To the editor of The Globe and Mail,
I am writing to you with regards to an article in your newspaper which I came across recently, written by Margaret Wente and titled Inside the Entitlement Generation. It seems evident that Wente is arguing that the time frame between childhood and adulthood is expanding, and that today’s generation of young people tend to be less motivated in their behaviour, values, and aspirations. I strongly agree with everything that Wente has proposed in her article, and believe that this is an issue that needs to be dealt with.
Wente believes that young people in my generation are child-like; they have unrealistic expectations, are less mature, and are constantly being sheltered. None of these qualities are attributes of a successful adulthood. Sociologist George Mead said that one’s sense of self grows and changes to suit the environment. Similarly, sociologist Charles Cooley posits that our own identity is largely a result of the influences of others. The current generation of youth has been poorly raised - not with regards to physical conditions, but rather that parents exert an ever-increasing amount of possession over their children, thereby impeding the child’s ability to find their own identity. When children are so intensely monitored it prevents them from maturing.
Mead blames our culture of dependence, the over-reaching influence of parents, and the ease of modern university courses for the increased time most youth spend in a state of mental adolescence. I wholeheartedly agree with the view of Ken Coates - professor of history and former dean at the University of Waterloo – that greater importance must be placed on development before higher education. As sociology Professor Charles Gibney stated about anomie, it can be created by a chasm between hopes, dreams, expectations, and the socioeconomic reality that social groups encounter. Anomie in adolescents today can be attributed to unrealistic expectations of adult life brought on by idealized portrayals within popular media.
While reading Wente’s article, I found that my own views were similar to hers, especially in regards to the young people entering university. To counter our unrealistic expectations, I would encourage all young people to read an article like this one to become aware of the harsh realities of adulthood.
