Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am wondering why people in their 20s are so ambitious and materialistic or your thought on the culture amongst people in their 20s currently
I go out to a coffee shop near a university of 20,000 students usually every other night it is full of college students. Its a public university with mainly rural people from small towns on the lower end economically and some international students. Usually the international students are very motivated and interested what they are studying, its amazing the difference in concentration spans that is sort of off-topic a bit though.
I am always amazed at how people will get out of older model cars and pay with dollars and dimes for a cup of coffee and yet they have a 21" screen laptop (I even saw one that was about 27"), with a very small pod (some are as skinny as a coin) to pay for their 5 dollar non-fat sugar free mocha because they are afraid to gain a few pounds because that might deter a potential mate from expressing interest when they go out on a Friday or Saturday night to get hammered with alcohol bought on credit cards at the bar!
I also always am amazed about how all these people talk about taking out 50,000 dollars or more in student loans to get graduate degrees in areas that are in low demand or they are studying for areas they feel are in high demand where they can make a quick buck and you can see the dis-interest in their face as they study. I always love it when some one is studying their nano-technology text and has a movie playing on their 27" laptop in the background
or picking on the phone every minute or so to text.
I also think its funny going to the coffee-shop and the moment the book opens to study or the lap-top slide show starts playing the cell-phone rings and they are talking for over an hour very loudly of course. When they are on their cell-phone I love hearing constant gloating about how they are most brilliant person in the world and everyone is extremely intellectual challanged compared to them. Sometimes these people on their cell-phones I wonder why anyone would want to friends with people who just cant stop acting likes its a job interview with the constand self-promotion and boosterism.
I am startled by the shallowness, arrogance, extremely grandiose ambitions that tend to turn into fruition and materialism of people in my age group.
Another thing is alot of this self-confidence is bought of debt and student loans and grandiose ambitions that are based more on fantasies then reality.
Well, I don't think it is *quite* as bad as you state.
I do think 20-somethings are more cynical than I was at that age (I am 52.)
And they also do seem more sophisticated than I was, but it is a thin veneer with not a lot of life experience to back it up. Regardless, learning for the sake of it went out the window awhile ago.
My older kid is 23. He does own a laptop and a cellphone. But he, while going to grad school, has a paying job, has worked for a (winning!) Democratic candidate, and spent money he earned during high school on travel abroad.
In other words, while he enjoys a Friday night party as much as the next kid, I think he sees more in life than the next mindless material purchase.
I do know what you mean. In the past several years, the corporations have not done a whole lot to promote a healthy work relationship: they don't value their employees, and vice versa.
There are a lot of young people out there earning a hell of a lot of money and it is all a bit of a game--their sense of life's purpose, if it exists at all, is rather shallow. It's all one big MySpace world; people network by cellphone with distant colleagues rather than connect as human beings the person with the person standing next to them.
OTOH
There are some young people out there who have not finished high school and have no intention of it, or maybe they do have a diploma but an advanced college degree is not on the horizon. They might be quite happy working at well-regarded (at least, to me they are significant) blue collar or other vocations which did require some serious training. They might scoff at the double decaf nonfat mocha world--maybe they are rejecting it because it seems out of reach, but maybe not.
Maybe the superficial young people you know are victims of the self esteem craze of the 80's and 90's. They have artificially inflated expectations.
And I do think a lot of folks (maybe these deluded young people's parents) see something on TV, and just have to have it. Out come the credit cards.
These are all just random thoughts that came into my head when I read your post. I can't quite seem to distill them into anything particularly pithy.
I dunno, maybe it IS as bad as you state, and we are all in for a horrible fall.
I don't have kids, and if I did, they'd be about 22 or so by now. My cousins my age though all have grown kids and they all came out normally... they have values, work hard, and are nothing like what is painted above.
Having laptops and cellphones does not a shallow person make.
I think the question would be better directed to the parents of those 'shallow' young adults.
I am wondering why people in their 20s are so ambitious and materialistic or your thought on the culture amongst people in their 20s currently
I go out to a coffee shop near a university of 20,000 students usually every other night it is full of college students. Its a public university with mainly rural people from small towns on the lower end economically and some international students. Usually the international students are very motivated and interested what they are studying, its amazing the difference in concentration spans that is sort of off-topic a bit though.
I am always amazed at how people will get out of older model cars and pay with dollars and dimes for a cup of coffee and yet they have a 21" screen laptop (I even saw one that was about 27"), with a very small pod (some are as skinny as a coin) to pay for their 5 dollar non-fat sugar free mocha because they are afraid to gain a few pounds because that might deter a potential mate from expressing interest when they go out on a Friday or Saturday night to get hammered with alcohol bought on credit cards at the bar!
I also always am amazed about how all these people talk about taking out 50,000 dollars or more in student loans to get graduate degrees in areas that are in low demand or they are studying for areas they feel are in high demand where they can make a quick buck and you can see the dis-interest in their face as they study. I always love it when some one is studying their nano-technology text and has a movie playing on their 27" laptop in the background
or picking on the phone every minute or so to text.
I also think its funny going to the coffee-shop and the moment the book opens to study or the lap-top slide show starts playing the cell-phone rings and they are talking for over an hour very loudly of course. When they are on their cell-phone I love hearing constant gloating about how they are most brilliant person in the world and everyone is extremely intellectual challanged compared to them. Sometimes these people on their cell-phones I wonder why anyone would want to friends with people who just cant stop acting likes its a job interview with the constand self-promotion and boosterism.
I am startled by the shallowness, arrogance, extremely grandiose ambitions that tend to turn into fruition and materialism of people in my age group.
Another thing is alot of this self-confidence is bought of debt and student loans and grandiose ambitions that are based more on fantasies then reality.
