Millenial vs Boomer Debate, Oh Your Going to Love This...

a reply to: DISRAELI

Here's a transript:

intelligencesquaredus.org...

a reply to: ZeussusZ

I think I'm supposed to be Generation Y or something stupid like that, although I did identify with Gen X more than the kids I grew up with. Promise rings and Dawson's Creek? What was wrong with those people? ;p Honestly, I think the millenials seem to be a mixed generation. You've got some really responsible community service types and then you've got these out there individualists who just refuse to be tamed. Honestly, it is kind of inspiring. If both of these can learn to work together we can have a world filled with charity, purpose and crazy individualism. Sign me up.

I mean it's kinda crazy to expect children to become well adjusted completely on their own. Adults can do that but not children.

Our species evolved to take a long time to hit maturity. We take an eternity for our brains to develop. They don't become mostly complete until early/mid 20s. Humans spend the most time being utterly reliant on other humans of any species I know of. Many animals can pop out and be ready to go.

Most children in America are provided with no chance to learn responsibility, critical thinking, or other important skills to be an adult. For a long time children (at least in America) have everything provided for them and are told their only responsibility is school. In most schools the only requirement for success is being obedient and memorizing/regurgitating information.

One of the big complaints I hear about millennials is that they are selfish and disconnected from reality. When you give children who aren't even teenagers access to all the entertainment we have today and just tell them to do nothing except do well in school you get problems.

I have yet to meet a parent who cares about learning rather than grades so school hurts rather than helps since teachers now barely teach at all.

This combination of no responsibly except token obedience and access to so much entertainment leads to kids who do the bare minimum and expect the world on a silver platter for this obedience.

Constantly in my line of work I find parents are frustrated with how their kids just play on their phones, watch TV, and goof on the computer rather than study. They all seem to blame the school or their kid's peers. They never think "maybe I should have not bought them an IPhone" or "maybe I should limit their TV viewing".

Any free time a child has is devoted to pleasure seeking so that becomes the constant goal. They do homework or chores only because it keeps their parents from bothering them while they take selfies or watch vines. The only limit to their hedonism is when their grades drop and short lived half assed punishments are instated.

For example there are twins I know who were both ridiculously sweet and well behaved at age 7. Now at age 9 the one who is the more superficially successful (star gymnast and quick learner in school) has become an egomaniac. She's incredibly rude and won't listen to anyone including her mother. The other one who is smarter but slower to learn and not concerned with impressing others, as well as less athletic and healthy is still really awesome. In other words the one who has no real problems and doesn't have to work for things became incredibly spoiled and entitled. That's how it goes. When you get everything handed to you on a silver platter with no work required you become the stereotypical millennial.

Long story short, the American system of equating success with worth is at the core of things. We've dropped all the virtues of the past from our heading rubric. If you have straight A's and are a star athlete then you are given a free pass on being a decent human being. This can be scaled up to explain why people like Donald Trump are treated as role models desire being devoid of every single traditional virtue.

The problem of millenials is that they were born into a society which had every comfort and necessity available for no real price except token obedience and taught them how to be good wealth accumulators not good people. It's not a failing of baby boomers specifically. It's a failure of American culture. America forgot every aspect of its roots except the blind pursuit of money. We took our ideology way way too far.

originally posted by: puzzlesphere
a reply to: DISRAELI

Here's a transript:

intelligencesquaredus.org...

Thanks for the link but he's another one of those "prove a point" types that actually aren't interested in learning and evolving from the debate.

originally posted by: tavi45
I mean it's kinda crazy to expect children to become well adjusted completely on their own. Adults can do that but not children.

Our species evolved to take a long time to hit maturity. We take an eternity for our brains to develop. They don't become mostly complete until early/mid 20s. Humans spend the most time being utterly reliant on other humans of any species I know of. Many animals can pop out and be ready to go.

Most children in America are provided with no chance to learn responsibility, critical thinking, or other important skills to be an adult. For a long time children (at least in America) have everything provided for them and are told their only responsibility is school. In most schools the only requirement for success is being obedient and memorizing/regurgitating information.

One of the big complaints I hear about millennials is that they are selfish and disconnected from reality. When you give children who aren't even teenagers access to all the entertainment we have today and just tell them to do nothing except do well in school you get problems.

I have yet to meet a parent who cares about learning rather than grades so school hurts rather than helps since teachers now barely teach at all.

This combination of no responsibly except token obedience and access to so much entertainment leads to kids who do the bare minimum and expect the world on a silver platter for this obedience.

Constantly in my line of work I find parents are frustrated with how their kids just play on their phones, watch TV, and goof on the computer rather than study. They all seem to blame the school or their kid's peers. They never think "maybe I should have not bought them an IPhone" or "maybe I should limit their TV viewing".

Any free time a child has is devoted to pleasure seeking so that becomes the constant goal. They do homework or chores only because it keeps their parents from bothering them while they take selfies or watch vines. The only limit to their hedonism is when their grades drop and short lived half assed punishments are instated.

For example there are twins I know who were both ridiculously sweet and well behaved at age 7. Now at age 9 the one who is the more superficially successful (star gymnast and quick learner in school) has become an egomaniac. She's incredibly rude and won't listen to anyone including her mother. The other one who is smarter but slower to learn and not concerned with impressing others, as well as less athletic and healthy is still really awesome. In other words the one who has no real problems and doesn't have to work for things became incredibly spoiled and entitled. That's how it goes. When you get everything handed to you on a silver platter with no work required you become the stereotypical millennial.

Long story short, the American system of equating success with worth is at the core of things. We've dropped all the virtues of the past from our heading rubric. If you have straight A's and are a star athlete then you are given a free pass on being a decent human being. This can be scaled up to explain why people like Donald Trump are treated as role models desire being devoid of every single traditional virtue.

