Guppification; The Status of our Generation
Guppy: a term used to describe the inhabitants of todays world; a specie that has become so globalized that he/she now identifies himself as part of this new generation rather than a national identity.
Actual Translation: A small, livebearing freshwater fish (Poecilia reticulata, family Poeciliidae) native to tropical America and widely kept in aquariums
Urban Translation:
A green yuppie, a 20 – 30 year old making loads of money and insisting they live a ‘green’ lifestyle when really they help consume everything on the planet.
Or
Young male wigga aged from 11-15, acting ghetto although he comes from the suburbs. A guppy will hang around with numerous other guppies doing nothing. A Guppy listens to hip-hop but only that which makes it into the Pop charts.
It was rather fascinating to hear about this identity; a new phenomenon that entails the idea that the generation of today is deeper rooted to its status rather than national identity. For as the figures above show, the abundant availability and access to worldwide roaming in the forms of and not limited to, social media and mobile phone technology; we are indeed only a couple of clicks away from instant communication with people on the other end of the globe. Taking a step back and just analyzing the development of mankind through the last 5 decades, we have progressed in ways that no one could imagine.
The whole idea between the internet, setting up codes that can be inputted into a system that allows users around the world to access a specific page; for that in itself is still a concept that is new to mankind.The development of the internet has been huge; it has changed more than just technology and has advanced more than just communication. Highlighting the specific impact of social media; the irony surrounding the use of such guppified instruments has captured the world in the 21st century. Of what started out as a means of “staying in touch” has transformed into a means to impacting world society and has acted as a show of justice. Social media websites, ranging from national websites like Mixi.jp in Japan and Facebook worldwide, have the power to dictate the most important decisions surrounding the world today (http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-19/opinion/opinion_france-election-social_1_social-media-social-tv-twitter?_s=PM:OPINION).
Referring back to the comment that likened social media websites to a “Show of justice,” websites like twitter, facebook and other social media websites; are now being used by advocacy to groups to reach out to the world in claims of injustice to highlight the attention and attain the awareness of the issue. Specifically after the revolutions in the Middle East; and due to globalization; oppression and injustice is no longer tolerated. More and more people are aware of what is justifiable; we have become more aware of not just our moral rights, but our civil and judicial rights that some leaders have denied us.
As the uproar of justice inclined in Tunisia; the people of Egypt realized that they too demanded a fairer ruler than the leader they had. Through the means of social media, through the globalized world we have today, Egyptians were able to stand up, speak up and now “be heard” on a global level. It used to be, that only the hardcore advocators for a specific change were the ones voicing the concerns and trying to be heard; these days, the news is almost force fed to us simply by becoming a guppy.
Roots
For generations and thousands of years; the importance of staying true to our roots, and true to the identity that shapes “who we are,” has been prioritized to the very essence of our existence. For the physical stature that we carry, bares little meaning but presence without the story behind what we are and where we come from. Carrying an identity of not just a nationality, but a tribe, clan or a kin; (par faith) was spoken of as the single most important depiction of value for a human being. The sense of pride is always talked of and praised in relation to the sense of belonging one feels in association with his region, his people and his “identity.” For as long as humankind (to avoid gender bias) has existed, we have evolved in every way but have always ensured that the roots are well fed and never fade away with the evolution of human kind. To migrate from a country of origin has always been seen as the panicle of sacrifice; par from leaving the immediate family, one leaves the place of which he grew up, of which bases the foundation of what he is as a human being. He has left his friends, his community and “given up” so many of these aspects that give him a sense of belonging to go and pursue a life in the “foreign” land. For this voyage of diversification has forever been seen as a mission, and the biggest obstacle in completing this mission has always been regarded as the sense of alienation in a community different to a community you were bought up in and grew up in.