The funny thing is, you will see this anywhere. The early 90's was also very self-absorbed. I think the above post is correct- corporations do nothing to engender healthy competition- It is a "live and let die" environment. That leads to early burn-out. I wouldn't really blame the parents. A 22 year old has his/her own brain, and is responsible for himself. My father told us that at that age- we were on our own. Bottom line. I am shocked to hear about 33 year olds who still live at home with their parents. Its sick.
I don't have kids, and if I did, they'd be about 22 or so by now. My cousins my age though all have grown kids and they all came out normally... they have values, work hard, and are nothing like what is painted above.
Having laptops and cellphones does not a shallow person make.
I think the question would be better directed to the parents of those 'shallow' young adults.
Correct. You also have to remember the "peer pressure" factor. While I applaud the OP for marching to his own drum, this is a difficult task for many young adults. So, they end up trying to assimilate as best they can. Yes, unfortunately this means...
1. Having the best laptop that helps them do everything but get a 4.0
2. Having headphones from an MP3 player shoved into the holes in their head, at all times.
3. Wearing trendy (and IMO extremely ugly) clothing. Sometimes I look at kids today and wonder if they showered.
4. Having a cell phone epoxied to their ear. To most kids if you don't use your cell phone enough you're unpopular.
5. Self promotion. Well, that's our fault. We give trophies for just showing up to the baseball game these days. Everybody thinks they're a winner, even though they've never accomplished anything.
6. I'm too tired to pick on twenty somethings, thats the list, lol.
Every kid had something like this happen to them, no matter their age now. Every generation has their own special nuances that irritates the generation before them
My generation used to wear "parachute pants" and red leather jackets with 400 zippers on them. I'm keeping my mouth shut
Correct. You also have to remember the "peer pressure" factor. While I applaud the OP for marching to his own drum, this is a difficult task for many young adults. So, they end up trying to assimilate as best they can. Yes, unfortunately this means...
1. Having the best laptop that helps them do everything but get a 4.0
2. Having headphones from an MP3 player shoved into the holes in their head, at all times.
3. Wearing trendy (and IMO extremely ugly) clothing. Sometimes I look at kids today and wonder if they showered.
4. Having a cell phone epoxied to their ear. To most kids if you don't use your cell phone enough you're unpopular.
5. Self promotion. Well, that's our fault. We give trophies for just showing up to the baseball game these days. Everybody thinks they're a winner, even though they've never accomplished anything.
6. I'm too tired to pick on twenty somethings, thats the list, lol.
Every kid had something like this happen to them, no matter their age now. Every generation has their own special nuances that irritates the generation before them
My generation used to wear "parachute pants" and red leather jackets with 400 zippers on them. I'm keeping my mouth shut
-TT
parachute pants- too funny. Also not all fit into that annoying group. I have met some in their late 20's more mature that people in their 30's. Go figure?
I have met some in their late 20's more mature that people in their 30's. Go figure?
sunny
True dat.
And I have met people who never were educated beyond high school who seem to have a heck of a lot more vision and smarts than others who boast a college degree.
Correct. You also have to remember the "peer pressure" factor. While I applaud the OP for marching to his own drum, this is a difficult task for many young adults. So, they end up trying to assimilate as best they can. Yes, unfortunately this means...
1. Having the best laptop that helps them do everything but get a 4.0
2. Having headphones from an MP3 player shoved into the holes in their head, at all times.
3. Wearing trendy (and IMO extremely ugly) clothing. Sometimes I look at kids today and wonder if they showered.
4. Having a cell phone epoxied to their ear. To most kids if you don't use your cell phone enough you're unpopular.
5. Self promotion. Well, that's our fault. We give trophies for just showing up to the baseball game these days. Everybody thinks they're a winner, even though they've never accomplished anything.
6. I'm too tired to pick on twenty somethings, thats the list, lol.
Every kid had something like this happen to them, no matter their age now. Every generation has their own special nuances that irritates the generation before them
My generation used to wear "parachute pants" and red leather jackets with 400 zippers on them. I'm keeping my mouth shut
-TT
I'm not so sure about "ambitious", but I'll add a #7. Having "helicopter" parents, who can't manage to cut the cord in college!(probably related to #5)
I also always am amazed about how all these people talk about taking out 50,000 dollars or more in student loans to get graduate degrees in areas that are in low demand or they are studying for areas they feel are in high demand where they can make a quick buck and you can see the dis-interest in their face as they study.
Education is very expensive, especially if you're not poor enough to get a grant. Some people believe in "do what you love, and the money will follow." Others are trying to get the best return on their investment. Most of them are doing their best to get by.
I also think its funny going to the coffee-shop and the moment the book opens to study or the lap-top slide show starts playing the cell-phone rings and they are talking for over an hour very loudly of course. When they are on their cell-phone I love hearing constant gloating about how they are most brilliant person in the world and everyone is extremely intellectual challanged compared to them. Sometimes these people on their cell-phones I wonder why anyone would want to friends with people who just cant stop acting likes its a job interview with the constand self-promotion and boosterism.
Obnoxious people have always existed.
I am always amazed at how people will get out of older model cars and pay with dollars and dimes for a cup of coffee and yet they have a 21" screen laptop (I even saw one that was about 27"), with a very small pod (some are as skinny as a coin) to pay for their 5 dollar non-fat sugar free mocha because they are afraid to gain a few pounds because that might deter a potential mate from expressing interest when they go out on a Friday or Saturday night to get hammered with alcohol bought on credit cards at the bar!
The car could be a graduation gift. So could the laptop. You have to have some luxuries in life, and Stalattes are affordable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
interesting post-
lol-
Those kids today. . .
