What's with all the anxiety in today's youth?

[CodeMonkey]

Today's generation has its challenges, no question, but it is a far more indulged generation compared to earlier ones. Parents in the past weren't ashamed to have a life independent of their children and let their children have theirs... unsupervised. Children didn't have rights and their opinion just didn't matter until they had left home, paying their own rent/mortgage and cleaning their own toilet. Then you started to earn a say in society.

The "indulged generation" or narcissistic generation isn't something that's new to Millennials, as The Wire noted: "Basically, it's not that people born after 1980 are narcissists, it's that young people are narcissists, and they get over themselves as they get older." Every generation was narcissistic at some point and they give other magazine headlines throughout the years showing that case.

As for cleaning toilets and paying mortgages doesn't earn you a say in society. Everyone cleans their own toilets and pays their own mortgages, your voice is a sea of voices in that regard, and if you want your rights and opinions to be acknowledged, you have to do a lot more than simply cleaning your toilet.

 

[James]

Not sure what all the anxiety is all about since a new study by the Canadian Department of Finance just declared the millenials the wealthiest generation of young Canadians to come around!

They state that those between the ages of 28 and 34 have an average net worth of approximately $93,000. The catch, however, is that 10% of this population holds 70% of the wealth. So now we're back to anxiety again.

Millennials wealthier than previous generations: federal finance report

Article: http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/millenni...-generations-federal-finance-report-1.2793102

 

[prosperegal]

This is my mom's perspective: Boomers were less anxious because while many grew up in relative comfort, they were only ONE generation removed from the Depression and rationing during the war. The stories they hear about living in poverty - from their parents - were much more "real" than to millennials (and those of us who hover between). And while my parents didn't have much growing up (post-WWII Hong Kong looked NOTHING like the HK of today) compared to middle class Anglo-Canadians (my mom's family was considered middle class by HK standards, but she did not have a TV or fridge in her home until she was in high school. Actually, I think they bought their first TV when she was finishing up university. That would be around 1971?), just by BEING IN CANADA and in a middle class, upwardly mobile suburb, pretty much made me oblivious to their experiences. They really didn't talk about it much, anyway.

 

[Tewder]

You sound like you're 70.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder.

Jewish, Italian and Chinese Canadians are better off socioeconomically than your generic anglo Canadian types. If this "tough love" approach was so beneficial in the long run, why have they lost ground compared to cultural groups that supposedly "coddle" their offspring for too long?

I'll bite, how have 'generic, anglo Canadian types' lost ground?... and just what exactly are 'generic, anglo Canadian types'?

Dude, you better check your ritalin dose. Your contempt of older white people is getting the better of your judgement in this discussion.

The "indulged generation" or narcissistic generation isn't something that's new to Millennials, as The Wire noted: "Basically, it's not that people born after 1980 are narcissists, it's that young people are narcissists, and they get over themselves as they get older." Every generation was narcissistic at some point and they give other magazine headlines throughout the years showing that case.

I agree that all youth is 'narcissistic' in the sense you are implying. This isn't about narcissism though it's about indulgence and parenting and society.

As for cleaning toilets and paying mortgages doesn't earn you a say in society. Everyone cleans their own toilets and pays their own mortgages, your voice is a sea of voices in that regard, and if you want your rights and opinions to be acknowledged, you have to do a lot more than simply cleaning your toilet.

'Cleaning toilets' is being used metonymically here. It's about standing on your own feet and thereby earning some of the privileges that come with being an independent adult...

You're sort of making my point here though in that your idea that everybody 'automatically' gets a say - that everybody is a special little snowflake boasting a gold star for effort - is a modern concept that previous generations didn't have. I'm not implying this is implicitly right or wrong, I'm just saying that this has informed how millennials have been reared versus how previous generations were.

 

[King of Kensington]

I'll bite, how have 'generic, anglo Canadian types' lost ground?... and just what exactly are 'generic, anglo Canadian types'?

