It has become convenient, in the age of social media and artificial intelligence, to claim that younger generations have “won” against old power structures simply because they are digitally fluent. A recent opinion piece by a student studying abroad has been seized upon as supposed evidence that online awareness and connectivity alone can overturn decades of entrenched systems. This claim is not merely naïve; it is dangerously reductive.
True generational impact is not measured by viral posts, trending hashtags, or clever technological hacks. It is measured by lived struggle, real-world contributions, and sustained civic courage qualities that my generation, and those that followed it, have demonstrated repeatedly and tangibly.
Those of us born in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s came of age in a Pakistan that demanded resilience. We did not have algorithms to amplify our voices, filters to conceal our failures, or digital applause to validate our efforts. Our classrooms, libraries, streets, workplaces, and institutions were the arenas in which knowledge, values, civic consciousness, and democratic ideals were tested.
We lived in a society still searching for its identity, grappling with fundamental questions of justice, education, culture, and governance without the safety net of perpetual connectivity or instant validation.
Our generation benefited from, and actively contributed to, a robust network of educational institutions that became the backbone of Pakistan’s intellectual and professional landscape. Government College Lahore, and its later transformation into a university, produced some of the nation’s most profound thinkers in both the sciences and the humanities. Among its alumni is Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Pakistan’s journey from a state with fragile institutions and limited research infrastructure to one capable of sustaining a credible nuclear deterrent is also part of this generational legacy shaped by sacrifice, discipline, and long-term commitment rather than online performance
Institutions such as Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore College for Women, Central Model School, King Edward Medical College, Khyber Medical College, the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore, and Forman Christian College were not mere certificate factories. They were incubators of leadership, professionalism, ethical responsibility, and social conscience.
These public-sector institutions later paved the way for newer universities such as the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the Lahore School of Economics (LSE), the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), and the University of Central Punjab (UCP).
At the same time, our generation faced deliberate attempts to curtail youth political agency. The ban on student unions imposed in 1984 under General Zia-ul-Haq severely restricted campus political life and undermined democratic engagement at its roots.
We also lived through a period of deep ideological and social transformation. The Islamisation policies of the late 1970s and 1980s reshaped education, public morality, and civic space. In response, activists mobilised through platforms such as the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) to resist discriminatory laws and defend fundamental rights.
Beyond ideology, we confronted realities far harsher than digital algorithms: the proliferation of Kalashnikov culture, militancy, the influx of heroin, sectarian violence, and widespread social dislocation.
While many of us persisted at home, others pursued education abroad not for prestige, but to acquire knowledge, skills, and networks to be brought back in service of the country.
Pakistan’s journey from a state with fragile institutions and limited research infrastructure to one capable of sustaining a credible nuclear deterrent is also part of this generational legacy shaped by sacrifice, discipline, and long-term commitment rather than online performance.
It is time to challenge the notion that digital fluency automatically translates into generational triumph. Social media and artificial intelligence are tools, not evidence of resilience, intellectual depth, or moral courage.
Progress is not measured in virality or fleeting trends. It is measured in sustained transformation, enduring institutions, and the weight of cultural memory.