A VERBAL blame game about the state we are in appears to have broken out between the millennials (born 1981-1996) and the baby boomers (born 1946-1964), represented by Brendan O'Carroll of Mrs Brown's Boys ("Dear millennials, stop blaming baby boomers for everything", The Herald, January 17). It can be argued with some force that the baby boomers are members of a very privileged generation. They did not get caught up in the profound implications of actually having to fight a world war; many would find a job which was theirs for life; if they wished to pursue further education they could do so free of charge and often with state assistance; there was improved housing available with considerable government subsidy; and for many generous retirement provision.
Moreover, life tended to be a bit more straightforward.
Now many baby boomers are being challenged by the pace of change in matters such as communications, the use of computers, financial arrangements, including the closure of many bank branches, and societal changes, which were beyond conceivable contemplation 70 years or so ago.
Most would agree, I think, that O'Carroll is not your typical baby boomer. After all, he makes a living as a man acting as a woman, liberally spraying swear words, and as a mother with a somewhat unusual family.
Indulging in the attribution of blame between one age group and another about the state we are now in, including, for example, what one does with nappies and the increasing use of the Bank of Mum and Dad, is not really productive. Most people, in whatever time they are living, try to do the best they can in the circumstances then prevailing, for themselves and their families. The sooner this is recognised as a fact of life by all concerned the better. We should be trying to determine the best way forward for us all without the negative recrimination.
Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
YOUR article today states that 64 per cent of Britons who were surveyed stated that they had felt lonely in the past 12 months and that the most affected were in the range bracket 18-34 ("Younger generations suffer from loneliness more than any other age group", The Herald, January 20). This is hardly a surprise given that many younger people have very few interpersonal skills as they rarely actually speak to someone other than via the scourge that is social media.
That said, to draw a conclusion that the loneliness label relates to 64 per cent of Britons on a sample of 2000 – 169 in Scotland – is ludicrous and I'm afraid is typical of these types of surveys.
James Martin, Bearsden.
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