The modern world has an ever changing lifestyle that is constantly changing. One of the basic features of the modern lifestyle is, of

course, the impact of the mass media. One cannot over emphasize the significance of the role of the media upon the creation of the world

view of the youth and almost everyone else in modern society today.

Today, one sees an intense attraction among the young throughout the world for the so-called pop music whether it is rock, heavy metal or

other forms and for the wearing of such typically modern dresses as blue jeans which reflect the idea of freedom from constraint and of

mobility and of the individual declaration of independence from social rules. There is also the attraction for fast cars and forms of

entertainment which involve speed and daring as seen in Westem-made movies and other forms of mass entertainment. This fascination or

even mesmerization with the everyday modern lifestyle emanating from the West, which is world-wide. Of course, one of the most important

characteristics of the new lifestyle is rebellion against what young people consider to be tradition, as customs and habits and all that has been transmitted to them from

older generations. This has created what is called the 'generation gap' which has not existed until now in this way.

The modern lifestyle is also characterized by a large extent by an earnest search for meaning. It is the loss of the meaning of life for many of the young that leads them either down the road of immediate use of drugs and in some cases to violence and crime or to the quest for new philosophies and cultures. This phenomenon of the search for the rediscovery of the meaning of life has both a positive and a negative aspect. Its positive aspect is that many spiritually sensitive and intellectually alert young people in the West have become, for the first time, open to the spiritual message of other cultures and religions and there is much more receptivity to other spiritual worlds among them.

As for its negative aspect, it is that much of this openness turns to shallow emulation of often times inauthentic forms of Eastern religions and cultures to the detriment of

what still remains of the once authentic Christian and traditions in the West. If the modern world marks opposition to tradition and religion as traditionally understood,

these new forces represent in many instances the setting up of a counter tradition and the dissolution of the traditional world view. Therefore, in a sense, they go hand in

hand with the relativism and deconstructionalism which can be seen in so many fields, especially in the philosophical and literary domains.

written by : Oanta Ionut Bogdan ( free4@itcgbianchi.it )