I’m currently sitting in a coffee shop, reading an article about a fourth-generation strawberry farmer from Florida. This is obviously not what I was intending to look for, but Google had other plans for my distractible brain.
Their berries are as sweet as ever this year, despite the El Niño season. A round of applause to Berry Sweet Acres.
Back to business. Strawberry generation, okay, let’s see what I can find.
This is a term that’s meant to piss people off. Take a guess, what do you think this means? If I come up to you, stick a finger in your face, and call you a no-good strawberry, what would you do? Hey, hey now. I’m just kidding! We’re all friends here!
Everybody Hates Strawberries
The strawberry generation refers to people born in the mid-1980s to 1990s (primarily millennials). It’s a term used in Taiwan to describe an age group that “bruises easily under pressure” like strawberries. They apparently can’t work hard (like their parents’ generation), they’re spoiled, emotionally fragile, arrogant, selfish, and individualistic.
Ohhh, the horror.
The Taiwan News by way of The New York Times says this generation “grew up in an environment without war and political persecution, with less poverty and easy access to information. This generation feels free to abandon tradition and takes education and freedom for granted.”
Contrary to the cranky boomers, I’m happy for you, strawberries. You got to mature in a world without the pains of the previous generation, and it shows. You have the freedom and space to embrace creativity. I think that’s pretty neat.
Especially in places like Singapore and Taiwan, the strawberry generation is changing the way Asian cities look. Instead of skyscrapers, mega malls, and glitzy office buildings, we’re seeing an increase in unique, people-focused spaces.
Little boutique cafes. Shops selling handmade crafts. Parks and side streets converted into art installations.
In the words of Taipei resident Ben Thompson, “Suddenly there’s coffee shops [and] just an explosion of these really cool places.” Taipei has seen a 30 percent jump in licensed eating and drinking spots between 2007 and 2013.
Boomers These Days…
But, why is the older generation freaking out about this? Why would anyone ever see this as a bad thing? Well, according to them, opening a cafe simply isn’t ambitious enough.
You can own your own business, and be financially independent and emotionally fulfilled – but selling scones? Matcha lattes?? God forbid.
Much like the laying flat movement of China, the strawberry generation signals a shift in the winds. Kids these days don’t know how to work hard, eh? Back in the day, we walked fifty miles to school while it was raining fire. Back in the day, we worked in office cubicles for nine billion hours per week and only got to see the sun during our three-minute lunch break.
Kids these days are just too soft. Damn them for not wanting what we had.
Listen, boomers. The gap will continue to widen. You’re leaving the world in the hands of a generation that wants to enjoy their lives. Imagine that! You’re leaving your cities, businesses, and environment in the hands of the most spoiled, emotionally fragile, arrogant, selfish, and individualistic among us. The most creative, compassionate, and ambitious.
As the vice of control and tradition loosens, so does the faucet of freedom.
I love strawberries, and you should too.
