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  • The youth of today...!

    Friday 11 March 2011

    Categories: Education, Media Influence, Parenting, Role Models

    The glorious Joanna Lumley, one of our National Treasures, has spoken. She is not happy about how we are raising our children. In this week’s Radio Times she contrasts her strong “moral compass” with the apparent lack of any such device in today’s young people. She says that “Nowadays, children find it laughably amusing to shoplift and steal. We smile when they download information from the internet and lazily present it as their own work.” Ms Lumley contrasts this with her time at school when “Stealing just didn’t happen”.

    Really? Does she truly believe that the young are in some way morally deficient compared with earlier generations? Of course we hear of shocking and distressing incidents of bad and indeed criminal behaviour but surely the reason we are shocked by such news is that it is not the norm. If it were commonplace we would be neither shocked nor surprised. Saddened, yes, indignant certainly but not surprised. The media carry far more tales of bad behaviour by adults including captains of industry and pillars of society as well as footballers and pop stars.

    There is no evidence that children are more inclined to cheat, lie or steal than previous generations. Children today have to stay longer at school and must work harder. Many, perhaps 1 in 12 according to a survey by Nottingham University last year, look after a sick parent. They worry about their own futures but also about the future of their planet and the wellbeing of others – just watch Comic Relief to see concrete evidence of how many morally admirable children are coping under difficult circumstances.

    Every generation believes that society is in decline due to the deficiencies of the succeeding generation. I’m sorry to say it but I fear that Ms Lumley is in danger of becoming a stereotypical Grumpy Old Woman. After all it was Saffy, not Patsy, who held the moral high ground in a certain sit com!

    Posted by Alison Morris

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