Are all of today's teens/20-somethings dealing with entitlement issues?

[blu2blu]

Blu -

While my discourses may have covered a lot of territory, I thought I clarified my position in the matter back in post #19 of the thread.

Yes you did. I was never going after you personally, just trying to defend my fellow millennials, but you seem to have taken my initial post as some kind of personal attack.

[april004]

In defense of the millenials...


I am not one btw...I am Gen X.

Let me blame, yes, my WWII era grandparents who lived through so much crap that they spoiled the boomers rotten.

And then let me blame the boomers who really are the free love entitled generation who were only able to live such a great lifestyle and then complain about the later generation and think we gen x'ers can't get it because we are too lazy. No- you boomers came of age in an era when
manufacturing in the Us was still king and the third world couldn't get enough of American products.

and then we gen xers...one of the smallest generations due to Roe vs. Wade...and maybe in fact to the Vietnam War, some men didn't come back in time to start families, some weren't given the heroes welcome like the wwII vets. So no free love for them.

And Of course Roe vs. Wade which happened when alot of my peers should have been born.(just my guess why Gen X is smaller than the boomers and the millenials but I think it just may be one of the causes) Wow...maybe that should be Generation x-ers motto( we survived roe vs. Wade!)


I remember after getting out of the army and waiting for my lpn license in illinois to come in while working at a call center..there weren't so many of us my age, not many 20 something in the workforce and the boomers didn't want to do such work.......they offered $20.00 an hour to answer PHONES.

Did I have to move back home and live with mommy and daddy?

Nope. Not when I was getting $20 an hour to answer phones!

Flash forward to the poor milennials. They are lucky if they can sling burgers after graduating from the university.

They have to go home to daddy and mommy...not because they are lazy, not because they still want mommy and daddy to do their laundry, but because there are way too many of you competing for the same jobs, (compared to Gen X) ,economics are so bad....

All I can say was 1997 was a great year to be 21.

[TMW2010]

A little background on me - I'm what you would term a Gen X... Not quite a baby boomer, but still capable of being a progenitor of a Millennial. (If my ex wife & I had kids, I'd have one in the age range of 15-16 right now). I was brought up in a military family (my dad did 20 years in the Marines, my maternal grandfather was in the navy, my paternal grandfather was in the army, one of my Uncles is a full bird colonel in the army right now, working at the war college.) and I have 3 siblings that I had to fight tooth and nail with to get my due growing up. We weren't rich by any means, but we got by... And I got my first computer at 11 (this was 1982, look at what those damn things cost back then) and worked and bought my own car when I got my license at 16.

Like April I did catch the cusp of boomer's extravagance... But in college (back during the days of the first try for a degree,) I also had summer jobs working at gas stations, delivering autoparts - where I had to learn to drive stick in the first 1/2 hour on the job, (and the best and worst job of that time period) working at an Arcade... Once I finally gave up with battling my add/adhd trying to go to school, I went from working at the Arcade to tech support at Intuit for one of their tax programs. Then from there, I took a few temp gigs in DC, before ending up at a gig on Capitol Hill that took me to a perm position after 1 month. It was a not for profit think tank, (for the really curious, Tucker Carlson used to work there, and yeah, I thought he was as big a goob as he appears to be on TV,) and I allowed myself to get screwed on my starting pay by being timid. A year and a half later, along with them paying for all my certs as well as a bunch of extra cert tests and alll the learning materials, I catapulted into a much higher payscale, and I was there for a total of 6 years before hitting the job ceiling.

One thing I notice these days (besides the fact that everyone is looking for nurses, so if you want to make money, get into nursing,) is that there are temp agencies that range from entry level clerical to more specialized areas (IT, project management, etc) that seem to be avertising all the time to fill those positions. Let me tellya, one of the best things about temping is you get to network while getting a feel for a company, how it operates, and the people there. I hated my 2 months at the Dept of Housing and Urban development, but I made some contacts... I was also there at a bad time, I guess (Look up Henry Cisneros' reign as the director of HUD,) but I digress.

