Progress or just spoiled kids?

shadowtrucker18 said:A little pee-pee!?

I’ve always felt a bit embarrassed watching that, mostly because it just reminds me of... well, peeing. I suppose I've never actually given that soda a try myself.😁

For me, it just looked like... well, you know. And that’s exactly why I ended up drinking it. 🤣

I find myself wondering if any of you recall the days of playing Capture the Flag or simple games of tag in the neighborhood? We certainly ate much more wholesome meals back then. For us, a quick snack consisted of nothing more than some yogurt and a roll, whereas today’s kids seem to survive almost exclusively on processed junk food. That is the supposed "progress" we have achieved. Even our treats were modest; occasionally, we might be permitted to pick up some Fruit Roll-Ups or Cheetos at the grocery store. And as for entertainment... I seem to remember a neighbor once receiving a VHS tape, and back when we were in seventh grade, the whole neighborhood would congregate at that person's house to watch *E.T.*—an original copy, sourced from who knows where, without any subtitles. There was also a very clear, unspoken understanding regarding curfews; once we were told it was time to come home to our parents, there was no arguing, and we all respected that boundary. Quite frankly, I struggle to see how this modern advancement has actually improved our quality of life. In my estimation, the only genuine progress worth noting has been in medical science. Everything else? I wouldn't call it progress. From what I can observe, people today are increasingly dissatisfied, true values are being completely eroded, and the sense of community has vanished compared to how we used to socialize. No one hangs out like they used to. There is never enough time in a day, and children are undeniably spending less time with their parents, making them both unhappier and more discontented than we ever were. This stems directly from a lack of discipline and a failure to provide quality time, leading to a certain level of entitlement born from inconsistent parenting. Such wonderful progress we have made.

We used to play Border Patrol, but I can't even remember how you did the field subtractions—was it something like that math game Schoolhouse or what? And man, those Hershey bars we never actually had here, they were always imported from Austria, so when those old guys would bring home a whole pack, you were only allowed to grab one single piece.
We actually respected our parents and teachers back then, but now you hear professors complaining that every new generation just gets progressively worse. They say they’re genuinely relieved when they get a decent class instead of a total circus where everything and anything goes (I mean, things weren't perfect before either, but it felt less extreme). Everything feels so much more depleted now, and there's more poverty among the students too. Honestly, I think my generation, born between '95 and '99, was actually one of the wealthier ones compared to kids today, even though we dealt with all that war chaos and students being displaced or fleeing... we still managed to pull it together.

Brandon Newman95 said:We used to play Border Patrol, but I can't even remember how you did the field subtractions—was it something like that math game Schoolhouse or what? And man, those Hershey bars we never actually had here, they were always imported from Austria, so when those old guys would bring home a whole pack, you were only allowed to grab one single piece.
We actually respected our parents and teachers back then, but now you hear professors complaining that every new generation just gets progressively worse. They say they’re genuinely relieved when they get a decent class instead of a total circus where everything and anything goes (I mean, things weren't perfect before either, but it felt less extreme). Everything feels so much more depleted now, and there's more poverty among the students too. Honestly, I think my generation, born between '95 and '99, was actually one of the wealthier ones compared to kids today, even though we dealt with all that war chaos and students being displaced or fleeing... we still managed to pull it together.

My old elementary teacher lives in my neighborhood, so we run into each other sometimes. She tells me she has six classes, and every single one of them has at least 15 kids living in extreme poverty. These kids are so desperate that she literally doesn't know how to motivate them to even try anymore. (On the bright side, she absolutely loved our class because our monthly behavior grade average was basically a perfect score, and we were untouchable in sports and always the most creative. Ha ha. Long story, whatever, not really relevant).