Common Ground
In communicating with another person, the immediate intention is to always find common ground with the person you are communicating with; and the default question always arising as “where are you from?” this has always been the predominant question that could automatically relate you with the person of which you have just met. It used to be that, being from the same region; having a similar faith being the two identities that shaped the common ground between two individuals. For if a Brazilian, meeting a Chilean in New Zealand; this would perhaps be the common ground that bases the foundation of this new acquaintance. Maybe not; and here is where the concept of guppication comes into play. Due to globalization, this new generation are alienating themselves from national identity; and advocating for global patriotism. It is due to this technology, the social media phenomenon that we now know more about each other than at any stage of humankind ever. We have now revolutionized ourselves into a global culture, that integrates itself within itself and much of this is down to technology and more specifically down to the globalized communication of the human race worldwide.
The direct communication between people from completely different walks of life, has allowed the common ground to expand from more than just the specific homeland of our ancestors, to being citizens of this world; we are now developing into a diverse race that has expanded to acclimatize and adapt into surroundings that were once upon a time labeled foreign. Through social media; this guppy generation, we are beginning to label “home” to communities and surroundings that are nothing related to our roots of ancestory. We are developing more in common with the demographic of age, and our own generation rather than the colour and the issuance of our passports. We have because so weaved into a massive spider web, that we are now having more in common with other guppy’s whom have stories of evolvement and integration rather than nationals of the same coloured passport as us. For we are no longer citizens of our nations; we are residents of our generation. The chemical recipe that has allowed the biological osmosis of different cultures into one globalized community has been the power of the internet, and the main ingredient in creating this change, social media. The immediate access of information has enabled us humans to access more information and comprehend more about different cultures and seek more in common with other guppys that have experienced this phenomenon. For now, we are naming our children (the very essence of an identity)names that are influenced from cultures and societies that are not even in the same region.
Identity
It can be said that this sense of identity and patriotism to the homeland were the very catalysts that sparked the theory of ethnocentrism which may in case have instigated the world wars. Of course this is a very blunt statement and rather fictitious; but this is all to really understand the core of the word identity. For if more people felt a sense of belonging to a specific country or nation and realized that they would forever be identified as a member of that nation and what is stands for, they would be inclined to stay biased and subjective towards it. However, with this gupified generation; we all now appreciate and acknowledge the mother land as the starting point of our lives, however prioritize our global duty towards the new generation of humankind as the main identity of our values towards our existence. This root of moral duty has surpassed that of belonging to a particular nation or region, for the globalized world of today has enabled us to find common ground by our goals rather than nationalities.
This guppy generation that has travelled the world, and know more about the cultures of this globe than any other era. We are our own identity; we shape the colour of our passport by making our own decisions. This has only been possible with the accessibility of the internet that we have today, which leads us to social networking websites that have made us more exposed to the world community. Ironically and fending off the functionality of the social networking websites; the new generation have become a new “status” of humankind. We are now updated to the Guppy phase.
Youth 20
Below is a short poetic exert that i had written for the occasion of the Youth20 gathering in Puebla, Mexico. (Y20: a forum created to advocate for voicing the concerns of the youth to the leaders of 20 of the most influential countries that meet every year in the G20). I was given the opportunity to address the delegations of more than 20 different countries and on behalf of my colleagues in the Saudi Arabian Delegation, i would like to thank and congratulate my brothers and sisters from the countries represented in this summit and indeed those whom carry the national identity of our generation.
Representing the declaration of our manifestation,
Speaking of the views that prosper our nations,
For we must assert to whom belongs our representation
We discussed independence, governance and political hesitation
We instigated this. For we must protect our creation,
We must amalgamate, for our generation we adhere to global unification
For we are not just 1 nation, this is globalization
To you I salute and stand in my ovation
For we here, advocators for our age,
We must rattle, sound our voices and rattle the cage,
Fancy words sound all good and well,
But theories and concepts have case a spell,
As one community, we must gel!!
Let’s make it Youth 1, against the doubters theoretical nil
By: Hammad Albalawi
Thanks to Mr Adnan Hassan for the insightful information of which i was able to write this post
2chaps 