9 minute read
CREATING A DIALOGUE BETWEEN 4 DIFFERENT POLISH GENERATIONS
Bridging the gaps between the generations is not impossible though they require a deeper understanding.
by Ken Maciej Starczewski
It is difficult to create a dialogue between generations and understand each other especially when said generations are split by contemporary socio-political manners. Such a situation is currently in Poland where we have four different generations (five if you want to include the youngest – gen Alpha): baby boomers, generation X, generation Y (or millennials) and Gen-Z (or zoomers). The question is how do we come up with ideas and solutions for polish generations struggling to find a common ground for dialogue and understanding each other.
Differences between generations and what are the classifications for the generations
In order to think about the dialogue between the generations in Poland it is important to understand what makes them in the first place. There are 4 main generations in Poland. Baby boomers, generation X, generation Y (or millennials) and Gen-Z (or zoomers). Polish baby boomers consist of people born between 1946-60 after World War II ended and Poland became occupied by the USSR. People from that generation are considered to be hard-working and self-disciplined, although that idea clashes with the problem of alcoholism created by the communists in our country. They lived to work and often drank their sorrows away, this included especially the vast majority of people doing the physical labours. One of the elements coming from this generation is not understanding the millennials and zoomers’ problems with education and finding a job, or rather “correct” job. In short, it is supposed to be related to your acquired skills and education (I’ll get back to it later). Additionally, they do not understand that in today’s job market, working hard, especially in Poland, isn’t going to make you wealthy or moderately prosperous. They also do not like to be accused of something or having their ideas challenged.
Generation X or generation PPR (Polish People’s Republic) consists of people born between 1961–1985. Their main characteristics are focusing on their career and improving and extending their ambitious skillset. They are also known for their desire for freedom, change and rejection of stagnation. Which is why this generation led the most important changes during socio-political changes in communist-occupied Poland. They saw the fall of Communism and the rise of democracy with their own eyes. That is why in some cases this generation is also called “generation of transformation” (pol. pokolenie przełomu). However, much like the previous generation, they believe that it is important to also get “correct” education and jobs, which makes them clash with millennials and zoomers.
Generation Y or millennials consists of people born between 1986 – 1997 though some believe that the date should start with the fall of communism in Poland, but the timeline is not always precisely the same. Unlike the previous generations, millennials do not remember the fall of communism or PPR/ PRL and do not associate with it. Their main characteristics are cynicism, thinking about the future, demanding better quality of life, likely not having one job for their whole life, adapted to using technology fast even though said technology was not initially available to them. They also tend to make conditions and set their salary expectations to their employers directly. Millennials struggle to understand their parents and grandparents (the boomers and Xs), even when it comes to something as simple as entertainment and hobbies, or at least the ones that are acceptable to them. It is understandable that the older generations might not enjoy or comprehend why the younger generation is invested in a particular hobby. The issue is that millennials and older generations tend to avoid accepting or outright rejecting each other’s hobbies and entertainment. It would not be out of place to see millennials make fun of Gen X and Y soap operas and vice versa. Particularly, in Poland Gen X and Y tend to overlook the entertainment millennials and zoomers enjoy, because in their view it is not realistic or grounded. And you have to understand that those are the two last generations that lived under Communism in Poland, meaning that those two words are much more conservative and older in meaning. By that I mean that people from that generation will see an animated character or anything close to fantasy and think about those two words and give up the stories having such elements. Whereas to a millennial or a zoomer they might mean that the story has parts that are simply “not over the top” or “very exaggerated”. And on top of that, the older the person is, the more difficult it will be to persuade them to join your hobby or even passively accept it. Millennials also struggle to understand the previous generations’ need to go to university. The prospect of studying at university and spending at least 5+ years without knowing if they will actually be employed afterwards is extremely unappealing. In general, cynicism is the leading trait of Polish millennials and likely that is not going to change in the foreseeable future.
Generation Z or zoomers consists of people born between 1998 and 2010. Their main characteristics are being emotional, first full-digital generation, but is not as technologically “literate” as millennials, insecure about taking responsibility, being money. Their slang evolves very fast and by the time it gets popularized, it is already dated. This includes words such as śpiulkolot (refers to a place to sleep, coming from the verb śpiulkać), baza (English borrowing of based), making śpiulkolot being the most popular word among Polish teenagers in 2021. Though it is very unlikely you are going to hear it in Poland in 2024. Much like millennials, they also do not like the idea of going to the university “because you have to” which made vocational schools (szkoła branżowa, 3+2 years) and professional technical schools (technikum, 5 years) in Poland more popular and appealing to them.
How to create a dialogue between the generations in Poland, ideas and solutions
There are several ideas and solutions to the generational misunderstandings and clashes based on the current Polish socio-political situation. To convince Polish boomers and Xs to understand that people no longer need to work in just one job for the rest of their lives, it is important to approach them calmly and without a prejudice against them or even worse, generational-based accusations. Doing so will only cause more damage, make them retract and become defensive. Instead it is important to convince them with not just the emotional appeal but also with statistics as well. They need to understand that this is a global phenomenon.
“This generation led the most important changes during socio-political changes in communist-occupied Poland. They saw the fall of Communism and the rise of democracy with their own eyes. That is why in some cases this generation is also called “generation of transformation” (pol. pokolenie przełomu).”
If they pressure a zoomer (or someone from gen alpha in the future) into going to university with arguments “because everyone does it” or “you’re not gonna get a job” and the person does not feel like studying at university, they should have a serious conversation with them and carefully explain why instead. Again no generational-based accusations or insults. In this case appealing to the statistics and that it is a global phenomenon that people after graduating from university cannot find a job related to their studies or any job at all is a vital answer. This can be followed by the personal skills and desires of the young person. A very important sentiment can be brought to this conversation is that after the fall of Communism in Europe, there was a tendency in many post-soviet European countries to see young people study at university. The young people would years later become parents and convince their children to do the same. As such many young people from those countries, including Poland, go to university for the same reason and many of them end up disappointed and angry.
If the older generations are mocking and belittling the younger generations for what they like, particularly the entertainment, it is very likely that they do not understand it. Likewise, the youngsters likely will not understand why their parents and grandparents are watching very long-running soap operas (do not mention that word to them) and what is their appeal. To bridge the gap between the generations entertainment-wise, first it is important to understand what the boomers and Xs like in general, what movies and music do they enjoy, what other activities they like or used to do in the past etc. Then perhaps it is time to bring it back to them and engage together with them with what they enjoyed, ask about their past, their friends and “the good old, young days”. This will definitely bring them a lot of joy and happiness and open themselves up, especially when someone younger will listen to them. A younger person now will have the opportunity to introduce their hobbies and what they like to their parents and grandparents and see similarities between. It might seem hilarious or weird to them at the beginning, but introduced gradually will likely convince them to understand, thus closing the gap.
Conclusion and not a definite answer
There are no definite answers and solutions to the problem of closing the gap and bringing dialogue between older and younger generations in Poland. Though I personally believe that those are some of the important ones that needed to be tackled in the current generational spectrum.
