Happy New Year!

Respond to the following - depending on your answers, I will know if you are my colleague:

□ I used a manual typewriter
□ I used a public telephone booth
□ I used a slate in kindergarten
□ I used reel to reel audio recordings
□ I used black and white television

If you never used any of the above items, you are younger than I am. What a difference a few decades make. Today I don’t know if I can function without an iPhone or my laptop. Even words like tablets and default have new meanings.

My world has changed and I must be prepared to change with it. If I don’t, very soon I may not be able to communicate with my grandchildren. One grandson was not even four, when he explained some function on the television to my wife.

With that backdrop we say, Welcome to 2016 – a year when many jobs will disappear and be replaced by smart machines. Although wanting greater independence, many younger people will continue to depend on older folks to make ends meet.

A freshly released Pew Research Center study indicates that a larger-than-expected percentage of young people are still living with their parents rather than moving out and perhaps buying a place of their own.

Some of these young people have been referred to as the grab-and-go generation, with 29% saying that they often purchase food and drink while on the run, compared with 19% of consumers overall. Research is confirming that gas stations/ convenience stores are becoming the preferred choice for fast foods among post-millennialists.

But to whom are we referring when we talk about post-millennialists? We are talking about young people born since the late nineties – they are dubbed Generation Z, home-landers and at times, simply posts. Many posts know nothing about 9/11.

Today’s 'posts' want to be defined by being connected, both from a technological standpoint and a social standpoint. They don't think money matters much and they're not interested in taking on debt. According to one sociologist, “posts are not colossally ambitious, perhaps as a coping mechanism, but they're optimistic in the face of economic challenges.”

As they grow up and begin living on their own, posts likely will adopt a near-migrant lifestyle, zeroing in on warm cities that offer an abundance of inexpensive housing and fledgling indie (independent) scenes. They'll move constantly in an attempt to find better work, better balance and that ever-elusive happiness.

I chuckle at times when I see how my students think – at times I am looking for a notepad (note book) on which to write. While I am looking, they are recording the same information digitally, using their smart phones. They transfer notes to their smart phones. They shop using their smart phones. At church, they read their Bibles on their smart phones.

Did you know that in order to understand future trends, one can even pursue as course in Professional Foresight? This is a transdisciplinary educational program of study that seeks to improve one's ability to create, anticipate, and manage change in a variety of domains, on a variety of scales, and using a variety of specialties. Creating, anticipating, and managing change in our increasingly fast-paced and globalized technological world is an ongoing challenge, and building a global culture of foresight proficiency provides great social value.

For many of us who will not be pursuing courses in Professional Foresight, there is no need to feel useless as we look at 2016 and the years ahead. Whereas many of the courses equip students to analyze, providing solutions is another matter. Considering that habits are better caught than taught, I believe someone needs to model value-based solutions to tomorrow’s generation.

Many of us who raised children without the frequent support of grandparents, must now make ourselves available to our children and grandchildren. We need to pass on our understanding of commitment and stability, crucial in any family. Even though we faced major challenges, we understood the value of commitment in times of crisis. We resolved our differences privately, face to face, not publicly via Facebook.

We made time to eat together. At those meal tables we learned graces; we learned to appreciate community; we respected authority and valued faith. In addition, we learned to be content with what was served. This is why I intend to invite some young families to maintain this family board room - a place where nourishment and nurturing flourish – that’s my New Year resolution.