The Generation of Entitlement

I haven't, until this year, really felt like "an adult". Yes, I've been old enough to vote and drive, and living on my own, for years, but it's never really hit me before.

Now that I work at a college, however, it is rapidly becoming clear that I am no longer a youth, or young person, or whatever it is you want to call the 18-early 20s set. Maybe it's because my parents got divorced when I was 13, leaving me to grow up very quickly and care for myself, but I feel like other people my age also manage to find a job, pay their bills, and treat both co-workers and peers with respect.

Not so "Generation Y". Their absolute sense of entitlement, their "I want what I want and I want it now" attitude, and their "you're here to serve me, right?" treatment of everyone on staff never fails to astound. Maybe it's the digital age, their inundation since childhood with instantaneous information and gratification, that's created this monster. Maybe it's the helicopter parents who are afraid (understandably, let's face it) to let their children venture out of sight, who do everything and provide everything for their children.

Either way, nearly all the underclassmen I encounter are vastly unprepared to handle independent life. They don't know what to eat, when and what to study, how to act in groups of their peers and (most aggravating for me) how to treat adults with respect. I, and other colleagues at work, frequently receive e-mails addressing us as "Hey [first name]", get Facebook requests from students (I ignore them, even when I like and respect the student), have students show up late for tests, events, and appointments, and get treated with an overall "You're going to do what I want, so why bother behaving as if I appreciate it" attitude that leaves me blindsided every time. Not to mention the parents who call, visit, and generally act as if their child is, well, still a child, and not a legal adult. (If my mother had visited the counselor when I was in college and told them all my issues, I would have been mortified..but students here seem to take it as normal. And yes, it does frequently happen).

Of course, there are the exceptions....those students who send thank you notes, address you first as your proper title before you tell them they can use your first name, who always show up on time, etc. But they are outnumbered. And I have no idea what to do about it.

Where did 18 year olds get this sense of entitlement, in the worst economy the country has seen in decades? What on earth are they going to be like in 10 years, when they're in professional jobs? What is the NEXT generation going to be like, and how can we fix it? And equally important, how do we treat it?

Nothing to make you feel old like the generation behind you.