It's an interesting debate. I work at a university and the people that have been dealing with the students for 20-30 years are claiming that the students are changing for the worse. Sometimes however it's hard to tell if the changes are legit or the people dealing with the kids are just getting older and crankier.
There seems to be a really prevalent idea that the kids of today will just wither away society and we'll all just fall into madness. I've never really bought into this though, as with most things I have a "cream will rise to the top" theory.
It's very easy to be a spoiled self-righteous teenager or twenty-something. The world is your oyster and you're free to jump from job to job because you don't have real world responsibilities yet. As you cross the bridge into reality, I would imagine most people would find that attitude just doesn't work anymore. They are free to fail or adapt. They can make ridiculous demands all they'd like, but inevitably they're going to have to pay for rent, a mortgage or a family.
I completely agree with the "you are not a unique snowflake" argument. I suppose where I disagree with most is that I think people can change and adapt at a rapid rate. You may not be told you're a loser until you're 23, but once you are it should snap you back down to earth pretty damn quick.
Let's not forget that the inflated sense of self entitlement is prevalent across all generations. I run into a shocking number of senior citizens that look for freebies, and in my job the hardest people to deal with are baby boomers that feel they are more important than they are. I think enough variation exists that those who work hard will be rewarded, and those that are overly selfish will inevitably fail.
Whatever happens, it's going to be a hell of a ride.
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