How can we harmonize the pure Vietnamese character “nét” with the global “net” in the stride of youth in the new century and millennium, so that Vietnamese youth can live and love deserving of this era?
A friend of mine, often a philosophical thinker, once boldly declared: “Our youth spent years in trenches, while today’s youth spend just as many years with computers.” This comparison is indeed accurate. If the war years in Vietnam were marked by numerous bunkers, then the peaceful years at the study desks of many people today are filled with computers. After making this bold statement, my friend elevated the discussion: “But our ‘trench generation’ has brought forth a glorious national stature. Does today’s ‘computer generation’ know where to find the romantic depth necessary for a person who knows how to live and love?” This philosophy of “trench generation” and “computer generation” struck me, prompting me to reflect and consider the current youth—”the computer generation @.8X.com“—and how they live and love.
Having spent years “living in the area contaminated by Agent Orange” in the Truong Son mountains, when my wife gave birth to our daughter in the autumn of 1983, in a state of “mother and child safe,” I was overjoyed and decided not to have more children. It was a blessing to be a father to a healthy child; risking more could lead to deformities, causing suffering for both the child and myself. Thanks to my daughter, “the computer generation @.8X.com,” I have learned a bit about how this world lives and loves.
Even among the 8X generation, those born in the early years like Vi Thuy Linh—the young poet—recall birthdays without cakes from the subsidy period. By the mid-8X generation, having a birthday cake was commonplace. A birthday without cake or candles would seem like it belongs to another planet. This generation has gradually “enjoyed” the benefits of the country’s renewal. However, the hardships of war are replaced by the challenges of peace. In the past, we carried heavy backpacks to evacuate, while today, students lug heavy bags to primary classes and extra lessons. Once, we had no television to watch; now, with every household owning one, we must limit our children’s viewing time to focus on studying. It’s true that “learning, learning more, and learning forever.” The realm of studies feels vast and endless. When we had a ballpoint pen, it was quite a privilege. Today, writing on computers has made us forget how to write by hand. The subject of “character analysis” has become outdated for “the computer generation @.8X.com.”
Once, “nét” referred to a person’s character and handwriting, a means to improve oneself. Nowadays, “nét” connects us to the entire world, to the point where one could lose sight of their identity in this vast and crowded universe. The differing meanings of these two homophones (one pure Vietnamese, the other English) show that today’s generation, due to the “net” syndrome, has forgotten to discover their unique traits, gradually blending into the chaotic, aimless crowd. They casually enjoy roasted chicken legs in Trung Tu, grilled spring rolls at night on Hang Bong street, or race on holidays, celebrating victories of the U23 Vietnam team. The most painful aspect is that they also indulge in drugs, leading to self-destruction in the “white death.” Yet, every generation must find its own identity. In the past, we endured hardships yet remained resilient in “cutting through Truong Son.” Today, many young people seem like “mini hot pot,” able to rock for a moment but quickly exhausted, out of breath, and “turned off.” In the past, we competed to read dense black-and-white printed books, living like Pave Corsagin or “the Fly” willingly sacrificing themselves. Today, the youth know more about television hosts than writers like Bao Ninh, Trung Trung Dinh, or Thai Ba Loi… poets like Thanh Thao and Y Nhi are even less recognized. The romantic depth is what “the computer generation @.8X.com” lacks. Computers have become prisons that confine youth in time and space. Sometimes, when they escape from their desks, young men and women appear bewildered like “industrial chickens,” earning significant money but not knowing how to spend it wisely. A carefree and confident life of youth is being heavily intervened by information and media, risking distortion.
Fortunately, the younger generation has not yielded in the face of this total onslaught. Youth, whether in the past or present, whether “trench generation” or “computer generation,” all yearn for truth. The truth found in the two books “Diary of Dang Thuy Tram” and “Forever 20” has a powerful impact, directing “the generation @.8X.com” towards a new, stronger, and more confident rhythm of life.
In the past, love was like the romance of Dang Thuy Tram, the female doctor who crossed Truong Son with the ideal of “sharing the same trench” with her beloved. Nguyen Van Thac wrote countless letters to Nhu Anh, filled with both hope and despair. Today, love is expressed through chats and declarations made online. Misunderstandings, pain, and losses also arise from chatting. Many innocent young girls from good families have fallen victim to “modern-day Casanovas,” leading them into mazes with no way out, losing sight of reality. In the past, love was about giving selflessly, waiting for each other without expectations. Nowadays, finding a love that is not calculated is incredibly difficult. Even when it exists, it often consists of fleeting “flames of passion” just to experience “life’s flavor” and “thrill,” only to retreat back to calculations. The art of navigating relationships cleverly to avoid revealing true intentions has become the norm for those “chosen to love.” True and sincere love, where are you?
As of the Year of the Dog in 2006, the country’s renewal process has reached its twenties. Many young men and women in their twenties today were born entirely within this era. The youth of today, compared to my wartime youth, has indeed reached a reality where “the path to happiness is vast,” as poet To Huu predicted in the spring of 1961, forty-five years ago.
How can we harmonize the pure Vietnamese character “nét” with the global “net” in the stride of youth in the new century and millennium, so that Vietnamese youth can live and love deserving of this era? Perhaps that is the true portrait of “the computer generation @.8X.com” that this article seeks to explore.
