It’s shrinking at an alarming rate. Well, maybe not alarming, but it is shrinking. Guys you can relax, it’s nothing that needs re-enlargement. And no ladies, it does not need implanting. In fact, the generation gap is asymptotic in today’s society. It may not vanish, but it will continue to get smaller.

With the evolution of technology and society – evolution of society is debatable – the gap between generations is shrinking faster than Verne Troyer’s fame. And, like an all-small-person western, this unionizing of generations will not go unnoticed.

It is common to hear more young adults and teenagers say, “My parents are my best friends.” As part of the Internet Generation, or iGeneration for Mac users, MySpace is a great indicator of family friendships because everyone and their mom has one, literally. It seems adults over the age of 35 are making their presence known on MySpace more and more these days.I have a handful of friends whose parents are on their top friends list. It is a great tool to use since both are spending time within the same community. They see the same advertisements for music and movies, and may even go as far as having comment wars.

This is where the line can be easily crossed. No matter how “cool” a person may be with his or her parents, a parent still needs to be a parent. It’s like the mother who dresses like a whore and encourages her daughter to do the same, because the diamond-studded phrase “That’s Hot” looks so cute on her daughter’s ass. There are plenty of other ways for a parent and child to relate.

According to the Joint Economic Committee, the average age of a first-time mother is 25. By the time the child is 18, the parent will be around 43. The parent is still young enough to be active with the child and learn about new things.

As an older society, we can now enjoy classic radio. When radio first became popular in the ’20s, people did not have the fortune of changing the dial to The Eagle or anything else at all. The same can be applied to television and film. With time, our society now offers variation and, through remakes, similarity.

When “Boys of Summer” by The Ataris first aired, how many younger people knew it was a Don Henley cover? For that matter, who knows who Don Henley is? Do they even know what an Atari is?

Through song covers, parodies and references, both child and parent are exposed to new ideas and the familiarity of old ones. It makes us comfortable and more willing to explore. Sharing in each other’s interests helps a parent and child become friends.

Friendship brings the two levels of authority versus subject closer to the same plane. It breaks the walls on limitations of what we can and cannot talk about. It makes talking about mature issues with parents a little more acceptable, and a little less uncomfortable.

Time has only given people more things with which they can relate, and the variation will only grow. As time passes, it changes the norms of society, and in the past few years, MySpace has done just that. It is no longer just “A Place for Friends,” but now also family.

Mikhail Chernyavsky can be reached at [email protected]