Brandon Newman95 said:We used to play Border Patrol, but I can't even remember how you did the field subtractions—was it something like that math game Schoolhouse or what? And man, those Hershey bars we never actually had here, they were always imported from Austria, so when those old guys would bring home a whole pack, you were only allowed to grab one single piece.
We actually respected our parents and teachers back then, but now you hear professors complaining that every new generation just gets progressively worse. They say they’re genuinely relieved when they get a decent class instead of a total circus where everything and anything goes (I mean, things weren't perfect before either, but it felt less extreme). Everything feels so much more depleted now, and there's more poverty among the students too. Honestly, I think my generation, born between '95 and '99, was actually one of the wealthier ones compared to kids today, even though we dealt with all that war chaos and students being displaced or fleeing... we still managed to pull it together.

Yes, field subtraction was essentially the same thing as playing with chalk on the driveway. If you can't remember that, well, I was born in '72, so perhaps your lot simply didn't play those kinds of games.

I don't think kids today are any more spoiled than previous generations. If anything, I believe children need more affection because they only get one childhood. The real issue we're facing is that a significant number of kids today are growing up without proper guidance or social support. A child is essentially a mirror of their parents; whatever they witness and hear at home is exactly what they’ll carry out into the playground or the classroom. Our society has shifted in a way where hard work, genuine success, and actual knowledge aren't really respected anymore—instead, they often become targets for ridicule. Nowadays, it feels like all that matters is the money in your pocket, regardless of how you actually earned it. Rudeness is everywhere, both within families and out in public, so why should we be surprised by how children behave?

Harold Ramirez49 said:I don't think kids today are any more spoiled than previous generations. If anything, I believe children need more affection because they only get one childhood. The real issue we're facing is that a significant number of kids today are growing up without proper guidance or social support. A child is essentially a mirror of their parents; whatever they witness and hear at home is exactly what they’ll carry out into the playground or the classroom. Our society has shifted in a way where hard work, genuine success, and actual knowledge aren't really respected anymore—instead, they often become targets for ridicule. Nowadays, it feels like all that matters is the money in your pocket, regardless of how you actually earned it. Rudeness is everywhere, both within families and out in public, so why should we be surprised by how children behave?

I am inclined to agree with you on most points. Yes, children need to feel cherished, but there is a fine line between nurturing them and spoiling them, and crossing that line does nothing but do them a profound disservice in the long run. If we raise them without discipline, we are merely setting them up to become unhappy adults who lack the resilience to handle the inevitable frictions of life. If a parent constantly caves to every whim just because a child has a meltdown in the middle of a Target aisle, or if a child is never taught where the boundaries lie, how on earth are they supposed to cope when they encounter a world that doesn't bend to their will? Whether it is in a professional environment, at a university, or within a marriage, life requires compromise. True love is expressed by setting those necessary boundaries and actually preparing a person to face the reality of the world.

Harold Ramirez49 said:I don't think kids today are any more spoiled than previous generations. If anything, I believe children need more affection because they only get one childhood. The real issue we're facing is that a significant number of kids today are growing up without proper guidance or social support. A child is essentially a mirror of their parents; whatever they witness and hear at home is exactly what they’ll carry out into the playground or the classroom. Our society has shifted in a way where hard work, genuine success, and actual knowledge aren't really respected anymore—instead, they often become targets for ridicule. Nowadays, it feels like all that matters is the money in your pocket, regardless of how you actually earned it. Rudeness is everywhere, both within families and out in public, so why should we be surprised by how children behave?

I am inclined to agree with you on most counts. Yes, children need affection, but we must be careful not to indulge them to the point of spoiling them, as doing so does them a massive disservice in the long run. It often results in adults who are fundamentally unhappy because they grew up incapable of handling the basic friction of life. If a parent caves every time a child throws a tantrum on the floor of a Target, or fails to establish any semblance of boundaries, how can we expect that child to cope when they encounter a world that doesn't bend to their whims? Whether it is in a professional environment, a classroom, a relationship, or a marriage, life will eventually say "no." True love involves setting those necessary boundaries and actually preparing a child to face reality.

That’s exactly what I was thinking. You have to know where the lines are drawn—you need to understand your responsibilities and clearly know the difference between what’s acceptable and what isn't. Having a solid set of rules to live by is essential. It's really something you should learn from the time you're just a kid.

