re: Meet ‘Generation Snowflake'

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And here we go, millenials who don't IDENTIFY with being millenial. They FEEL like they should be Gen X or maybe make up some other generation label for them.

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It's a legit distinction to be made.

The older half of Millennials/Gen Y...

- Remember well a time before the internet
- Were either teenagers or young adults when social media was invented
- Were teenagers when 9/11 happened and remember it well and could absorb all the implications
- Were either relatively new to the work force or were about to graduate college during the teeth of the recession
- Were, by far, the largest demographic group to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan

The differences in social experience are pretty damn big. Do you remember all of this crap coming from campuses during the Bush years? Because that's when the older half of Gen Y was in school.

Lumping people into groups with generalized personality characteristics based on birth year is hardcore stupid to the bone anyway.

I've been in upper management since 2003, have interviewed hundreds of candidates from all age groups and have hired from all age groups as well. I have not yet encountered a single millenial that comes close to the media caricature often reported.

Quite the contrary, if I was forced to judge by age group, I generally find that I can't wait to hire more younger workers and can't wait for the older ones to just fricking retire. I find the older generations to be far more entitled in their expectations for personal benefits they are not entitled to.

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I generally find that I can't wait to hire more younger workers and can't wait for the older ones to just fricking retire. I find the older generations to be far more entitled in their expectations for personal benefits they are not entitled to.

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This is something that gives me a good chuckle. I read on here all the time about how entitled millennials are, yet there's a sizable chunk of the older generation that simply expects to be paid more and get a sweet retirement deal just for getting older, even if they are actually getting worse over time at their job because technology is passing them by.

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even if they are actually getting worse over time at their job because technology is passing them by.

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You realize that we don't stop learning after we get our first job.

I just flew back after meetings with a large defense contractor. During the meetings, I presented some of my analysis of the program using a hybrid of standard tools and approaches I've developed myself over the years.

After the meetings, a younger member(about 30) of the contractor team pulled me(49) aside and asked if he could reach out to me and learn about my methods.

I don't say this to knock him. Kudos him for seeing an opportunity to learn. I'll bet that carries him far.

But please don't think us older guys are all running around doing the same shite we did 20 years ago.

Working with teenagers for almost 15 years now, these are the biggest changes I've seen that have probably contributed to the current generation's attitudes:

- A larger number of parents trending towards everyone else being responsible for raising their children. And it's at both ends of the academic spectrum. Two weeks ago I had to sit on the phone with a parent about his 11th grader not having perfect attendance. The kid signed in late and signed out early multiple times, pretty cut and dry. But not to this guy. He talked about how hurt his kid was that he didn't get a perfect attendance award, wanted me to "excuse" the tardies and early dismissals, and then handed the phone to his kid for ME to explain where he fricked up and why I wouldn't be "fixing it".

Now imagine that across the board for grades, behavior, etc. It's like they failed to grow a sack and actually deal with their kids.

- Kids who are believe they're owed something without the work for it.

- Higher rates of anxiety and depression among teens. I've seen kids flat out have a breakdown, especially at a competitive HS competing for spots at prestigious colleges. And some of it has to do with the extreme pressure by their parents that if they don't get into X college that they're fricked (a pretty absurd notion). You see so many parents living vicariously through their kids to the point that they're breaking them.

Also don't get me started on what this generation considers feminism either. And it's not using feminism as a reason to dress like a whore at school because you don't like the dress code.

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The first big one I can remember was the 80 year old woman that sued McDonald's over the hot coffee.

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There's been some frivolous lawsuits but this isn't one of them IMO. She had to have multiple skin grafts on her thighs and pelvic area from the burns. That's pretty absurd.

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And here we go, millenials who don't IDENTIFY with being millenial. They FEEL like they should be Gen X or maybe make up some other generation label for them.

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I honestly have no idea why people are quick to brag about being gen X or to try and be perceived as part of that generation. There are stupid, awful, pussified gen X'ers out there, just as with all generations. Gen X does not warrant some great honor.

I'm 30 and deal with idiots and great people from all generations.