Recently it has been brought to my attention that our current generation is referred to as "The Snowflake Generation."
What is "The Snowflake Generation" you might ask, well, it's a generation that believes that they are indeed unique and special, much like snowflakes. This generation also gets easily offended by anything and everything, essentially making them cry babies and not able to listen to anyone else's opinions that don't agree with their own. The nickname also stems from the term "special snowflake" that was popular earlier this year, mostly on the social media site Tumblr, also the breeding ground for members of this generation to vent about how offended they are about certain topics.
According to an article on The Spectator, universities are finding that the students entering them are part of this new generation. "At Oxford University, law students are now officially notified when the content of a lecture may upset them," said the author of the article, Claire Fox. This could be a good idea if there are students who feel sensitive towards certain topics, but should everyone be coddled in order for their comfort? You certainly can't meet everyone's needs.
The reason for this epidemic of easily offended students is their parents, also according to the same article. Parents of the current generation have been trying to protect their children from the real world, constantly reassuring them that they are unique and can do anything. They don't expose them to what the world is really like. We live in a world where anyone can win. I found this particularly true when I was on sports teams growing up. How often did everyone get a trophy even if they weren't good at the sport? All the time. Not everyone can be good at the same activity, but with the way the current generation was raised, parents told them otherwise.
Now students are requesting to have "safe spaces," especially on college campuses. These safe spaces make sure the students aren't affected by anything that makes them uncomfortable.
In an article by Judith Shulevitz of The New York Times, "Safe spaces are an expression of the conviction, increasingly prevalent among college students, that their schools should keep them from being “bombarded” by discomfiting or distressing viewpoints," said Shulevitz.
Safe spaces have good intentions, but are they also teaching the current generation to hide from their problems? Should we be dealing with our problems head on and not relying on places like safe spaces? I certainly don't want to be remembered as a generation that gets easily offended by everything.
