Luckiest generation

As someone who was born in the late 90s, I consider myself lucky to be part of one of the most fortunate generations in India. If you were also born during this time or in the early 2000s, I hope you can also relate to and appreciate this sentiment. We were born when the effects from the 1991 liberalization of capital markets in India were settling in. The middle-class aspirations were growing and India had just started on its growth journey. However, beyond these macro-level developments, we were fortunate to have a fulfilling childhood, where making friends and sharing memories took place in person rather than behind screens. We spent more time playing outdoors rather than in front of screens, and we even had the luxury of getting bored - a privilege that is rarely seen among today's kids, who are constantly bombarded with apps competing for their attention.

I'm not suggesting that the internet and smartphones are inherently evil. Our generation was fortunate enough to have been introduced to them during our mid to late teens, which helped us become more aware of the world. We were exposed to different cultures, and while it cannot replace the experience of traveling outside India and experiencing these cultures firsthand, the internet certainly made our generation more liberal and tolerant. Moreover, the internet also democratized the distribution of knowledge, and now a middle-class kid can dream and prepare for exotic careers while having a fair shot at making it. This is something that previous generations can only envy. If the cheap internet and smartphone revolution had arrived several years later, it would not have been possible.