trading freely. The list was very accurate in stating things that we’ve never experienced, such as Wal-Mart selling handguns over the counter, a carousel of Kodachrome slides, and Fergie being a princess before a pop singer, because these are all things I was unaware of!
The list definitely made me think about where our generation fits in to our society as a whole. It’s amazing the things we take for granted, and we should take the time to appreciate those things. As the list points out, we are the generation of the new technological world, but we need to remember the generations and people that got us here as well.