It’s actually quite interesting, I guess, how nobody really jumped in on my post about how age gaps and clothing boundaries don't even exist anymore these days...

Gerald Walker7 said:It’s actually quite interesting, I guess, how nobody really jumped in on my post about how age gaps and clothing boundaries don't even exist anymore these days...

Well, I certainly had a reaction, though perhaps it was more of an internal monologue than a public outcry...😉.It truly is unsettling. You see little girls and very young women—and even some ladies in their fifties—dressing exactly like teenagers. These children are essentially inviting unnecessary risk by presenting themselves in ways that attract the wrong kind of attention from predators, while the older women often attempt to project a youthful image that, quite bluntly, fails to achieve its intended effect.

All joking aside, there is something fundamentally tasteless about seeing twelve-year-old girls wandering around dressed in provocative clothing.

I suppose I should just point out that humans have been dressing themselves for thousands of years, whereas children's clothing is really only a relatively recent development of the last century or so. It isn't particularly surprising, I guess, that it seems to be disappearing again.

Honestly, shadowtrucker18? Hmm, I don't think I can agree with you there. I suppose back in the day, we didn't have endless boutiques everywhere; clothes were either custom-made or bought at department stores, but people just dressed according to their age and gender—girls looked like girls, boys like boys, and adults like adults (ignoring whatever nonsense went on in royal courts, of course). For me and a lot of my friends, it feels completely absurd and frankly inappropriate that you can walk through a city today and have no idea how old someone actually is. It seems like quite a few people dress provocatively on purpose, almost checking to see if they're getting noticed. I see it every single day. And you wouldn't believe—though I'm not sure why no one else brings this up—how often girls pressure boys into physical stuff or sleeping together when the guys aren't even ready. I'm not saying it doesn't happen the other way around; that’s always been more common. My point is... kids have become bolder, more aggressive, self-centered, rude, calculated, and manipulative than ever before.

I went through the training at West Point, so that's how they taught us 😢

We really ought to rename this thread to "Then vs. Now."

Nicole Allen10 said:We really ought to rename this thread to "Then vs. Now."

Indeed. You can tell when the retirees start talking... they begin reminiscing about how much better things used to be—even down to the quality of their digestion, I suppose. One would assume they simply had more intestinal fortitude back then.

I honestly don't quite follow you all. You're over here praising the linebacker, yet I’m still walking past the local park today feeling a bit anxious, half-expecting some kid to launch a football straight at my head. Back in my day, the linebacker's primary job was basically to make sure whoever was at the bottom of the defensive line got hit hard enough to stay humbled. It was less about strategy and more about making an example out of people, I suppose. You call this a game, but if you ask me, it isn't really a game at all; it's more like a war 😢

shadowtrucker18 said:I honestly don't quite follow you all. You're over here praising the linebacker, yet I’m still walking past the local park today feeling a bit anxious, half-expecting some kid to launch a football straight at my head. Back in my day, the linebacker's primary job was basically to make sure whoever was at the bottom of the defensive line got hit hard enough to stay humbled. It was less about strategy and more about making an example out of people, I suppose. You call this a game, but if you ask me, it isn't really a game at all; it's more like a war 😢

I'm with you on that.
Trout, spot on!

Yes, I suppose it’s true—things were certainly easier back when you weren't being personally targeted, let alone subjected to such systematic harassment.

shadowtrucker18 said:I honestly don't quite follow you all. You're over here praising the linebacker, yet I’m still walking past the local park today feeling a bit anxious, half-expecting some kid to launch a football straight at my head. Back in my day, the linebacker's primary job was basically to make sure whoever was at the bottom of the defensive line got hit hard enough to stay humbled. It was less about strategy and more about making an example out of people, I suppose. You call this a game, but if you ask me, it isn't really a game at all; it's more like a war 😢

I will never understand why most people actually enjoyed that sport.