By: Josh Williams

I recently looked through my parents’ old high school yearbooks. The anticipation of seeing the appearance of my folks when they were my age was quickly replaced with a sense of fear as I witnessed the extremely large glasses worn almost by all students coupled with too many bad hair days to count. How could all of these people think dressing in this fashion was cool?
Reflecting upon how trends and fads have changed, I began to ponder exactly how our generation would be remembered. Would we be forever known as the technology savvy youths? Or would we be recorded in time as the lazy, Facebook dependant-obsessed generation? Time will tell, with the trends that are popular with today’s culture.

While a desire to look sun sun-kissed has existed for a while, our generation has made it a sport. Some tanners visit the ultraviolet rays like it’s it is their religion. Ignoring the risks of skin cancer and orange skin disease, both males and females spend millions of dollars a year tanning. It’s as idiotic as smoking. Knowingly causing bodily harm is foolish. Something that began as legitimate unscripted television has turned into written drama. It is so popular with today’s culture, that “Jersey Shore,” “Teen Mom,” and other television shows will forever be associated with our generation. These shows glorify drinking, promiscuity, and the degradation of women. I’m pointing the finger at “Jersey Shore” right now. How can we allow our generation to be branded with these shows?

I understand that this fad will die down quickly; however, it is an embarrassing blemish upon the face of our generation. Laying on flat objects (i.e. planking) has yet to prove a purpose. Although, I suppose it cures boredom for a short while. While it may make you more Facebook popular, laying out on surfaces just makes you look ridiculous. Plank you very much.
In today’s time, we have had the luxury of some of the most sophisticated advances within technology; it has helped our society in many ways. I read an article that a man trapped in the Haitian earthquake’s rubble used an Red Cross iPhone app to save his own life. However, marrying your smartphone is a serious mistake. Those who walk through Wal-mart with their Bluetooths glued to their ears and iPhones stapled to their hands are the face of our generation.

This is a relatively new fad in the sense that it was rarely utilized until the Facebook generation emerged. Have you ever wondered how MySpace got its trashy reputation and Facebook remains pure? Our addiction to Facebook, Twitter, and the new Google+ is evident on our phones, our minds, our conversation, and our internet browser’s history. We learn about parties, breakups, natural disasters, and communicate with our friends on the web. While it gives us the ability to talk to friends who are far away, it can and does consume our life and time. Can we adapt to using Facebook without letting it disrupt our lives?

As time moves forward, fads and trends that once were “totally rad,” become a cultural icon that, when reflected upon at a later time, serves only as an indicator with which to identify a particular generation. The 60’s and 70’s children were known as the hippies and the baby boomers; the 80’s rocked the big-hair fad; and the nineties 90’s are often remembered as the generation with excessive amounts of plaid, greasy hair, and angry teenagers. What will the next generation think when they flip through our yearbooks?