#CriticismOfTheKidsToday #ValidCriticisms #MillennialCriticism
Are you tired of hearing older generations complain about “the kids today”? 🙄 It seems like every generation has their own gripes about the younger generation, but which criticisms are actually valid? Let’s take a closer look at some common criticisms and see if there’s any truth to them.
### The Work Ethic of Millennials
One of the most common criticisms of Millennials and Gen Z is their work ethic. Older generations often claim that younger workers are lazy, entitled, and demanding. But is there any truth to this criticism?
– **Example**: Studies show that Millennials are actually the most educated generation in history, and they value work-life balance more than previous generations. This can be misconstrued as laziness, but in reality, they are striving for a healthier work environment.
### Technology Dependency
Another frequent criticism of “the kids today” is their dependence on technology. Whether it’s their addiction to social media, constant smartphone use, or lack of face-to-face communication, older generations often lament the reliance on technology.
– **Example**: While it’s true that younger generations are heavily reliant on technology, it’s important to recognize that technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. From remote work to online learning, technology has transformed the way we live and work.
### Lack of Financial Responsibility
Many older adults claim that Millennials and Gen Z lack financial responsibility, are drowning in student loan debt, and can’t seem to manage their finances.
– **Example**: It’s true that many younger adults are burdened with student loan debt, but the economy and job market have drastically changed from previous generations. Additionally, the rising cost of living makes it challenging for younger individuals to save and invest.
### Entitlement and Instant Gratification
The accusation of entitlement and a desire for instant gratification is often thrown at younger generations. It’s said that they want everything handed to them without putting in the hard work.
– **Example**: While some individuals may display entitled behavior, it’s essential to consider the societal shifts that have shaped their mindset. Growing up in a fast-paced, digital world has led to a desire for quick results and immediate rewards.
### Resistance to Traditional Structures
Lastly, older generations criticize the younger generation for their resistance to traditional structures, whether it’s in the workplace, politics, or education.
– **Example**: However, this resistance can be seen as a sign of progress and a push for necessary changes. Younger individuals are advocating for diversity, inclusion, and equality, which can disrupt traditional structures but ultimately lead to a more equitable society.
### Conclusion
While it’s easy to dismiss criticisms of “the kids today” as mere generational divide, there are some valid points worth considering. However, it’s crucial to understand the underlying factors that have shaped the behaviors and attitudes of younger generations.
By acknowledging the societal, economic, and technological changes that have influenced Millennials and Gen Z, we can have a more nuanced and informed conversation about the strengths and challenges of “the kids today”. It’s time to move past the stereotypes and bridge the gap between generations for a better understanding of each other. 🤝
Many of them are far too small to effectively operate heavy machinery, particularly those under the age of 10.
Kids today are still suffering with the aftermath of lockdowns combined with the overexposure to certain badly regulated forms of social media(TikTok).
We are in our phones and devices too damn much to enjoy life WITH each other.
Kids today have subpar typing skills compared to the generation that grew up with physical keyboards
One of rhe odd things about “the kids today” which I think will be important to look at in the future, is that kids today are consuming content made by Kids. That’s never happened before. But a lot of the youtube channels tiktok accounts, etc. That they look at, are made by kids the same age as them.
They seem to have a lot more anxiety than my generation. We were more relaxed. These kids have anxiety and crazy expectations.
No one played a sport year round for 20 hours a week when I was kid with few exceptions. These kids play constant sports and after school tutoring and need to do homework, get good grades, and be start athletics at the same time. Gen X didn’t give a shit about any of that. We opted out.
They’re overly anxious. Our brains were not fit to withstand criticism on a global scale (which social media offers) and children without yet a prefrontal cortex are stunting their mental health capacity.
I feel like Gen Z is growing up in an era filled with rage bait more than there’s ever been in the past and public discourse is going to look wild when they’re in the 30s and 40s
Their social skills leave a lot to be desired.
They were never given a chance to grow up without smart phones or tablets and as a whole, it shows in their face-to-face communication.
I mean the amount of teachers in America complaining that students of all ages, including teenagers are unable to read properly is probably something to be concerned about
*some* kids today have a very limited attention span and can barely read despite being high school graduates. One of my kids’ friends is like this. A sweet person but basically consumes a media diet of YouTube shorts. She doesn’t read anything ever. When she talks she sounds like she’s speaking Newspeak from 1984. Instead of saying “this is delicious”. She might say “this is so so good.”.
Less emotional maturity and lack of ability to cope under pressure
The ability to troubleshoot things. I’ve noticed this to be an increasing trend. If something isn’t working, they don’t appear to know how to find the answer. They grasp things quickly but I expected them to be able to solve things more easily. It seems to be going the other direction.
They are worse in school – not just academically but behaviour-wise as well.
A teacher friend told me about how she is constantly getting shit on by her classes. From how she described it, it sounds like outright bullying.
She basically said that they openly mock and laugh at her for everything she says or does. In her words ‘a running commentary of criticism’.
A school in a nearby town lost 18 teachers at Christmas, all quit from being sick of the abuse.
My year was considered awful when I was in school, but it was mainly refusal to do things, arguments, the usual.
Nowadays it’s less back-and-forth with students and teachers and more just a barrage of insults and threats.
After hearing that I really wonder how long teachers will last as a whole if something doesn’t change.
