Why does our generation hate itself so much?

[Rhaide]

He's also making broad disparaging statements about a huge demographic, at which point he'd better have some shred of evidence to back it up if he wants to come off as something better than a grumpy old person who keeps going on and on about how "back in my day..."

Or, he could expect that people who disagreed with him would do so with an explanation and polite dissent to create a *gasp* discussion... you know, rather than calling him a grumpy old person and demanding evidence of an opinion he's obvious asking people's thoughts about.

OT: Another large part of it (as horrible as it sounds) is the push-back against bullying. Don't get me wrong, bullies are assholes... but they served a purpose... sort of a cultural survival of the fittest. In ye olden times, when someone was awkward, weird, or took part in activities generally considered silly, backward, or unproductive, they were mocked for it. This created two kinds of people, most of those people eventually went on to lead normal, productive lives in order to stop the ostracism, and those who simply couldn't change, and continued to be 'different'.

Nowadays, bullying is far less common, and pressures are largely lifted to be 'normal'. Strange and bizarre hobbies and lifestyles are widely accepted, while this brings a lot of good, positive change, and tolerance to those who SHOULD be tolerated... it also allows people participating in self destructive, lazy, or worthless behaviors to thrive.

I'll use video games as an example (gulp). I LOVE gaming, it's my only real hobby and I spend too much time doing it honestly... but a generation or two ago, people who spent their lives with their noses in books or in front of a TV were mocked for it by people who spent their time being social or playing sports. While things like reading and playing (certain) games have obvious benefits, many people who participate in these activities do so at a rate which prohibits participation in other, IMPORTANT things like real, face-to-face social interactions.

Long story short, instead of a bunch of people who have personal hobbies, but also spend time doing 'traditional' things (breeding a healthy sense of how the world works and one's place within it)... we get unbalanced people who participate largely in 1-2 activities to the exclusion of all else and refuse to believe it is a negative thing.

While I don't believe in gaming addiction as a common issue; I *do* believe it can take over a person's free time. Generally addictions are considered to be something that you can't stop doing that affects other important aspects of your life hindering your ability to survive or sustain yourself. This doesn't apply to gaming excessively in every case because often it only absorbs LEISURE time and therefore doesn't stop you from surviving and sustaining.

As a society, we are moving more and more towards a culture where you can't call any decision bad. In some cases this is good, like open tolerance of homosexuality... but sometimes it goes too far, like tolerance of inappropriate public displays under the guise of tolerance of a person's sexual preferences. We are both inclined and AFRAID TO draw a line in many cases.

We have to find a way to allow people to live happy lives while still reminding them politely that they are obligated to participate in a society where people rely on each other. If we don't... we're going to end up in a world where EVERYONE lives in an echo chamber with only like-minded people who get offended by anyone who disagrees with their worldview.

Until we can accept that many rich people want to stay rich at the cost of others WHILE STILL UNDERSTANDING that many poor people want money for nothing, we won't advance. It's not black and white.

You can't ignore the poor by claiming it's all their fault, but you can't raise the tax rate on the rich to a comedically high rate to subsidize a system they may not even agree with. Everyone has rights, but not everyone has EVERY right.

I know I bounced around a bit there, but I hope my train of thought remains clear enough. To those of you that read the whole thing, thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

I used to believe that's some mythical "human instinct" - I don't believe it anymore after experiencing other cultures and communities.

It's a "taught" thing by society/culture when growing up, not an instinct thing. I find people just like to use the "human nature" excuse as a means to not personally hold any responsibility towards themselves for their actions.

Somebody wiser than myself said it best: You can have the highest IQ person on the planet grow up in a facist state/enviroment, and chances are he'll be the smartest Facist you ever met.

You must remember that cultures are created by the people who exist within them. They started somewhere and they evolve by the same people they affect. Bad, self-important people in America may take advantage of the poor; bad, self-important people in less civilized countries may take slaves or turn to piracy.

Bad people exist everywhere, while the fabric of our individual societies may shape HOW we express our human nature, it doesn't affect human nature itself. Brain chemistry is brain chemistry. We are wired a certain way; we can be altered slightly but not rewritten.

[Dawnseven]

I'm a Gen X'er myself, but if it makes you feel better OP, I just don't think Gen Y has come into its own yet. When Gen X was in its 20s or so you don't think there wasn't a laundry list of stuff that was wrong with them? If we didn't hate ourselves it was only because we were too arrogant to think about it.