It's the boomer's kids you'll really have to worry about. There is a group right now, between 12-18, who have grown up with the comforts of the Boomer generation and don't see any way they can maintain that. Having the hippy generation for parents, they have no moral underpinnings whatsoever. They no longer live with both parents in most cases and in many cases, their parents were never married to begin with. The reason their parents had them to begin with was for their own self-fulfillment.
These kids are incredibly sophisticated users of technology but are socially inept. The most important relationships in their lives are not permanent, so they place little value on relationships. They hang out on MySpace and socialize in internet chat rooms where they can interact with little consequence. They are already so corrupt that they don't blush at hardcore porn, which they carry around on $400 iPods in their pocket. Commercial enterprises and public schools have effectively isolated them from their parents for a good two-thirds of every day. They are becoming cynical, yet docile consumers.
They don't anticipate a future that is nearly as good as what they have now and many of them figure the whole world is going to either blow up in a nuclear war or will be destroyed by global warming. They have no dreams, no ambition, and think they have no future. They have virtually no interest in religion, because the can't foresee a future in this life, much less beyond the grave.
I call them "The Last Generation." With few exceptions, they are without God in the world. In the coming years of judgment and hardship, they have nothing from which to draw strength or believe in. If any generation was to slouch towards Armageddon, it's this one. Out of all the kids I've worked with in Church groups for almost 30 years, this generation is the least interested in things like faith and service. Scouting? Forget about it! Sports? Forget about it? All they want is a GameBoy or PSP so they can practice killing someone. Trying to find something that reaches them and motivates them is almost impossible. With almost every need met, they have nothing that they desire, except shopping for new desires. It's a generation in need of want.
Much of what you say I'll agree with. However, I am much more optimistic than you, perhaps because I live in Texas. My Catholic parish has an incredible LifeTeen program, and our middle school program has expanded to two nights a week to handle the overflow. Last year, we had approximately 700 middle schoolers, and close to 150 active LifeTeen members.
Each generation learns to live with their world as it is. For example, I knew EXACTLY when it was 12 noon, because that's when an air raid siren (150 feet from my house) was tested every day for the 12 years I lived there.
Hang in there, buddy. Keep up the good work, because you're making a difference to the kids.
Perhaps I run in more sheltered circles, but I do have 2 kids in this age group; and one almost and I just don't see this.
THe kids I know from this generation ( my kid's friends and those in their homeschooling and church group) are just the most upstanding and good people. They're not asking for anything; they see the problems, and they are ready to take them on. Once in church, our pastor had them stand up to receive a church-wide prayer. he Holy Spirit spoke and said that many would try to take them, but that they were HIS generation. That's how I've always thought of them. I think we'll see great things from them.