The problem of millenials is that they were born into a society which had every comfort and necessity available for no real price except token obedience and taught them how to be good wealth accumulators not good people. It's not a failing of baby boomers specifically. It's a failure of American culture. America forgot every aspect of its roots except the blind pursuit of money. We took our ideology way way too far.

Thanks for taking the time to formulate that response. I think I agree a lot with what you said.

a reply to: onequestion
Why put people against each other, are you a high supporter of Divide and Conquer? You seem to keep pressing this argument. So far I see nothing, not even good music from your generation, go stare at your phone.

a reply to: ugmold

Ummm. Did you only read the title?

Apparently so...

I THINK ITS HILARIOUS that that's all your capable of acknowledging and responding too. Probably wouldn't have clicked on the thread if it was more descriptive of the actual content.

You didn't even read some of the great posts in this thread that are actually relevant to the podcast's content. Unlike yours which focuses solely on the title itself.

a reply to: onequestion

So what am I 1992 ?

a reply to: onequestion
I was responding to your input, not the out quote. I remember your last post.

originally posted by: onequestion

originally posted by: tavi45
I mean it's kinda crazy to expect children to become well adjusted completely on their own. Adults can do that but not children.

Our species evolved to take a long time to hit maturity. We take an eternity for our brains to develop. They don't become mostly complete until early/mid 20s. Humans spend the most time being utterly reliant on other humans of any species I know of. Many animals can pop out and be ready to go.

Most children in America are provided with no chance to learn responsibility, critical thinking, or other important skills to be an adult. For a long time children (at least in America) have everything provided for them and are told their only responsibility is school. In most schools the only requirement for success is being obedient and memorizing/regurgitating information.

One of the big complaints I hear about millennials is that they are selfish and disconnected from reality. When you give children who aren't even teenagers access to all the entertainment we have today and just tell them to do nothing except do well in school you get problems.

I have yet to meet a parent who cares about learning rather than grades so school hurts rather than helps since teachers now barely teach at all.

This combination of no responsibly except token obedience and access to so much entertainment leads to kids who do the bare minimum and expect the world on a silver platter for this obedience.

Constantly in my line of work I find parents are frustrated with how their kids just play on their phones, watch TV, and goof on the computer rather than study. They all seem to blame the school or their kid's peers. They never think "maybe I should have not bought them an IPhone" or "maybe I should limit their TV viewing".

Any free time a child has is devoted to pleasure seeking so that becomes the constant goal. They do homework or chores only because it keeps their parents from bothering them while they take selfies or watch vines. The only limit to their hedonism is when their grades drop and short lived half assed punishments are instated.

For example there are twins I know who were both ridiculously sweet and well behaved at age 7. Now at age 9 the one who is the more superficially successful (star gymnast and quick learner in school) has become an egomaniac. She's incredibly rude and won't listen to anyone including her mother. The other one who is smarter but slower to learn and not concerned with impressing others, as well as less athletic and healthy is still really awesome. In other words the one who has no real problems and doesn't have to work for things became incredibly spoiled and entitled. That's how it goes. When you get everything handed to you on a silver platter with no work required you become the stereotypical millennial.

Long story short, the American system of equating success with worth is at the core of things. We've dropped all the virtues of the past from our heading rubric. If you have straight A's and are a star athlete then you are given a free pass on being a decent human being. This can be scaled up to explain why people like Donald Trump are treated as role models desire being devoid of every single traditional virtue.

The problem of millenials is that they were born into a society which had every comfort and necessity available for no real price except token obedience and taught them how to be good wealth accumulators not good people. It's not a failing of baby boomers specifically. It's a failure of American culture. America forgot every aspect of its roots except the blind pursuit of money. We took our ideology way way too far.

Thanks for taking the time to formulate that response. I think I agree a lot with what you said.

This is my last post.

Which one exactly were you referring too?

a reply to: beezzer

Why is it important to "name" generations?

It isn't.

It's just another useless idiom like every other useless idiom.

There is no such thing as an entire generation of people being defined and shoved into any one particular pigeon hole. It's non-existent, impossible, can and never will be.

Humans are individuals and therefore cannot be pigeonholed into any one particular category.

But the world loves their idioms, labels, categories, and generalizations... for some reason the human brain needs to organize and categorize everything in order to make it comprehendable.

Quite frankly, it's pathetically neanderthal for us to function that way.

a reply to: CranialSponge

So.... Age is not a definable variable in an equation?


........?

a reply to: onequestion

So.... Age is not a definable variable in an equation?

........?

No it's not.

Just like race, gender, and creed cannot and do not define and generalize a person and/or group of people, neither does age.

I'm 47 years old. Every other 47 year old does not think, opine, believe, act, or mirror me.

How can these things not be obvious to you ?

originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: CranialSponge

So.... Age is not a definable variable in an equation?


........?

If you're talking about people, which we are, It's a generalization at best. How can a variable be definitive? I think cranialsponge already explained this well.

a reply to: CranialSponge

So it's ok for me to characterize you by your age but not by your age group?

a reply to: mtnshredder

The point your trying to make is that we shouldn't be generalizing millenials not that they don't exist as a category.

Sheesh.

a reply to: onequestion

So it's ok for me to characterize you by your age but not by your age group?

It's not ok for you to do either.

My age does not define me, nor does my gender, nor my race, nor my creed.

The human brain is a highly complex machination, far beyond any ability to sort into nice neat little categories.

a reply to: CranialSponge

Oh god be more realistic. Stop being rediculous. There are obvious parameters we can use, statistics and averages can be compiled. There exist data and statistics compiled to support generalizations.

They are averages, percentages, different points of view. Simply pretending to ignore them won't change it.

Hellloooo

a reply to: PhoenixFreeman

Your a millenial hello.