We want the good life, right about now!

Everyone reacts differently when they see their parents on Facebook. For some, it is a matter of deep embarrassment, and they hurry to block all updates and refuse all friendship requests. For others, it is a matter of great amusement to watch their parents think of clever status updates and figure out the vagaries of Farmville, Café World and Barn Buddy.

And while many youngsters wonder whether it is a good idea to let their parents take a peek into their social lives, view their friendships and their photos, there is no going back on the fact that the divide between the young and the old is fast diminishing.

According to new reports, ageism campaigners are also protesting the use of words like ‘elderly’, ‘senior’ or ‘fossil’ to describe older folk. They believe that no one should be subjected to such “ageist stereotypes”. But the most interesting word I have heard of late is the term ‘older-preneur’ which is used to describe ‘older people starting businesses’. I have discovered many olderpreneurs in Bangalore recently, who are busy drawing up business plans, creating marketing strategies and setting up entrepreneurial ventures. For instance, an acquaintance just told me that her husband had recently launched a startup, after opting for voluntary retirement a few months ago. Another noted Bangalorean who resigned as CEO of a company has just opened an elementary school in the city.

And yet…on the other side of the spectrum are the very young people with very old heads. I’ve discovered a number of entrepreneurs in the city who are younger than 30; some take over their family businesses, others launch their own companies. Case in point is my 23-year-old friend Theo who opened his own restaurant with two of his college friends. Though it is a one-room outfit situated above a supermarket, and though it has nothing beyond burgers and cola on the menu, it is packed with guests every evening. For the youngsters in the locality, it is the new hangout, and they don’t care too much that there are no extra frills or fancy foods, because the young owners have made sure that the music and the mood make up for the lack of choices on the menu.

There is no end to the ways that young people are thinking ‘old’. Some youngsters, I know, are busy making retirement plans, though they’ve only crossed 25. Like my just-out-of-business-school friend Niloufer who has landed a job as an executive in a company and has created a retirement savings plan which she wants to build up, so that she can retire at the age of 40.

Another set of young kids, aged between 20 and 24, are minor players in the stock market, where they buy and sell shares on a weekly basis.

The generation gap is shrinking slowly but surely, but what do young people feel about it. I speak to my neighbour Anisha who is just leaving on a project to the US and she says, “I think it has a lot to do with the fact that information and opportunities abound today. Earlier, young people would get all their information from older people; today, we just need to switch on the TV or surf the Net. Also, we want to buy a piece of the good life now and as soon as possible.

As for older folk, they used to rely on young people for many things. Today, they are independent, have fit bodies and can handle anything new with the same enthusiasm as someone as young as me.”

I have to know if young Anisha minds the fact that her mother has posted her profile on several social networking sites. She replies ruefully. “The real dilemma is wondering if my mother wants me on her friend’s list, not the other way around...”