It seems that each year we move further from our own childhoods, the change in youth culture continues to evolve rapidly. Although some changes can be for the better, others can be hard to grasp.

The holiday season highlights the drastic changes, with children requesting the latest and greatest toys, or devices, as may seem more accurate. In comparison from years in the past when kids would ask for the latest Barbie creation or a basketball hoop, they’re asking for the latest makeup palette or smart device.

I recently volunteered to help out at my old elementary school, and I was shocked at the differences between my time as a simple tot, to the the young students that now fill the school. The students have an air of maturity, or rather the desire to seem mature, and have more exposure to the world around them, then the more sheltered adolescence of years gone by. The vast amount of cell phones, iPads, and smart everything has played a major role in the quicker exposure to the world, as children of today must simply open Twitter or the Google app to have access to the top headlines.

This exposure to the world has left youngsters quite opinionated, with some calling it outspoken courage or just plain rude commentary.

The things that made you “cool” in 2008 such as the latest Nintendo DS games, sparkly mechanical pencils, and the fact that your parents allowed you to watch the first Hunger Games movie would be meaningless to the children of today. Now, especially with the holiday season starting, kids are not asking for, but expecting the privileges most of us received in high school.

Nowadays, elementary school Christmas lists consist of the latest iPhone, Kylie Cosmetics product, and a new boyfriend, forgoing the Game Boy and American Girl dolls of a mere decade ago.

Are we simply teaching kids to focus on having the latest and greatest, and giving them access to things off limits to so many for so long? It may be better to educate the new generation with current events and common sense, but this leaves youths skipping over much of their innocence.

Living in such a transitional time period, many advances are being thrown at us. Yes, each coming generation brings its own changes, but with so much technology and accessibility, it is much easier for kids to be influenced in the wrong ways.