Fast Forward

Each generation has its own common experience, attitude, etc., influencing & defining common characteristics among its members as well as shaping future generations. The past & present generations, with different length of years (which may overlap), and may not be relevant to some countries:

- G.I. Generation (1904-1922). G.I. means Government Issue. This generation went thru Great Depression & World War 2.

- Silent Generation (1923-1944). Generally comfortable with a hierarchical structure and prefer rules. Like stability. Grew up in traditional families.

- Baby boomers (1945-64). Optimistic, hardworking, involved. Often question authority. Many baby boomers are involved in activist movement for causes they believe in. Traditional family structure began to change as a result of growing rate of divorce.

- Gen X (1965-1979). Tend to be sceptical, lacking faith in authority, acting independently. The first generation to become adept with technology, prefer multi-task, like to communicate informally (like via email). Value diversity & try to balance between work & family.

- Gen Y (1980-1999), also known as Millennial Generation or Digital Generation. Seek diversity, multi-task, don’t wear watches because cellphones tell them the time & watch can only do one thing. Entwined in virtual & real worlds. They are in constant communication with friends, through e-mail, text-messaging. Facebook & MySpace appeal to them much like discotheque appealed to the generations before.

- Thereafter for 21st century, tentatively known as Gen Z for those born in the year 2000-unknown, probably 2009, when the global financial crisis is expected to end. Also known as New Silent Generation or Internet Generation. Share almost the same traits as Gen Y.

I am a Gen X. I wonder what our future generation will face. Fast forward to the immediate horizon, the Year 2030, 21 years later. There is this possible scenario:

A young male adult finds that there are many other adults who look like him. He wonders whether they are his step siblings or extended family from surrogate, or sperm donors. He cannot simply fall in love with any opposite gender without having to check their DNA, unless he does not intend to ‘repopulate’, otherwise he risks having genetic disorder for his next generation.

Rewind back to the present.

'Extended family' due to remarriage, children born out of wedlock & given away, are already common and on the increasing since a few generations ago. Today, due to the recession, it is reported that cash-strapped women turn to surrogacy to ease their financial burden. College students, cash-strapped young adults, male and female earn extra money by selling their ‘seeds’ to couples who pay, in the extreme case, in order to pay off their credit card bills. It used to be donor driven for medical experiment but it has become so common it is now a thriving industry.

Desperate times, as the saying goes, call for desperate measures. But desperate measures of today, makes the future generations more desperate.

Desperate move feels like seeds blowing in the wind...

...and shaping the population of future generation