Elderly Co-culture Interview Essay

â€Å"Everything has changed since I was your age†, is what my grandmother had to say when asked about her experience growing up. My grandmother, Mrs. Ruby Parker Sloan was born on December 6th, 1943 in a small town in Ohio. She was raised in a small farmhouse along with 4 sisters. Her mother was a usual woman of her time; one that stayed at home with the children, cooked, cleaned and maintained the house. Her father was also a usual man of his time; one that worked throughout the hours of the day in order to provide for his family-a man that had been working since the age of 9 years old. My grandmother has raised 4 children, including myself; so she has seen firsthand the changes and differences in not only her and my generations, but the generations in between. She has experienced the changes of racism, technology, parenting, morals, warfare and many other aspects of our society. For her, she felt society as a whole has changed dramatically. One of her main concerns of the differences of now and then was the differences in parenting. She pointed out that during her time it was unheard of for there to be a school shooting similar to that of the Columbine or Virginia Tech incidents. She felt that had a lot to do with parenting itself; that parents were obviously not concerned with their children and/or not involved enough in their lives to know that they were planning to commit a mass murder of their peers with weapons stored under their own roof. Another point that concerned her was the difference in child discipline. She is a firm believer in â€Å"whipping† your child rather than â€Å"no, no† and the notorious â€Å"five second count† used by parents today. She stated that children need to understand the consequences to certain actions†¦most of which can cause harm to themselves or others. One thing she said about her experience as a parent was â€Å"Some kids just need a good spankin‘â€Å". My grandmother told me that you would never see a child telling their parents â€Å"no† or â€Å"I hate you† during her time, it just didn’t happen. â€Å"There was a level of respect between children and their parents then, something that a lot of kids today just don’t have any more†¦that’s the parents’ fault† is what she told me. Today’s culture was something my grandmother felt strongly about. She felt that one of the downfalls of our culture today was the promotion of sex everywhere you turn, which â€Å"especially influences the young ones of today† she stated. She felt that this advertising in music, television, and everywhere else you go only teaches kids the pleasure and excitement of sex itself instead of the morality and consequences involved. My grandmother continued to tell me a scenario where she was driving to the store a few weeks ago and she heard a song with the chorus â€Å"birthday sex† and that the person singing it sounded very young. â€Å"What the hell is that all about† she said. â€Å"It’s terrible how these adults that promote and advertise this stuff are okay with it† she stated. My grandmother said television didn’t even show pregnant women on it when she was growing up, her parents also slept in different beds during that time. Elvis Presley was looked upon badly by parents of her time because of the sexual nature of his dancing. â€Å"You can’t even turn to the family channel without seeing a show about a pregnant teenager or some sort of sexual thing going on†¦it’s just sad† she said. She also felt that this promotion of sex to kids and young adults was the cause of self esteem issues and that it was also the culprit for a lot of kids these days â€Å"thinkin’ they’re grown because sex is such a cool and grown up thing to do†. Sex these days, to her, is doing nothing but sending the wrong message to young adults about self appearance and decision making when it comes down to right or wrong. When my grandmother was growing up technology was, a fortunate family on the street owning a black and white television. There was no email, texting, cell-phones, etc. People still solely relied on the old fashioned stamp and envelope method†¦or even a more advanced version†¦the telegram. My grandmother always mentions how much she loves her high definition, flat screen television; something she could never imagine existing as a child. My grandmother always seems to be amazed by technology today, and it also seems she is usually ten years behind the understanding of today’s technology. During our conversation, she continually referred to her DVD player as a â€Å"VCR†. She also seemed amazed by the advancement in today’s computer and video games to that of even when I was a child with a first generation Nintendo. My grandmother has been around to go from the record player, 8track player, cassette player, CD player, all the way to the digital MP3 players that can hold thousands of songs in something half the size of a deck of cards, â€Å"it just amazes me†¦technology today†¦just imagine where it will be when you’re [me] my age! † she said. Talking to my grandmother in an interview fashion was a very interesting experience. It gave me insight on a different time that was experienced by someone†¦a time that has passed and will never be relived the same. It caused me to think of how I am at the same point in my life that she was at my age; it also caused me to wonder how things will differ from today and two generations from now. Society has changed drastically since my grandmothers’ generation and it will continue to grow throughout mine the same†¦hopefully for the better, but I guess it’s all about who you ask.