The same people you praised here for their supposedly superior parenting:

WASP parents don't love their children any less or any more than European parents. The approach is not 'uncaring' for the sake of being uncaring. This is a gross misunderstanding. The approach is more one of 'tough love', the believe being that you are not doing your children any favours in life by helping them too much, that a little struggle and hardship is good and builds character, that you won't truly succeed until you figure it out and earn it for yourself...

Dude, you better check your ritalin dose. Your contempt of older white people is getting the better of your judgement in this discussion.

I'm sure you're much, much closer to 30 than you are to 70. That's why your "these entitled youth today, they have it so easy and lack the values and work ethic of the good old days" line is pretty comical.

 

[King of Kensington]

Dude, you better check your ritalin dose. Your contempt of older white people is getting the better of your judgement in this discussion.

I'm sure you're much, much closer to 30 than you are to 70. That's why your line about entitled young people today lacking the values and work ethic of the good old days is kind of comical.

(I'm way past "Millenial" by the way).

 

[wild goose chase]

Not sure what all the anxiety is all about since a new study by the Canadian Department of Finance just declared the millenials the wealthiest generation of young Canadians to come around!

They state that those between the ages of 28 and 34 have an average net worth of approximately $93,000. The catch, however, is that 10% of this population holds 70% of the wealth. So now we're back to anxiety again.

Millennials wealthier than previous generations: federal finance report

Article: http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/millenni...-generations-federal-finance-report-1.2793102

With the catch being that there's inequality (10% holding 70% of the wealth), though the average is wealthier, it's kind of hard to visualize how that compares to previous generations since only the average is reported as changing between generations (not how much inequality was there back then and if it's the wealthier millennials getting wealthier than past generations while the poorer millennials aren't, or if everyone is getting wealthier but the wealthier get disproportionate increases relative to their past generations).

Perhaps, they could report something like the median or modal (most typical) net worth too or show how the distribution of wealth changed over generations.

 

[CodeMonkey]

'Cleaning toilets' is being used metonymically here. It's about standing on your own feet and thereby earning some of the privileges that come with being an independent adult...

You're sort of making my point here though in that your idea that everybody 'automatically' gets a say - that everybody is a special little snowflake boasting a gold star for effort - is a modern concept that previous generations didn't have. I'm not implying this is implicitly right or wrong, I'm just saying that this has informed how millennials have been reared versus how previous generations were.

Just a pet-peeve, most people do believe "cleaning toilets" or paying a mortgage is the only time your voice should be heard argument is becoming a little unnerving.

 

[wild goose chase]

This is my mom's perspective: Boomers were less anxious because while many grew up in relative comfort, they were only ONE generation removed from the Depression and rationing during the war. The stories they hear about living in poverty - from their parents - were much more "real" than to millennials (and those of us who hover between). And while my parents didn't have much growing up (post-WWII Hong Kong looked NOTHING like the HK of today) compared to middle class Anglo-Canadians (my mom's family was considered middle class by HK standards, but she did not have a TV or fridge in her home until she was in high school. Actually, I think they bought their first TV when she was finishing up university. That would be around 1971?), just by BEING IN CANADA and in a middle class, upwardly mobile suburb, pretty much made me oblivious to their experiences. They really didn't talk about it much, anyway.

It is true that past generations did have it rougher and today there are many things that would be considered luxuries then but then once you're used to a certain standard of living and get used to it for a while, it's hard to imagine "going back". For example, not too long ago air conditioning was still a luxury in many places. But once you're used to air conditioning in the summer, the idea that you never had it before almost seems odd and hardly anyone then wants to do without. Or the fact that almost everyone now has cell phones and the internet, but it wasn't even a generation ago that it wasn't mainstream. Now, it feels almost unthinkable for many people that you could leave the house and not be reached by phone, or you'd have to go to the nearest library and check out some books if you don't know something off the top of your head rather than google something or check Wikipedia in a few seconds. Many material goods have become much cheaper nowadays than past generations (of course with some variability as usual with things like rises or drops in gas/food prices from year to year) but overall people spend far less on basic needs like food, clothing or possessions like electronics etc. People in the past often kept material goods for longer such as resoling a pair of shoes when they wore out, whereas nowadays someone might chuck them in the trash after a few months and buy dozens more pairs at the mall.