Maybe its just the area I'm in, but there just seems to be a ton of jobs for those who need some form of income and don't feel things are beneath them. One of the temp places around here is offering $10-12/hour for people to do assembly line work. Much better than minimum wage.

Get out.. Network... Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. The results just may astound and amaze you.

(Also, if you're on Linked In, pm me with your info, I'm always looking for new network connections on there. And I'm always happy to see if anyone on my network is looking for people if you're in their area.)

Edit - Eeesh, I'm a Gen X, not a Gen Y... Bleh...

[bawhitsett]

My generation grew up with Nintendo, Sega, Playstation and the internet. We are more comfortable with computers than old people are with complaining. We will captalize on that close relationship with technology and produce wonders that can't yet be imagined.

This is one of the biggest laughs I have with the Y'ers. You guys grew up with gaming systems and the internet, and so that automatically makes your generation the collective second coming? That's rich! Who the hell can't learn to play a Nintendo game or gather a bunch of pseudo-friends on Facebook? The real technological breakthroughs will come from the kids who are studying engineering and other hard sciences and are enthralled by it. Do you honestly think having a Twitter account and an iPhone makes you special? No, it makes you incredibly ordinary.

Like every generation the Y'ers will have a few world changers (scientists, leaders of industry, politicians, etc.), the rest of you will live totally ordinary, mundane existances. Just like every generation before and after you.

[blu2blu]

This is one of the biggest laughs I have with the Y'ers. You guys grew up with gaming systems and the internet, and so that automatically makes your generation the collective second coming? That's rich! Who the hell can't learn to play a Nintendo game or gather a bunch of pseudo-friends on Facebook? The real technological breakthroughs will come from the kids who are studying engineering and other hard sciences and are enthralled by it. Do you honestly think having a Twitter account and an iPhone makes you special? No, it makes you incredibly ordinary.

Like every generation the Y'ers will have a few world changers (scientists, leaders of industry, politicians, etc.), the rest of you will live totally ordinary, mundane existances. Just like every generation before and after you.

Actually I have met quite a few folks, mostly from "gen x" or "boomers" who couldn't figure out how to play a game system to save their lives, but that's neither here nor there. You completely missed the point as my comment about video games was meant to be a bit ironic. Read it again.

You are correct about where the breakthroughs will come from. Breakthrough technology isn't any good if people can't use it though. A millenniel with an iphone and a facebook account is more likely to utilize new technologies to their full potental than a baby boomer that refuses to get a cell phone.

Why invent the flux capacitor if your scared to drive 88 MPH?

[TMW2010]

Actually I have met quite a few folks, mostly from "gen x" or "boomers" who couldn't figure out how to play a game system to save their lives, but that's neither here nor there. You completely missed the point as my comment about video games was meant to be a bit ironic. Read it again.

You are correct about where the breakthroughs will come from. Breakthrough technology isn't any good if people can't use it though. A millenniel with an iphone and a facebook account is more likely to utilize new technologies to their full potental than a baby boomer that refuses to get a cell phone.

Why invent the flux capacitor if your scared to drive 88 MPH?

I just wish people these days would learn when to put away the damn cell phones. I have both an iPhone (Jailbroken & unlocked) and an Android (MyTouch rooted with 2.1 on it) I wish the things didn't exist to be honest. The damage to society from those things has just been nasty.

Here's a tip people -
Hang up and drive. You're not that important.

[blu2blu]

I just wish people these days would learn when to put away the damn cell phones. I have both an iPhone (Jailbroken & unlocked) and an Android (MyTouch rooted with 2.1 on it) I wish the things didn't exist to be honest. The damage to society from those things has just been nasty.

Here's a tip people -
Hang up and drive. You're not that important.

Yes people should hang up and drive, texting and driving is even worse. I have to disagree about cell phones overall though I think they are a great tool that make it far easier to get into contact with someone when it's important. Like anything they can be abused though.

