SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

Or: "they only know how to hang on to their phones and want to get everything through the line of least resistance", and also that they are a lost generation. Are they true, or are we doing them an injustice by saying that? 

Today's generations of teenagers and young adults are certainly different from generations before them, which some attribute to the rise of permissive education and growing up with many technological gadgets. Overuse of the latter can lead to behavioural changes and apathy towards life situations and people. Nevertheless, it is not reasonable to lump all young people together, as some young people are proving to be anything but indifferent and without good views. 

Damijana Frece Dimnik recently told me a story that proves that values such as honesty are being preserved even among the younger population. 

One day, after work, she went to the shop. She made a quick purchase because she was in a hurry to get home to her two small children, who were waiting impatiently for her, and she hoped to get to the checkout as soon as possible. And she did. Her mind was elsewhere while she was putting things in her bag, so she didn't notice that she had left some small juices, salty snacks and some other items at the checkout. 

Loaded with the things she had bought, she headed out of the shop. Moments after she reached her car and started putting the items in the boot, three teenagers approached her and spoke to her. "Madam, you forgot to take these things from the shop," said one of them. The other two were holding juices and some other groceries, which they put in the boot of her car. 

Damijana was visibly surprised by the nice gesture, as the young men could have taken the goods they had bought and eaten and drunk them themselves. She said to them, "Thank you, you have made my day." They smiled modestly and one of them muttered, "Don't panic, we didn't do anything like that." 

Such gestures should certainly not be overlooked, as they prove that the adage that the world is built on the young is not entirely off the vine after all. It is especially true of those who choose to embed in their lives, among other things, the values of honesty and compassion for their fellow human beings. 

Mateja Sekavčnik, 25. 4. 2025