The World Is Going to Hell, the Young No Longer Respect Their Elders, and Other Tricks of the Mind

Paco Dennis

SF VIP
Location
Mid-Missouri
I think this saying has been adopted by most all the generations now living. It isn't just us old folks poo-pooing how awful the younger folks are.

Extract

The notion of a “Millennial” generation, much like a “Generation X” or the “Baby Boom” generation, with a strong coherence in terms of values and norms that differ from previous cohorts, has been of dependable interest in the popular press. However, given what we know regarding the proportion of trait expression due to sources largely immune to cohort effects (e.g., large genetic contributions), how difficult it is for us to systematically influence their expression (e.g., small long-term parental effects), and the massive variation within groups, the meta-analytic work of Costanza, Fraser, Badger, Severt, and Gade (2012) underscores what should already be known from first principles; generation or cohorts are inevitably a poor predictor of anything. The literature on ingroup/outgroup bias (Hogg & Abrams, 1990), stereotype formation (Mackie, Hamilton, Susskind, & Rosselli, 1996), and reconstructive memory issues (Schacter, 1999) provides ample underlying evidence for how these generational overgeneralizations form.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...-of-the-mind/301D32FA5F9F3DC5D1305AD2785F01ED
 

We have 4 generations in our family, and I sometimes have to "chuckle" at some of the stuff the younger ones do, or say. But, that has probably been true forever, and will continue, as each generation develops its own "habits". I'm just happy to see that they are all decent and responsible.

BTW, I notice that your location is "Mid-Missouri". Me too. We're about 4 miles South of Stover, in the dense forest, along Hwy 135. How close are you??
 
Look back at movies from the 30's and you will see the same thing as today. Kids goofing off in school. Getting in trouble with the cops and not respecting their parents that are often portrayed as less than admirable people.
 

We have 4 generations in our family, and I sometimes have to "chuckle" at some of the stuff the younger ones do, or say. But, that has probably been true forever, and will continue, as each generation develops its own "habits". I'm just happy to see that they are all decent and responsible.

BTW, I notice that your location is "Mid-Missouri". Me too. We're about 4 miles South of Stover, in the dense forest, along Hwy 135. How close are you??
Hey neighbor! We are about 60 miles from you...north and a little east...Rocheport
 
Hey neighbor! We are about 60 miles from you...north and a little east...Rocheport

Yup. I know right where that is. We get up to Columbia about once a year, and go to the IOC casino in Boonville about once a month. The news says there is going to be some major work on the Missouri River I-70 bridge soon....might create some traffic problems near you.
 
We have 4 generations in our family, and I sometimes have to "chuckle" at some of the stuff the younger ones do, or say. But, that has probably been true forever, and will continue, as each generation develops its own "habits". I'm just happy to see that they are all decent and responsible.
Yep, that was the gist of the "study."

At the end it talks about how younger people aren't procreating as abundantly as earlier generations, which is going to leave a worker shortage. Soon, a large percentage of our population will consist of senior citizens, like what happened in China beginning a few decades ago.
 
At the end it talks about how younger people aren't procreating as abundantly as earlier generations, which is going to leave a worker shortage. Soon, a large percentage of our population will consist of senior citizens, like what happened in China beginning a few decades ago.

The "demographics" of the US....and most of the "developed" nations are all showing a downward trend in birthrates....at least among the Caucasians. That seems to be the opposite for the Asians, Latinos and African Americans. Then, when you factor in the growth in automation and artificial intelligence, I sometimes wonder what the world will look like hundreds of years from now.

Frankly, I can see the day when all the races blend together, and adopt a common language. The old Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel may one day be pretty much reversed.

At any rate, Humanity MUST begin to control it's population. Human labor is becoming less needed with every passing generation, and if people don't cease having excessive numbers of children, there is going to be a Disparity of Wealth that makes today's issues seem paltry.

The UN did a study back in the late 1990's which put the 'sustainable" human population at around 6 billion. We are already well over 7 billion, with 9 billion expected by 2050, and 12 billion by 2100...if present trends continue. Half of those people will be living in poverty.

And, like you say....with people living longer, health and retirement funding issues will begin to overwhelm many societies. Personally, I think History will show the latter half of the 20th century as being the "peak" for humanity....the future is going to bring problems and issues that make many of today's concerns seem minor.
 
Did someone say population? 400,000 new cases of Covid in one day yesterday in India and not enough oxygen to hand out. People burning their family members in their own back yards. Try painting a worse picture.
 
When I was a kid born in 1948 we had no references about what our parents did in their youth. That is no longer true as kids today can look at media and view their parent's generation being as stupid as they are so little respect.
 


Back
Top