[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by dmatre

I think that this is definitely part of the issue.

When I was growing up (60's-70's), all of my friends were in single-income homes. Dad worked, mom was home full-time.

One income was enough to have a good life- 2 cars, vacations every year, decent home.

Now, every family I know is a two-income family. Still at about the same economic level, but only with 2 incomes. If one were to stop working, it would not be possible to exist at the same level that our parents did.

Because of the need for two incomes, todays kids have less supervision/guidance/discipline.

It's a wicked cycle, and somehow I think that eventually we will get it right (Work/life/income balance), but there may be more pain in the short term future.

Very much this! This type of family life ruined my sisters second marriage. Both, her and her husband, are very business minded and very successful; great jobs, great work ethic, nice home, cars, etc. Five years in, no one in the family spoke to each other. Son was playing video games in his room, daughter in her room watching Sponge Bob, Father in his office constantly working, mother cleaning home or scrolling Facebook. Eventually it became the son was on drugs and in trouble for online porn (porn isn't enough to cause trouble, it was more so of the content of particular porn), daughter being exposed to things online that did not coincide with the family "values", father cheating (actually impregnating another member of their church, her husband was in the brother in laws prayer group) and the mother hooked on Xanax.

We have lost sight of what is important chasing the almighty dollar and all that it represents. Having nice houses, nice cars, etc. has become more important that our own families.

Originally Posted by CLABRO

Here's my opinion from a 27 year old millennial.

Things have changed (just like they have in the past and will continue to do so into the future), however, we're at this interesting point in history where technology is really interacting with our daily lives and influencing our decisions like it never has.

It's a combination of many things that has turned society into what it is today. Things change inevitably, but society has changed quicker and has become more extreme than we've seen before.

This younger generation is the first to grow up with social media and how it influences our lives. Technology has taken off in the last 10 years or so; beginning of social media (feeling of having to keep up with the Jones' or pretend that your life is perfect or family is the perfect family), the 24 hour news cycles (shows the worst of humanity most of the time), political correctness and participation awards (someone will be offended by what someone on a forum from the other side of the country has an opinion on, parents not disciplining their children effectively or not teaching their kids what the word, "No" means (so they grow up without any moral integrity or very little respect towards others).

Kids grow up using iPads now and are completely enamored with technology in their everyday lives and expect things to happen right away or them being able to obtain something quickly without waiting patiently like older generations had to do. They want everything ON DEMAND or at the PRESS OF THE BUTTON. That philosophy translates into other aspects of this younger generation and therefore they don't show as much compassion or respect to older folks as the older generation did when they were younger. It's not because these kids are mean or rude, it's because growing up, technology and social media has been intertwined with their daily lives so they're more worried/put more energy into seeing who will be the next person to like their post or tag them in a photo on Instagram than to sit down with their grandparent and listen to stories or gain new insight or wisdom from elders.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this younger generation sees things in a different way than the older generation. Sure, some are lazy, but you have lazy people in older generations as well. The younger generation has been influenced by technology and social media since they were born and it's all they know. They see that you can be successful and one of the richest people in the world by being a college dropout (CEO of Facebook) or as long as you become Youtube famous or Instagram famous then you're successful. They look at it from that point of view and not so much as from the point of view that the OP shared about how when he was younger, he'd give respect to someone in his position because they clearly made it to where they are in life from hard work and determination.

Very well stated. I think that a lot of the older generation doesn't take all of this into account when forming our opinions. Thank you for your insight. I see this with my two boys are now graduated and are trying to find their place in life. The youngest is going to college in the fall and has direction, albeit he isn't happy about living a modest life but he has goals and is working toward them for financial security in the future. The oldest is still struggling with watching people become "rich" by alternative means....I fear for his future.

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I disagree that people are inherently nice deep down. Maybe I've just been burned too much by 2-faced asshats but my world view has become very cynical. I have zero trust for anybody and assume the worst until I get to know who they really are at "heart."

I too am this way. We all end up being burned by those we care about the most and created a cycle of "screw everyone, I'll take care of myself." There is good and bad associated with this mindset. The good in this is that we all need to learn to take care of and love ourselves before we can take care of or love anyone else; however, this creates the mentality of selfishness and lack of concern for others problems.

Recently I was told by a dear friend, who actually just became a member here, "We have to fill our cups first and fill other cups by the runoff." Hard lesson to learn but I've been trying to live by this lately. It's very easy to get sucked into other people problems, wants and needs all while neglecting our own.

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

I think Entitlements are what has led to this generation:

- Everyone thinks they are entitled to an education, from student loan entitlements - so a 4 year degree now costs 10x what it did a generation ago, for exactly the same product,

- Taxes to pay for it all are off the charts now,

- Immigration has led to wages being driven down,

- Social agendas are now 50% of a high school education - vs. STEM.

This generation is accustomed to looking to the Federal government for solutions to national and world problems - instead of personal accountability, like in generations past.

This is very true. Anytime that this type of outlook crossed my mind I think of the chaos that was hurricane Katrina. All too many people blamed the government for not taking care of them. Rioting, looting, rape, etc. ran rampant. In 1900 a hurricane ripped through Galveston Texas and the governments only involvement was dispensing liquor to numb those who had to burn the bodies of the deceased before they could rebuild their own town. The people of Galveston realized that in order to rebuild they had to do it themselves rather than waste time blaming anyone. This is what we need to get back to.

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

It's really been going on for 100+ years - it's not new at all.

I have to disagree here. Although this has been the trend for the past 100+ years, technology is now piggy backing other technology which is causing it to increase at alarming rates. The only reference that comes to mind to reference is the Fibonacci.

Originally Posted by CLABRO

I agree that every decade has brought us new additions to society or inventions. However, I'll argue that this is different because it changes how people interact with other people and their thought process/prioritization of things. It isn't like an inanimate object that you described in a number of decades. And if something can change the way people interact with one another then it could possibly start to erode human and moral values that older generations have cherished or had held respect for. It's like a dominos effect- it's only a matter of time before other things can start to change whether that's losing sight of the golden rule (treat others the way you'd like to be treated) or prioritizing scrolling on instagram over being in the present and having dinner with your family and loved ones.

Again, the world we live in and the intersection we're currently at with respect to technology, social media, and society/politics doesn't come around every 10 years or so. They're all intertwined with each other and it's because we are as interconnected as we've ever been. Technology is being developed and engineered so rapidly that we can't keep up and it's making way for social media which then plays a role in our society and politics. This is all my opinion, and there are MANY other things and reasons that have shaped society into what it is today, but I believe this is a big reason why things and society are the way they are today.

The big question is how does all of this look in 10-20 years? What about 40 years? How will society look? Will it be better than what the OP is describing?

This.

I would like to thank all of you for your opinions. There have been some that I agree with and some that I don't but there has also been new light shed in areas to which I had not previously thought.