Marketing experts say that brands reflect the personality of
individuals and the societal aspirations, if this indeed true then I-Power is in and We is out. I pods, I phones, I mate……. And the list of
brands prefixed with I …… goes on
and on.
Today it is all about I or self. Individualistic or self worth is more important than team (what an irony, TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves More) No one is interested in teams, I come first before Team, (not in dictionary alone) Team work or we did it are mere jargons that is confined to slick presentations and PR.
Everywhere you see it , I did it syndrome , one up man ship is all over, it starts at an early age parents are too worried that their children will fail in the game of one up man ship that they shadow box other parents through their children right from nursery. Nursery admissions are definitely a case in point and schools pander to this by having interviews with parents to decide on admissions.
Once admitted parents literally push the child to master everything Music, Dance, Karate, Sports and what not as some parents proudly state about their child’s achievements ……….’I like to push the envelope at an early age so that my child is ready to take on the world’…………
I mania spills into sports too that athletes by hook or crook wants to be the winner, Landis and now Marion Jones are recent examples of the I generation that had to bite the dust after all the earlier denials of wrong doing. Even when team wins the focus is on the player Icons. David Beckham, Tendulkar are some good examples of I power over Team power. The current on and off field tantrums of Indian cricketer Sreesanth clearly shows how media is focusing attention on the wrong Individual, rather than sidelining him for his pugnacious behaviour media goes out to woo him that the poor bloke thinks he is a hero while everyone around him are either laughing at him or pitying him.
I told you so is a favourite corporate game where individuals wait for colleagues to fail since no one wants to help the other lest one out do the other and does all possible to ensure the other fails even when the company as a whole fails……common reaction is ……….. ‘I told you so…….great he failed, what if it impacts all of us negatively’……….. . The I play between the Ambani brothers led to the split of one of the most dynamic corporate houses in India.
The I generation is also too busy (act busy is more right) that they have no time for anyone and everyone. Bigger the city more the busier they are, after all, they need to reflect the aspirations of a growing and demanding city.
Media has had a great role in shaping up this I generation, Star worship culture has been taken to very sycophantic heights thanks to the media. Public persons especially politicians use media to create positive spins around them to cultivate the Indispensable Image. Both TV and Radio are at the forefront of this I culture that today we have some VJ’s and RJ’s who go to any length to promote themselves in the guise of doing public service.
Films are the opiate of the masses especially in India, films no longer sell on stars and story line they need an Item number to survive. So we have a new trend Item girls, Mallika Sherawat, Rakhi Sawant and their likes are definitely a product of this I syndrome.
Today it is all about reality shows, Big Boss and Big Brother clearly underscore the power of I, to the uninitiated it is a show in which everyone tries to have the other eliminated to win the grand prize for him self or her self. Mind you the winner takes it all. If you want to see selfishness, falsehood, pretences, gossip, slander, racial jibes (remember Shilpa shetty), back stabbing and greed this is the Mother of all Shows. Never has life imitated art so well or is it vice versa.
The greatest leveler is the Internet; thanks to technology I can have a virtual identity, voice, gender, friends, career and what not. You cannot have another medium that really gives power to the Individual.
I guess I would not be publishing this if not for Internet and why do I do it, after all, I want my voice to heard or my verbiage to be read.
Come on ,whose afraid of the I generation am I or we not a part of it? Long live I-Power .
Today it is all about I or self. Individualistic or self worth is more important than team (what an irony, TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves More) No one is interested in teams, I come first before Team, (not in dictionary alone) Team work or we did it are mere jargons that is confined to slick presentations and PR.
Everywhere you see it , I did it syndrome , one up man ship is all over, it starts at an early age parents are too worried that their children will fail in the game of one up man ship that they shadow box other parents through their children right from nursery. Nursery admissions are definitely a case in point and schools pander to this by having interviews with parents to decide on admissions.
Once admitted parents literally push the child to master everything Music, Dance, Karate, Sports and what not as some parents proudly state about their child’s achievements ……….’I like to push the envelope at an early age so that my child is ready to take on the world’…………
I mania spills into sports too that athletes by hook or crook wants to be the winner, Landis and now Marion Jones are recent examples of the I generation that had to bite the dust after all the earlier denials of wrong doing. Even when team wins the focus is on the player Icons. David Beckham, Tendulkar are some good examples of I power over Team power. The current on and off field tantrums of Indian cricketer Sreesanth clearly shows how media is focusing attention on the wrong Individual, rather than sidelining him for his pugnacious behaviour media goes out to woo him that the poor bloke thinks he is a hero while everyone around him are either laughing at him or pitying him.
I told you so is a favourite corporate game where individuals wait for colleagues to fail since no one wants to help the other lest one out do the other and does all possible to ensure the other fails even when the company as a whole fails……common reaction is ……….. ‘I told you so…….great he failed, what if it impacts all of us negatively’……….. . The I play between the Ambani brothers led to the split of one of the most dynamic corporate houses in India.
The I generation is also too busy (act busy is more right) that they have no time for anyone and everyone. Bigger the city more the busier they are, after all, they need to reflect the aspirations of a growing and demanding city.
Media has had a great role in shaping up this I generation, Star worship culture has been taken to very sycophantic heights thanks to the media. Public persons especially politicians use media to create positive spins around them to cultivate the Indispensable Image. Both TV and Radio are at the forefront of this I culture that today we have some VJ’s and RJ’s who go to any length to promote themselves in the guise of doing public service.
Films are the opiate of the masses especially in India, films no longer sell on stars and story line they need an Item number to survive. So we have a new trend Item girls, Mallika Sherawat, Rakhi Sawant and their likes are definitely a product of this I syndrome.
Today it is all about reality shows, Big Boss and Big Brother clearly underscore the power of I, to the uninitiated it is a show in which everyone tries to have the other eliminated to win the grand prize for him self or her self. Mind you the winner takes it all. If you want to see selfishness, falsehood, pretences, gossip, slander, racial jibes (remember Shilpa shetty), back stabbing and greed this is the Mother of all Shows. Never has life imitated art so well or is it vice versa.
The greatest leveler is the Internet; thanks to technology I can have a virtual identity, voice, gender, friends, career and what not. You cannot have another medium that really gives power to the Individual.
I guess I would not be publishing this if not for Internet and why do I do it, after all, I want my voice to heard or my verbiage to be read.
Come on ,whose afraid of the I generation am I or we not a part of it? Long live I-Power .
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