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This generation of young adults is the first to grow up in the the "everyone is a winner" culture, where everyone gets a trophy for showing up. They were scheduled and scheduled from school to play making them both sheltered from reality, dependent on their parents for entertainment and transportation, controlled by helicopter parents afraid to let them cross the street alone or play outside, and had limited "unstructured time" to develop opinions and self identity.
Essentially the young people of today have been both coddled and treated like they were exceptional from birth. On the up note they are both confident, motivated and high achieving. But maybe we have groomed these young adult to expect too much and expect that it will all come easily.
....
That's it in a nutshell so, in that sense, adults have failed this generation.
I read an article by a college professor recently, who said that he had to stock up on boxes of kleenex in his office for the students who'd come in after receiving grades lower than what they were used to getting in HS. He said that he was not into "grade inflation," yet many of the students expected it. They weren't "all that," and had a hard time accepting it.
Everyone wins, everyone's "good" (notice on TV shows how they're always "proud of themselves" when they lose), everyone gets a trophy, a ribbon, a tiara.....What's really offensive is how this has encroached onto the sports scene. We're turning even boys into pansies.
Guess what? You lost? Practice more and maybe you'll play better the next time if [insert activity here] is for you. You don't win--you get bupkis. That's right, kids--everyone (gasp!) isn't good at everything.
Schools are doing kids no favors with the animus towards the same competition that they will surely encounter as adults in the working world.
Again, another post that doesn't even deal with the issue that times are harder for new people entering the work force than they have been in the past.
Honestly, what I really see here in this thread is a bunch of people looking to blame Millenials rather than to analyze the real world problems they face.
So, what if "everybody got a trophy"? Doesn't change a thing about the recession this country has been through the last 5-6 years or the additional barriers, such as high education costs, that Millennials face.
Again, another post that doesn't even deal with the issue that times are harder for new people entering the work force than they have been in the past.
Honestly, what I really see here in this thread is a bunch of people looking to blame Millenials rather than to analyze the real world problems they face.
So, what if "everybody got a trophy"? Doesn't change a thing about the recession this country has been through the last 5-6 years or the additional barriers, such as high education costs, that Millennials face.
Anybody want to talk about the real problems?
Not buying it. I've got several friends that are in their early 50's. Talking with them, they were far more matured at a very young age, younger than my generation (I'm 45). The job market ,at least here in Michigan was really bad for them when they graduated high school. Many at the age of 18 left the state to pursue jobs, they did what they did to find work. This particular friend left with little cash, a box of belongings and a beat up old car and drove west until he found a job. It ended up being in AZ. I don't see that happening now.
I was laid off for a year, in '08. I didn't give up and even worked a job that paid less then a third of what I was used to making. It was the hardest job I'd ever done in my life... did that for 6 months then eventually found a job back in my normal career.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-26-2014 at 07:47 PM..
Reason: Fixed formatting
I saw a thread in one of the forums. A 25 year old was lamenting that he didn't have the sort of professional success he felt he should have at that age, and he didn't think he would be successful in his career. I thought to myself, exactly what sort of professional success are you supposed to have at 25, isn't having a job and getting decent performance reviews pretty good progress?
Then we have people like Elliot Rodgers who feel "entitled" to women, sex and relationships.
Other young adults think they are failures if they aren't millionaires by 27.
They have grown up in a time where regular joes become reality stars and millionaires for doing nothing remarkable. And other people become millionaires by posting videos of their lives and opinions on youtube.
This generation of young adults is the first to grow up in the the "everyone is a winner" culture, where everyone gets a trophy for showing up. They were scheduled and scheduled from school to play making them both sheltered from reality, dependent on their parents for entertainment and transportation, controlled by helicopter parents afraid to let them cross the street alone or play outside, and had limited "unstructured time" to develop opinions and self identity.
Essentially the young people of today have been both coddled and treated like they were exceptional from birth. On the up note they are both confident, motivated and high achieving. But maybe we have groomed these young adult to expect too much and expect that it will all come easily.
So have we failed our young adults?
Yes..I agree with every word especially the bolded.
I also wonder if this isn't the reason there seems to be an uptick in suicide amongst young people? When they find out life isn't a bowl of cherries and can't cope.
Wonder if anyone has done a study comparing the amount now compared to even just 25 years ago?
Yes..I agree with every word especially the bolded.
I also wonder if this isn't the reason there seems to be an uptick in suicide amongst young people? When they find out life isn't a bowl of cherries and can't cope.
Wonder if anyone has done a study comparing the amount now compared to even just 25 years ago?
Not only suicides but , mass violence against others. Seems like their could be a connection there.
I'm going to roughly quote Louis C. K. here, as I believe it is pertinent: ". . . you don't always get what others get and the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be. The only reason to look in your neighbor's cup is to make sure they have enough."
It comes down to: "are you getting enough of what you need or want?". If not, then get off your azz and get it. THAT'S the freedom our founding fathers meant for the generations to follow them: not being prevented from seeking life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The fact that you can't/won't achieve said "life/liberty/pursuit-of-happiness" doesn't mean you're prevented from obtaining it/them.
Again, another post that doesn't even deal with the issue that times are harder for new people entering the work force than they have been in the past.
Honestly, what I really see here in this thread is a bunch of people looking to blame Millenials rather than to analyze the real world problems they face.
