“these young people are screwed and they know it.”
I actually don’t think they do know it, not yet. Facebook and i-phones are still available and these, in my opinion, drive the apparent “narcissism” that we all see. The self-absorption is technology-enabled but probably short-lived.
Unfortunately, Facebook/Iphones will have wasted countless billions of hours of youth that could have been more productively invested as previous generations did, but not every kid fell prey to this pathology.
When they can’t replace their iphones and can’t afford internet access (and get kicked out of starbucks) then it will start to dawn on them that they are screwed.
On the other hand they will be forced into intergenerational households (if they are lucky) and that may help them in the long run.
Mediocrity is a slow process full of the distractions that are abundant today. Those that must will adjust to it. There are plenty of bright kids in the so-called Gen-N. They won’t be able to work hard enough to perpetuate the things that allowed their generation to lie fallow.
I think that with a debt default, and a reset of expectations on what government can do , things could be looking up for these kids, provided they can contribute some form of industry and effort to the cause.
“I actually don’t think they do know it, not yet.”
I don’t see how they wouldn’t know it; I can’t believe the number of young 20-somethings that don’t have a car (even a used one), that have to shack up with roommates (or stay in their parents’ homes), and work part-time.
It is frightening; because this is a long-term phenomenon, Dems are racing to replace their young white voters with brown ones as quickly as possible. They were successful in 2012 because the demographic race had already been lost to Hispanics; we’ve been importing them for decades while we wouldn’t breed.