I have never seen such a failing in basic math and study skills. I’ve taught freshman in college who didn’t know how to do the simplest algebra possible and regularly failed open-book tests with the answers verbatim in the book. It hurts to grade.
As a member of the “kids today” group, I have to say a lot of what I’m seeing here is valid. We do have a hard time with social interaction, many of us are entitled and disrespectful towards teachers. I’ve seen first hand kids blatantly ignore teachers, talk over them, yell, and try to get others to use racial slurs.
On the other hand, those kids have very few supporters, from my experience. Maybe they all group together, but the majority of their peers wish they would shut up. Pockets of kids who are nasty are growing, yes, and they’re getting away with it more and more. But I know many kids who have the utmost respect for their teachers and fellow peers. I think there are generational trends and issues that will affect certain age groups more than others, but as a whole I think it’s been that way for all of human history, we’re just more aware of it now.
My best advice as a member of “kids these days” would be DON’T let future generations have unrestricted access to the internet. It has ruined us in many ways.
10 year old girls asking Santa for expensive skincare with active ingredients which should not be used by anyone under 25 or so, and literal kids flocking to Sephora and destroying samples.
I work at a public library and have for over ten years. The behaviors staff are having to deal with now from middle schoolers are outside of what we have seen in previous years. Normal-shit-teen-behavior has turned to scary-shit-teen-behavior, with a level of thoughtlessness that I have not seen in years prior. When caught smoking weed in the bathroom, drinking in the library, attacking people experiencing homelessness, threatening to murder staff, attempting to sexually assault other teens, attempting to vandalize property, etc… these kids seem utterly unable to reflect on their actions or modify their behavior. They are very much not ok and I am very concerned for their ability to turn it around.
Having worked at a university, younger people aren’t very good expressing their needs. Whenver someone came to my office for something, I had to play with words to try decipher what they were trying to say in order to give them the help they needed.
I work at ulta and I also know that sephora has this issue too. Kids (specifically preteen girls) today are actively using retinol. Using retinol at such a young age (the only exception is prescription-use) will damage their skin barriers.
Screen addiction.
Disclaimer: I’m 33 but still one of the kids where phone use is concerned.
Year 26. My 5th graders cannot read.
Around 2012-13, I spent a year working as an online tutor for essay writing. I had several students and graduate students from a well-known Christian university that had very low enrollment criteria.
I had undergraduates who couldn’t form a complete sentence, who totally lacked any knowledge of proper English grammar and punctuation, and who couldn’t tell me what the verb was in their introductory sentence. And yet, I was expected to tutor them in their writing skills in a very short period of time.
Their college had purchased a subscription for all of their students, and so avoided having an on-site writing center for students who struggled.
I had one essay I long remembered: a doctoral student’s dissertation was given to me to review, and the student’s “research” involved a Survey Monkey survey with 10 questions, that all of 10 people answered. ALL of her conclusions were reached from “interpreting” her survey results. The *only* source of information she used other than her survey results was the Bible. Really.
And it was only 5 pages long. FIVE PAGES!! For a doctoral dissertation!! Liberty University. Never hire someone from there.
I have never seen a generation as media illiterate as Gen Z is. Not their fault, at least in the US—the school system here was pretty bad at teaching media literacy and critical thinking skills when I was a teen, and it’s gotten considrably worse in the 20 years since, to say nothing of the surge of misinfo and disinfo—but it’s, uh… it’s really, really bad. Like, super bad. Possible societal collapse levels of bad. I’m a media scholar (PhD candidate in comms with a focus on journalism studies), so I’m a bit more familiar with the nuts and bolts of media literacy than most, and that might be making me more alarmist than I should be. I certainly hope so, although I also teach undergrads, and I keep finding this to be the case in my students as well, which is deeply concerning.
But from what I’ve been seeing, and from what my own research has been uncovering, we’re reaching a point where “kids these days” not only can’t critically analyze the media they’re consuming or even correctly identify what kind of media it is (mistaking entertainment for journalism, for example, even in cases where an entertainer never claims to be a journalist or even explicitly notes that they aren’t one), but often can’t even fully understand the media they’re consuming in the first place. We’re talking an inability to understand basic tropes, contextual clues, surface-level subtext, pacing, plot beats, etc.
Considering how absolutely essential storytelling of all sorts is to the human experience and the transmission of social and cultural norms and values, and considering we package most of our information transmission into a story format (news stories, documentaries, films, books, songs, etc.), this inability to even parse media is… maybe unprecedented? Like, even going back to the time of cave paintings and campfire stories, the ability to understand media has been a common element of human consciousness and society.
My current vague theory that I plan on looking into once my current research projects are completed is that it might have something to do with a loss of longstanding storytelling traditions. For example, telling or reading kids bedtime stories wasn’t just a form of social bonding (though it was that, and a crucial one), but also an essential part of developing rudimentary media literacy. And, apparently, that’s just not a thing that happens these days in a lot of households, because giving a kid a tablet and letting them watch YouTube or TikTok or the like is a lot easier, and that’s powerfully appealing in a time when a lot of people feel like they’re overcommitted and overworked.
I dunno. Something I’ve been thinking about lately.
**TLDR version:** I think “kids these days” are increasingly going without crucial media literacy skills, and since human civilization relies on storytelling for developing communal identities, transmission of information, cultural values, and norms, as well as for soicetal bonding, this has the potential to be really, really bad.