“Young people these days have NO respect for others!”
We’ve all heard at least one person older than us say this in our lives. Generalizations of the other generations are quite common. Young complain about old, old complain about young, but this previous statement is one that has currently been getting under my skin. Honestly, I feel this statement is not true. At least, not as a generalization for one generation.
The lack of respect today is not just a millennials problem — it’s an everyone problem. Often I hear people say this statement, but in my experience, I’ve talked to just as many adults who are disrespectful and entitled than people my own age.
People today are constantly wanting. We think we deserve everything right when we want it and should get it with no questions asked because we deserve it. But this false sense of entitlement is a prominent problem today.
Working in a restaurant is where I really learned about this. I can’t tell you how many times I’d have to tell customers that the kitchen is backed up and that their food will be delayed. And you know who gives the most annoyed responses? Adults. Most of the time, younger customers will just smile, say that’s OK, and go back to talking with the rest of their party. But I’ve had adults act as if they are the only ones in the whole restaurant waiting on food.
They become impatient and rude and more than likely would leave a bad tip for me as if it was my fault that the food took so long. Here is the thing though: I’m not the only one who sees this.
Kids today are surrounded by adults who are rude and entitled. Are we really surprised that kids today don’t have respect when adults don’t even have it? All over Facebook there are hateful words being spread about others, from the neighbors down the street to our president. The news is plastered with adults fighting. A lot of kids are probably seeing parents and other adults berate retail workers as the holiday season gets closer. There are countless examples I can think of, and this needs to stop.
We often forget that the current generation is being raised and taught how to interact with the world by the previous one. Now, I know there are some kids who are completely disrespectful. I have seen teenagers completely disobey teachers before, and it frustrates me to no end. I’ve seen kids pitch temper tantrums in store, and when I worked, I had teenagers who got annoyed by the wait as well (not as many, but I did have some). But they have to learn it from somewhere. Be it from TV, their parents, their teachers, their friends — it all starts somewhere.
Instead of sitting and complaining about things, maybe it’s time that we start worrying about what image we portray to the younger generations. Every time I argue with my mom and raise my voice in front of my nieces and nephews, they see it as something they can do too. Each time you yell at your waiter for not having your food just the right way, you’re teaching your child to pitch a fit about their food.
Each time we are disrespectful to another human being, and act like we are entitled to everything we want, we are teaching children to do the same thing. We often want to sit back and criticize how we see everyone else acting, but not look at the fact that we, ourselves, might be simply looking at a mirror.
Acting entitled is not only rude, but it affects everyone around us. It implies, "My needs are worth more than yours." This sense not only belittles other people, but it's cancerous. It destroys relationships. It makes people feel like they aren't worth anything. We teach kids that there is no I in team, but off the field, everything is about 'me.'
If anyone is acting entitled, it’s humans as a whole. Not just my generation. Not just the older generation. All of us. And it’s time to stop it and respect everyone the way we want to be respected.
