Shared activities across various generations of the same family are decreasing in popularity, due mainly to technology and busy lifestyle. In my view, this trend may have negative repercussion to all members.
Technological advances that are eagerly embraced by young people, especially children, are difficult to accept for the elderly. As a consequence, children who enjoy spending time on technology-based activities, such as video games, are less likely to interact with their grandparents. In contrast, technology-avert old people may not derive pleasure from their grandchildren’s favourite activities and may resort to reading newspapers or books. This leads to the diversification of preferences, thus little time together.
Another major reason why family members of different generations do not engage in activities together is busy lifestyle. Simply put, parents are driven to work for long hours, and children spend more time outside home, mostly for educational reasons due to ever-increasing expectations from them. Similarly, the elderly, these days, tend to travel or visit their old friends, meaning they also spend less time at home. As a consequence of such way of life, family members do not spend time on shared activities.
This trend, I think, has a negative impact on the elderly, who feel lonely even when they live with their family members. Having very little in common may cause them feel isolation, which could lead to depression in some situations. Furthermore, not spending enough time together might cause conflicts at times, and, especially, grandparents are likely to feel not appreciated by their young, who prefer spending time outdoors with their peers.
Having said that, grandparents are not the only generation to suffer, as children may also feel the disadvantages of less interaction with the elderly. One significant gain of socializing with grandparents for children could be stories or experiences, containing moral instructions or life lessons. Such narratives may teach children important values while they are still young. With the decreasing amount of time spent on shared activities, children may be deprived of such an opportunity to learn from their grandparents.
In conclusion, the reasons for why different generations of a family do not spend enough time doing activities together may range from the impact of technology to the contemporary way of life. I believe, the negative influences of this trend are felt across all generations, including grandparents, and their grandchildren.