“Age may fill the pages of our lives with experience, but it is curiosity that gives those pages meaning, humility that transforms experience into wisdom, and kindness that makes wisdom worth sharing. The true measure of a generation is not how proudly it remembers its past, but how generously it embraces those who will shape the future.” – MJ Martin
A Troubling Observation
This past summer, I found myself hearing the same complaint repeatedly from fellow Canadian seniors: young people today are irresponsible, distracted, entitled, and somehow less capable than we were at their age. The words varied, but the verdict rarely did.
I listened, nodded when courtesy required it, and wondered whether we had forgotten our own youth.
One evening while camping at Niagara Falls, the site next to me had four retirees. We shared a drink and some dessert.
The conversation turned to the youth of today. These neighbours were downright mean in this shared view of today’s youth. I was rather stunned.
I volunteer with several youth focused groups and the teens and twenty year olds are amazing to me.
The criticism troubles me not because young Canadians are flawless, but because it is so confidently one-sided. We remember our generation’s strengths while conveniently overlooking its excesses, measuring today’s youth against an idealized version of ourselves. That is not wisdom. It is selective memory.
My experience suggests something quite different. I find today’s young Canadians inspiring, intelligent, resourceful, and remarkably conscientious. They are navigating economic pressures, environmental uncertainty, and technological complexities that previous generations never experienced at their age.
Different does not mean inferior. Indeed, different can mean better.
A Generation Worth Celebrating
Young Canadians are among the most educated in our history. According to Employment and Social Development Canada, 67% of Canadians aged 25 to 34 held postsecondary credentials in 2023.
Health consciousness is also evolving. Health Canada’s student surveys indicate that reported alcohol consumption during the preceding year declined from 53% in 2008–2009 to 37% in 2023–2024.
I observe young people who value nutrition, physical fitness, mental well-being, environmental responsibility, and personal development. These are admirable priorities deserving encouragement rather than criticism.
The Evolution of the Screenager
In 1996, media theorist Douglas Rushkoff introduced the term “screenager” in his book Playing the Future, describing young people immersed in interactive digital technology.
Thirty years later, the expression has acquired an intriguing intergenerational dimension.
Many seniors, myself included, belong to a generation increasingly dependent upon smartphones, tablets, and digital communications. Statistics Canada reported that 82.6% of Canadians aged 65 and older used the Internet in 2022, while 43.5% used social networking services.
I frequently encounter seniors absorbed in endless scrolling, social media commentary, and the relentless consumption of digital information. Ironically, some criticize younger people for precisely these behaviours.
Perhaps the important lesson is that technological distraction is not a generational characteristic. It is a human vulnerability.
Experience Is Not Necessarily Wisdom
Age provides experience, but experience alone does not guarantee wisdom.
Think of experience as a library containing thousands of books. Simply owning those books does not make someone knowledgeable. We must read them, question their contents, and remain willing to revise what we believe.
The same principle applies to growing older.
Wisdom demands curiosity, empathy, humility, and the recognition that our understanding of the world is never complete.
Young people possess knowledge and perspectives that older generations may lack. Equally, seniors possess historical understanding and practical experience that can benefit younger Canadians.
Neither generation owns the truth. Both have something valuable to contribute.
The Importance of Balance
A fulfilling life demands equilibrium.
Technology is an extraordinary servant but a demanding master. Similarly, excessive devotion to fitness, nutrition, or personal perfection can become counterproductive when it diminishes relationships, enjoyment, and emotional well-being.
Every generation struggles to establish this balance.
Rather than criticizing each other’s shortcomings, we should recognize our shared vulnerabilities and learn from our respective strengths.
Understanding Before Judgement
Perhaps the greatest opportunity for my generation is to replace judgement with conversation.
Ask younger Canadians about their aspirations, listen to their concerns, appreciate their accomplishments, and acknowledge the challenges they have inherited.
We need not agree with everything they believe. Understanding does not require agreement. It requires respect.
The wisdom of age should not be measured by how many years we have lived, how much technology we have mastered, or how confidently we criticize those who follow us.
It should be measured by our capacity to remain curious, compassionate, and willing to learn.
After all, growing older is inevitable. Growing wiser is a choice.
And perhaps the most meaningful legacy we can leave the next generation is not the certainty that we knew better, but the generosity to help them become better than we ever were.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven major certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Power BI, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.
Martin is a volunteer, a photographer, a learner, a technologist, a philosophizer, a pilot, and a romantic optimist.