[threedogs]

I, frankly, have to essentially agree in a more reserved tone with ideafx. People IN GENERAL and not of any specific age group would do well to wake up to the real world and be happy with what they can get. The most entitled people in my life (and I'm not saying this is the norm as I suspect it is fairly equally spread) are 40 and 50 somethings who over-extended themselves and don't want to give up what they couldn't afford. Consumerism upsets me. I hate hearing about your $100 bottles of champagne and $1000 days in Vegas. It makes me sick that people are starving amongst this excess, and then the people participating in the excess lose their house due to sheer stupidity and waste. banghead

Boy, do I ever agree with you there! My family tends to kid me about my crazy optimism - I've basically gone through hell and back again, but I really do see the silver lining.

One is that now that the economy basically sucks, I've had great training, having had it tough for so many years. The sad thing is my parents were from the Depression years (hate to call it the "Great" Depression, cuz this is a fairly new term, and I feel there wasn't anything great about it. :ack: They both worked hard, and my dad did the old fashioned, providing for his family stuff. They were never foolish w/their money, always careful. But when I married & had kids, my family always had it tough.

Flash forward to after they passed away, and when I inherited the house, and through some bad moves I ended up losing the money I got when I sold it. (well, actually didn't 'lose' it - spent it on rent instead of buying another house. Result is the same, and it was due to some of that stupidity you speak of. ~ sigh ~)

I will never live that down! Now I fear that my kids will have to support me in my old age, something I'm trying to avoid by going to school.

At any rate, it made me much, much wiser. I polished up my money saving techniques. I can easily live on about $40 a wk for food, and I'm working towards less as I get back to gardening. I also hope to pass on what I've learned to others (not sure how right now).

I also try to be compassionate to others - I wasted so much buying little things I didn't need - it really adds up. Sometimes it takes time to learn.

Also, parents who expect to be able to provide somebody with everything they want and then stop on a dime generating a radical life-style shift are nothing short of foolish. The shift must be gradual, or just don't spoil your kid to begin with. Nobody adjusts well to a major negative life change, especially a drastic, sudden, unanticipated one. I think that has more to do with it than anything.

So true, so true. Problem is, what we need are degree programs in raising kids! By the time we realize what we should have done - it sometimes seems as though it's too late.

I moved out at early 16, I've lived among and seen some shit I can barely believe. I've slept in the parks (BTW, don't do that if you are ever homeless, I guess they can arrest you), I've done the drill. Ungrateful, ignorant people who don't believe in bad luck or 2nd chances (until it happens to them, then the world is so unfair because they need to get a smaller house) are going to be the death of us.

Sad to say, you probably could teach those people a thing or two about surviving - and you never know - I don't wish bad on anyone, but those very "ungrateful, ignorant people" might need some hard, true advice on just that, one day.

[rickyjo]

Thanks threedogs, I liked your post a lot. My tone may have been harsh, not everybody gets it right the first time (nor should they) I just really hate it when people look down their nose--everybody gets a freebie!

So I've got to ask, is your user name a reference to fallout 3 or is it because you actually have three dogs, or other?
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bawhitsett:
I disagree, growing up with technology and being comfortable with it and loving the results of it will inevitably drive innovation. It's the mentality it gives you. To people that are scared by technology learning the simplest things proves difficult, and just in the mindset. As a computer guy, I believe I am qualified to make this statement. I see it everyday. Also, I believe the love of technology is what drives many to the sciences. Some of us just feel "more at home" on a computer than anything else.

[skybirds]

I'm really taken back by this sense of entitlement. I watch Madmen.
There wasn't this pressure to own everything. The Kennedys appeared
more lower middle class than todays average white collar workerl
The bosses that hire us often are cash strapped yet college grads
Demand a charmed life just for looking good. Certain professions
Such as dentistry and IT seem to feel a very high sense of over importance