Frustrated with the Millennials

Post Reply New Topic

I fear I am reaching the age when I am able to lament the lack of acumen in this new generation. They seem to dismiss any learning that came before then and instead look to their self-expression as a guide to success.

This is especially the case with regard to attitudes to autism. The struggles I went through as an undiagnosed child are dismissed by the younger generation, who seem not to understand what people in the past have gone through. That's to be expected I suppose, but I don't appreciate being marginalized because of this.

When I grew up there was no internet, no personal computers, there were only 4 channels on TV. I can't even imagine going back to this. The new technology has changed the way we communicate and it's great. The new generation does not know of a time before the internet and do not have any appreciation for it.

The lack of critical thinking of this generation, which is demonstrated on WP all the time, kinda scares me. Everything seems to come down to individual expression which is a recipe for societal disaster.

History is something to learn from--not something to scorn.

I was watching CNN this morning and a pundit was saying that "Trump is not a history guy; he is in the moment." I could not help but think that this is the mentality of this young generation. I find it quite disturbing. Not that I'm against being in the moment, which is something I strive for. But rather that this is a replacement for knowledge and information. Even language is changing with the use of texting and twitter. Thoughts are simplified and easy to absorb, but nuance and subtlety are lost. I find I can only be confident being in the moment when I am armed with knowledge.

It doesn't bother me. Critical thinking is something you gain with experience.

We can only hope that, experiencing the poverty that comes with an "I don't care" attitude about life, the Millennial generation will, like the Beatnick, Hippy and Yippy generation of the 1950s and 1960s, suddenly realize that there are no free hand-outs (and never were), and they must act to save themselves. This alone provides ample opportunities to experience the "critical thinking" they lack currently. The Beatnick, Hippy and Yippy generation perfected this quite well and have become extremely good with providing for themselves and others. Perhaps certain generations need to learn the lessons of life like a two-by-four smacked between the eyes before taking action to be their own solution to problems.

I ones read an article by a feminist who was complaining about young women buying mindfulness coloring books and thought if this is the way to kill feminism then great.

I like adult colouring books. It calms my nerves.

I believe I am even considered a millennial, it is a little unclear what the time-line for being born to be considered a millennial is. Also though its not uncommon for people to talk down about younger generations, and find all the things that make it the 'worst' generation yet. So are you sure you are providing an actually fair assessment? whilst I am sure there are plenty of millennials that take things for granted and cant be bothered to get off facebook to participate IRL...I really do not think it is a fair assessment for all. Sure there are problems with things like that, but I also see a lot of people my age and younger who are quite aware of social issues and world-wide problems and do actually give a damn. I've even discussed with millennial aged people pros and cons of the Internet and social media and what not.

Though for all I know I could be one of the WP members you consider to lack critical thinking skills.

The Millennial generation was born between 1985 and 2004.

I certainly didn't intend to talk down to another generation. In fact, I sympathize with them because they were born at a time when the world economy peaked and has been in decline ever since. As a result, many Millennials are jobless and have been most of their lives. The corporate worldview of "off-shoring" jobs and the lifestyles that go with them hit younger workers hardest. So, for too many Millennials, giving up appears to have been their only choice. I was writing from the opinion that some deliberate intention might be their best antidote.

suddenly realize? Lol perhaps the millienials with parents who hand them everything have that sort of attitude, but a lot seem well aware that there are no free hand outs, though luckily there are programs to help the poor and address poverty like food stamps, homeless shelters, food shelves and such. I myself am on SSI, but everyone I live with and friends/acquaintances have jobs and are actually really trying to be responsible with their lives and such, most also live with multiple other room-mates like me because even for people who aren't on disability it's too expensive to live alone. But maybe I am just coincidently surrounded by the decent millenials and the terrible ones really are more widespread.

Also don't know what a yippy is, but if you mean yuppie....those and their offspring are the worst, most just seem to have a fake attitude and a lot of them seem to be the ones who have a careless attitude. I mean I don't know if they intend to be that way but I can't recall ever getting along with them.

Last edited by Sweetleaf on 29 Dec 2016, 12:37 pm, edited 5 times in total.

I'm not entirely sure of the timeline either, but I found this article from The Atlantic:

Here Is When Each Generation Begins and Ends, According to Facts


^me




Fair? Probably not. I write this out of frustration and a feeling of being undervalued by younger people. I am sure I am not the first to feel this way. But no, it's not fair. Whenever people are characterized as being in a group it is a strike against their identity. So, sorry for that.


No you are not.

"They do not understand the sacrifices we made during the depression and WWII."

"Those hippies are spitting in our faces, they are ungrateful for all the hard work we have put in to give them what they have, which is a hell of lot more than we had"

"If those privileged bastards from elite colleges protesting the war and rioting lived in the Soviet Union for awhile they would come home crying to mommy within a week"

"They should have killed them all" ( A common reaction Kent State University students heard from their parents when they arrived home after the National Guard killed 4 students and wounded 13)

All those hours watching the "boob tube"(Television) has made the kids today weak, I went to work at 14 years old and never looked back"

"They call that music?" (Reference to what is now known as "Classic Rock")

"When we were kids you could tell who was a girl and who was a boy" (Reaction to long hair and "mod" and "hippie" fashions)

I heard this stuff all the time my parents and their friends. The circumstances and things the older generations complained about have changed but the core things older generations complain about the young have not. When we are young we vowed to ourselves we would never be like that when we grew up but most us end up doing the same thing anyways. I am not immune, I have done more than my share of complaining here on WP and elsewhere about "fragile" SJW's, autotuned vocals, and kids texting each other while they are sitting next to each other. Hell, my WP signature was made with whining intent.

An objective look at young autistics shows it is not so easy. Unlike us they can get bullied 24/7 because of the internet. We had unflattering labels not called Autism given to us because of lack of knowledge. They have "stigmas" associated with their label and "autistic' is a popular insult due to lack of knowledge. Most of us did not have to constantly read about how tons of money are being spent to cure or genetically put our kind out of existence. Most of us did not have constant "inspiration porn" and pity stories written about people like us. The exception to the last two sentences was if you were black. We were subject to some cruel stuff designed to make us normal, but we did not have 25-40 hours a week of ABA given to us designed to "make us indistinguishable from our peers".

Some of the complaints our parents had some validity, as do some our complaints. I suppose with enough time money and smarts you could come up with a scientifically valid conclusion as to which generation of autistics had it harder. That would be a such a divisive waste. Better to try and make things better for all of us and support each other.

I have a lot of sympathy with those who have been assaulted with ABA. As for kids getting bullied, this has always been the way, even if the reason is different now. (I blame the institutionalization of the public schools.)

I don't think I necessarily had it harder than the young people of today, but my experience was different. But because of that different experience sometimes I feel no longer relevant.

"Yippies" were hippies who were members of the "Youth International Party" (hence, "YIP-ies"). It was founded about 1967-1968.

One of their leaders was Abbie Hoffman.

I take them to somewhat satirical representatives of the hippie ideology. They tended to do things for shock value.

The name was also based on the fact that kids in the 1960s tended to say "yippee!! !!" when they were happy about something.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 29 Dec 2016, 3:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I always like the DINK (dual income, no kids) generation.

Why do you think this?