Generation Why?

It's been interesting for me, indeed for the rest of the world, to watch as the so-called "Millennial" Generation (aka Generation Y, aka the kid who's sending you a text right now) grows up and fills the boundaries that will define itself. Every generation has its own set of defining characteristics: the Boomers were the hippy-cum-yuppy generation, selling out the ideals of the 60s to build the corporations of the 80s, the X-ers were the lost generation, a minimalist generation that venerated TV shows, songs and movies about nothing, and the millennials are proudly crafting their image as the entitled generation.

There are of course some famous examples, including the recent Miley Cyrus tantrum, when the members of Radiohead refused to be paraded around in front of her just because she wanted it, and every single episode of the almost-physically-painful-to-watch "My Super Sweet 16" is filled to the brim with entitled little brats complaining that their gigantic party wasn't gigantic enough, or their brand new BMW wasn't BMW-ish enough. And I can almost hear all the mothers click their teeth with disapproval at this sort of thing, as they finish the pedicure on mother-daughter day, gulp down their chai lattes, hop in the Jag and head on over for a mother-daughter tan (that skin won't turn to leather on its own, you know).

But these are the idiots you see on TV; exaggerated versions of the home-grown me-me-me kids you're lucky enough to encounter every day. These are the kids for whom the rules do not apply; kids who see every challenge not as a challenge but as an opportunity for Mom or Dad to do it for them; kids who have never heard the word no; whose primary form of communication involves single letters that replace entire words ('c u l8r'); and kids who would rather be somewhere else, no matter where they are. Always.

And it's obviously not only the millenials who are the problem; it's their parents. Like the parents who follow up with hiring managers about the status of their son's resume, or the parents who approach their daughter's office manager, inquiring why she recently got passed over for a promotion. And while the kids complain about the gigantic party and the BMW, someone has to be paying for all these things. Parents: j'accuse! 

Of course, not everyone fits the profile of their generation, and so not every millennial is a selfish brat. There are all kinds of helpful, selfless millenials. And even the millennials are known as being more world concious and committed to things like charity and the environment. But despite the good, I think we have to prepare ourselves for a long period of annoying, self-entitled little shits ruling the planet. At least until they grow up and start saying no to kids of their own.