So, what if "everybody got a trophy"? Doesn't change a thing about the recession this country has been through the last 5-6 years or the additional barriers, such as high education costs, that Millennials face.
Anybody want to talk about the real problems?
Meh. I finished college right as the dot com boom was coming off its peak, then 12 months later September 11th hit. And I live in the Bay Area. There were no good jobs available at all, engineers or otherwise. I was working with former techies at Home Depot. People made 1/3 of their former salaries for 2 years or more. I was one of them.
So yeah, don't tell me about crappy economy and no job options. Unlike in that horrible period from 2000 to 2004, now you can easily spend a couple of weeks taking coding classes and BS your way into a job if you like. Or find some good resume building with non-profits who all need help with totally relevant stuff to your career. It is way better now, if you are creative. I don't think it is impossible. Particularly with all of the options out there like elance and other freelancing websites. There are ways to stay productive, even when underemployed. You can build your own app for your portfolio. You can build up a portfolio of marketing stuff via volunteering. You can take free online classes....
And the millenials are the generation who has been "trained" in the idea of making your own opportunity. Yeah it sucks, but they are much better equipped than my age range was, particularly in the Bay Area, during the bust.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-26-2014 at 07:48 PM..
Reason: Fixed formattin
I have more to add later on, but I think it goes to show a lot of the people who are in this boat suffer from their own unrealistic expectations. However, they are also products of the "over-praising" movement from the 1990's (Millennials mostly) and "helicopter parenting" (Gen Z).
I do agree comparisons between Baby Boomer successes and Millennial/Gen Z successes aren't good at all, and there's no good reason when these generations experienced different economies. At the same time, these generations were taught different expectations and I think no matter how good or bad the economy is, or how much money you have, or degrees, if your expectations aren't realistic you'll suffer anyway. It is necessary to point out young adults didn't get a lot of their expectations out of the blue...it started somewhere, and usually with the parents.
If I received a trophy for every time someone trotted out the same lame platitudes about "everyone getting a trophy for showing up", I'd... well, I'd...
If I received a trophy for every time someone trotted out the same lame platitudes about "everyone getting a trophy for showing up", I'd... well, I'd...
I suppose I'd have a lot of trophies.
I am a little older than the milennials, but this started happening in my class. In middle school they eliminated cheerleader tryouts and opened it up to anyone to be more inclusive.
Now I like the idea of inclusivity, but we went from an award wining squad of 12-15 to having 50 mostly mediocre people. And then many of the new cheerleaders were really mad, because since the squad was so big, they couldn't afford to get everyone uniforms, so the uniforms were gym clothes. A t-shirt and nylon shorts. When that happened, a third of the team dropped out, because the only reason they joined was to get the "cute" uniform. And another 15% dropped out because it took up too much time. And the next year the squad was "back to normal." But the JV squad was more inclusive and had more members. It served as the training ground for the varsity ones.
Next up, in high school, they decided tracking was unfair. So they decided students could self-select into honors classes. Now this is actually a decent idea, but unfortunately, but the time you get to high school, if you were tracked the wrong way the years prior and didn't build the right foundations, those honors classes are pretty difficult. By the next year, tracking continued as expected, and very few "new faces" were in honors classes.
There is a benefit for "everyone getting a prize." But we need to both value effort and ability. These two things are not the same.
What, exactly, is the point of "face time?" Does it accomplish anything?
I'm on the boarder of being a millennial (I think) being that I was born in 1981. Personally, I am just not interested in being at work for the sake of being at work. If my boss wants me to sit here all night he needs to give me more to do. I'm so sick and tired of being punished for being efficient. I get everything done and I leave. If you can't deal with that, hire someone who is less intelligent and/or wastes more time.
Guess what, I haven't been fired for my lack of face time because I do the best work on my team. It requires the least revision from my manager and is the most thorough. I see no reason to let my vacation time expire just to prove I am a hard worker. My work itself shows that I am. If a company/manager cannot accept that, I think they have the issue, not me. Just because something has always been a certain way does not mean it is the best way.
I openly admit that my personal/social life is much more important to me than my career now. I worked much harder (in terms of face time) when I first started out, but I quickly learned that it didn't really matter because managers promote who they like, not the person that does the best work. I don't see why anyone should put their job before their outside life 100% of the time. I care about my job. I care about my family and friends more. Much more. I don't see that as a problem with any particular generation. Personally, I think it shows that some people have their priorities straight. As the old saying goes, no one on their death bed says they wished they had spent more time at work.
Great post-agree completely. The whole concept of work and "jobs" is changing imo- people are no longer willing to work a job their whole lives being content simply for being beneficial for 'the system', loyalty is gone but it started at the top; a paycheck is a paycheck but people seem to be realizing that life is more than your job and passions/hobbies can often be incorporated into one. The trend seems to be minimalization and self-sustainability.
Young workers especially know that they are expendable and Multi-National Corporations and Global Banks don't have any particular loyalty to this country or Americans. Collusive Capitalism is dying a slow and painful death but we will all be better off when it croaks.
Last edited by 2e1m5a; 06-26-2014 at 01:09 PM..
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Everyone wins, everyone's "good" (notice on TV shows how they're always "proud of themselves" when they lose), everyone gets a trophy, a ribbon, a tiara.....What's really offensive is how this has encroached onto the sports scene. We're turning even boys into pansies.
) isn't good at everything.
