Young People are "The Entitlement Generation"... — Page 2

I admit, as a teenager (though since I turned 20 yesterday, am I still one?)...I do want instant gratification. I went to the gym? Show me the difference on the scale. I put money in the bank? Show me the interest. I ordered some food - give it to me now!

However, I've learned patience and consideration. What irks me more about my generation, more so than the instant gratification complex, so to speak, is the lack of courtesy. Opening doors, saying please and thank you, the little things.

I may be a product of my generation, but I do hope to god I'm not as bad as the people you describe.

---

I admit, I am lost without a cell - sad, but true.
The computer is an integral part of my life, and anything but high speed DSL, is "like, so slow".
I love my iPod because it allows me to blast showtunes without bothering other people.
I just started using a PDA again. Before, I actually used paper and a pencil.

I'm a product of my generation, as I said before. But at least I learned how to write and speak properly, unlike many, who write papers in internet-speak abbreviations.

All I hope is that while I am 20, and dependent on modern technology, you don't look down on me as a person for having a cell phone at the hip.

---

Ouch.

Sorry, it took me about 5 minutes to stop laughing at the thought of Baby Boomers sniffing at Generation Y's "entitlement." Holy hypocrisy, Batman!

To me, this sounds like the call of every generation- those damn overprivileged kids don't know what real work is, yadda yadda. Your parents' generation said it about you, just like their parents said it about them, all the way back to Caveman Ugg lamenting how the discovery of fire has really spoiled the young people.

Anyway, I don't know what universe you guys are living in, but last time I checked, the kids with all those electronic devices? They were rich. Or at the very least upper-middle class. But even ignoring the fact that you're using one economic class to represent an entire generation, who the heck says that having a cell phone at 14 somehow sucks out your ability to work hard or be respectful?

In conclusion- Let's say I cede to you that my generation is a bunch of spoiled brats. What could could it be that's causing us to be so entitled? Genetics or upbringing? The adults should know better than anyone else, since they're the ones responsible for both.

Just out of curiousity where would you (collectively) draw the line between Gen X and Entitlement? I did a little googling to check see what the current accepted dates are. Gen X ranges from 1964-between 1979-81 (or 1975) My reason for asking is that using the 79-81 cut off the oldest Entitlement people are 24 or 25. Is it really fair to classify an entire generations work ethic when the majority of them aren't even in college yet?

You're right, Plum, about old fart anxiety being a universal experience, part n'parcel of every generation. And I'm aware that the rich have more access to virtually every material good. But (okay, here I sound like Bill Cosby Lite) ... I volunteer in an ESL program in public school, and most lower income kids, including those in public housing, have cells and Playstations at home. (Ipods started to appear this past winter.) These possessions are coveted, hoops are jumped through to acquire them--but they are NOT considered luxeries. It's a sign of our times that these are considered THE BASICS for survival. I am ultra sensitive to the class issues in American life (anyone else read the recent series in the Times? Frightening.) But across the socio-economic boundries we're seeing this disease of distraction, of impatience. And--slightly off topic, but scary: As the Times article said, we no longer want to keep up with the Jones's. We must keep up with the Trumps.

---

It's a status thing, Auggie. You try being in a suburban middle school and not having the shiny new thing that everyone else has. Here I can speak from experience- it's not pleasant. Luckily, I went to a geek high school where people were more concerned with how to fit independent bio research into their schedules. It's a show of just how successful marketing has become when people suddenly think they need iPods, and forget how they ever lived without them.

As it's become more common and required for most jobs, college education has been moving away from the liberal arts tradition and becoming more of a job training area. When only a few people had college degrees, it was easy enough for them to just study what they were interested in. That's a lot more difficult nowadays- even my friends with well-meaning parents are getting frowns for studying things like art history.

That said, I realize my major is impractical and I'm willing to face the consequences. *cringe* There's a reason the thought of post-grad life scares the crap out of me.

The whole entitlement issus is one of the major reasons I gave up my cell phone. I had one for two years because a guy I was dating insisted we needed to be able to get in touch at a momen't notice - so I aquiesced and bought one - not too long after we broke up I had it shut off - I despise what cell phone use has done to the country. I have a friend I had not seen in a long time and we went shopping together one day - he got a call and left the store (one good thing) and out onto the street to take the call and I didn't see him for about 20 minutes. I would never do that to a friend. Its just plain rude. If I ever own my own business - say a little bakery/cafe - I'm going to post signs asking people to shut them off as long as they are in my store. They're a nuisance and cause people to act childish, greedy and rude - Entitlement is just the right name for those idiots.

---

Will they also allow the use of baseball bats to club the inconsiderate? Thank goodness most of the flights I take are trans-Atlantic. No signal over the ocean, suckers.

speaking of baseball bats...here's my completely unsubstantiated theory about this "generation".

I was a nanny to children who are now 16 and 13. The thing that always bothered me about the way these children were treated can be best summed up by watching them in Little Leaugue sports:

EVERY team won every game. There was no "score" being kept. Every child received a trophy. These children grew up with a sense that they were the best at everything. They did not "work" to win games at all. They didn't have to.

I just attended the middle school graduation ceremony for the 13 year old. There were 60 kids in the class and we had to sit through EVERY child receiving a certificate of some sort. Most of them read "perfect attendance, third quarter". WTF? You receive accolades for SHOWING UP TO CLASS?

Now, these trophied, certificated children are young adults. Of course they expect the best office, job, coffee, car, phone, whatever. They were RAISED to expect it.

---

*chooses the aluminum bat*

And you know what? There's nothing new about people expecting more than they're going to get. Isn't that the American Dream? "Work, hard, little Johnny, and you can accomplish anything. You can grow up to be President." I'm not seeing how Generation Y is any different than previous ones in that respect.

I'm 13. I don't have a cell phone, get money or rewards for making good grades, or expect the world to be handed to me on a silver platter, basically. I don't have a PDA or an iPod - I have to depend on good old pencil & paper or my CD player.

However, I am astounded at the outgoings of some of the other people I know. One girl has had three phones, because she broke her first two. Her parents just bought her another each time. Actually, very few people at my school are without phones. Most of them will not touch any kind of clothing if it does not have the name of a designer splashed all over it. It's disgusting at times. I know two or three people who have had their cell phones ring in class. They answered them, for heaven's sake.

And then these people had the nerve to complain that the teachers confiscated their cells.

I'm afraid that these type of people are the ones that give teenagers the image of being greedy, inconsiderate brats who care only about themselves.

And the point about being rewarded for everything. Yes, there are awards for showing up to class. At our school, we get candy bars. There are rewards for everything these days. It's the same concept of demolishing policies that might cause a drop in self-esteem, such as tag and inter-class competitions.

Apparently, it doesn't matter how good you are at certain skills nowadays. It's all about how much money you were born with.

But that's not what the article said, if I'm remembering right. It said that they're expecting to have good, interesting jobs right away because they work hard. Still a too-high expectation, perhaps, but not quite the same thing.