Our generation and attitude, is it getting worse? Options

[Brneydgrl]

i thought this would be interesting, because i know there are a lot of people here that are younger teenagers.


let me start off by saying i'm 20. i work at a resturant that is open 24 hours, so we have to deal with the mall crowd. now, we all know how the younger generation can dress, that was already discussed the other day.

what i'm concerned about is just attitude, drug use, and swearing. these kids that come in have to be 16, 14, younger, and swear at me, or swear at their friends. they are rude to their waitresses. the mall is even worse, these young kids call ppl bitches and say little rude comments to ppl.

another problem in my community is drug use. heroin namely. my sister is 17, and she told me that 3 ppl, all 15, were arrested at the highschool for drug use. but this is just one case, there are several other ones of young kids smoking weed.

granted i am only 20, it's not that much of a generation gap, but still, i'm apalled sometimes. when i was 15, i would never swear. i would be shocked if someone said these sexual terms they used, and i was never rude to the adults.

another thing, briefly, is rudness to teachers. i'm in college (sophmore), and these students talk while the teacher is, make fun of them, etc. highschool stuff. and this isn't just one class, but all.

is it just the generation is getting worse because of media? or are the parents to blame? was i just well sheltered as a kid? for those of you who would like to known what area i come from, i'm from bethel park, pennsylvania. it's middle class with some wealthy ppl. is it just these kids are spoiled?

[Lenn]

The media plays a huge part in children's lives, considering the amount of time a kid can spend on the television and the internet. Not forgetting music.

Nearly every popular song today suggests graphic sexual scenes and situations that leave nothing to the imagination. Vulgarity is taken as the norm. In movies, the bad, weapon-wielding guys are made out to be so much "cooler" than the good ones. Labels are applied to people without any thought of the consequences.

Pornography is so easily accessible online, and really, the language which people use in their blogs and chatrooms and such becomes filthier and filthier. You had to be willing to spout vulgarities like it is the best of your vocabulary (and more often than not, it is the extent of their pitiable vocab as well)

So I stand by my view that media has influenced the my generation - I'm 15, in Singapore, so I hear a hybrid of vulgarities in no less than 2 languages and 4 dialects everyday.

However, as uninspiredfae has pointed out, it is a personal choice to either conform or not conform to the society's perception of "ok"-ness. Still.. I don't see how it justifies being just so uncouth and all.

People don't seem to be as shocked when they pass by kids being so ugly, as compared to, say, years before when I was still young. When I was 12 I remember how pristine my school's language was. Now I look at the kids even *below* 12 and all they can go is "-insert ugleh language-".

Society's standards are slipping, like the way the hem of girls' skirts are rising.