But besides these material goods, there are things like education (eg. rising cost of university) and housing that haven't gotten cheaper and it's these things that contribute to the millennials' anxiety and perceived more precarious situation.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Looks like university just got cheaper for anyone who's parents can hide or defer their income.

 

[Tewder]

I'm sure you're much, much closer to 30 than you are to 70. That's why your line about entitled young people today lacking the values and work ethic of the good old days is kind of comical.

You sound like you're 70.

Jewish, Italian and Chinese Canadians are better off socioeconomically than your generic anglo Canadian types.

Do you have anything relevant to say at all? I get it, you've got a bias against 'white' people and elderly people. That's clear but I'm just not sure what bearing any of this has on differences in how generations are raised?

The same people you praised here for their supposedly superior parenting:

Please quote where I said only 'generic anglo Canadian types' - whatever that is and you still haven't justified such a bigoted label - raised their children in any way.

Please quote where i said any style of parenting is superior.

For the record, pre-millenial cohorts among many ethnic groups share the 'tough love' style of parenting values I describe. This is pretty much a cliché among African Americans, for example.

Look, if you care to disagree with constructive comments please do. Otherwise stop the trolling.

 

[wild goose chase]

For the record, pre-millenial cohorts among many ethnic groups share the 'tough love' style of parenting values I describe. This is pretty much a cliché among African Americans, for example.

I'm not sure about which parenting styles are considered "tough love", but referring back to the "18 and you're out" discussion back in the thread, it seems like African Americans have a percentage of people living in multi-generational families more similar to Hispanic or Asian Americans than white Americans.

From http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/03/18/the-return-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/

"Hispanics (22%), blacks (23%) and Asians (25%) are all significantly more likely than whites (13%) to live in a multi-generational family household.


The rates of three of these four groups have increased significantly since 1980, with blacks the lone exception. However, the rates of all four groups have gone up from 2006 to 2008 — a time when the recession brought on a wave of joblessness and foreclosures."

 

[Tewder]

I'm not sure about which parenting styles are considered "tough love", but referring back to the "18 and you're out" discussion back in the thread, it seems like African Americans have a percentage of people living in multi-generational families more similar to Hispanic or Asian Americans than white Americans.

From http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/03/18/the-return-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/

"Hispanics (22%), blacks (23%) and Asians (25%) are all significantly more likely than whites (13%) to live in a multi-generational family household.


The rates of three of these four groups have increased significantly since 1980, with blacks the lone exception. However, the rates of all four groups have gone up from 2006 to 2008 — a time when the recession brought on a wave of joblessness and foreclosures."

A) I thought we had established that the 'tough love' value system was one of past generations not of the current one, even among whites.

B) You might also have to factor in socio-economic factors owing that disadvantaged demographic groups might live more often in multi-generational arrangements out of necessity rather than due to values/preference per se. Similarly, disadvantaged whites may live this way more so than affluent ones?

 

[lead82]

The media loves using averages which skews the numbers. Some have done really well but it would be interesting to know what the median number is. I suspect it would be a lot lower than 93K

 

[prosperegal]

A) I thought we had established that the 'tough love' value system was one of past generations not of the current one, even among whites.

B) You might also have to factor in socio-economic factors owing that disadvantaged demographic groups might live more often in multi-generational arrangements out of necessity rather than due to values/preference per se. Similarly, disadvantaged whites may live this way more so than affluent ones?

Affluent Asian Canadians are still more likely to stay with their families until an older age than Anglo Canadians, though.