Snapshot of the generational gap: Humans of New York
Posted On June 24, 2014
Have you followed Humans of New York? Photographer Brandon Stanton takes portraits of random individuals and asks them a question or two. The answers appear at the photo captions. It’s utterly captivating art and social commentary. Every so often an image will strike a nerve with HONY followers as with this recent portrait. Or more accurately, the caption that accompanied the image. “I’m a little headstrong at work, which can get me into trouble with my manager. But if my way works just fine, why do I have to do things his way?” The generational gap in two sentences.
The responses on the HONY facebook page are textbook, neatly divided by “because he’s the boss” to “she’s got a point.” I would bet money that the profiles of the responders would reveal a generational divide as well. Pragmatic or insolent? Depends on whether you are bringing Boomer or Gen X/Y values to the conversation. Not surprisingly, an internet discussion among strangers didn’t resolve this one!