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Original poster

Youth of today

110 replies

CarerWhoCaresTooMuch · 21/02/2023 00:25

What is it with them.?? Whilst I know I’m going to sound like my gran probably get a roasting too but I just don’t get them. Im working in retail and what I’m seeing these days just disgusts me. Foul mouthed , Cocky , vaping youths who think it’s their absolute right to steal , trash the shops and even abuse anyone who would question any behaviour, I know kids will be kids and it’s part of ‘Growing up’ , yes times have changed but what the hell has actually happened? They genuinely don’t give two monkeys about what they say or do, There’s no respect , common curtesy , manners . Some of the mischief as it was put to me just this evening ‘ a bit of entertainment’ is actually criminal damage , disturbing the peace . They don’t even care if they are on camera , seems like there’s nothing to stop them.
Yes I know there are also some absolute cracking youngsters out there too.
I’d love to know what the parents of these youngsters actually think and how they would feel if they knew what their child was up too. Obviously things were different when I was growing and I know the world we live in now is also very different, so I guess I’m just wondering how everyone else feels and what they think.

OP posts:
FlowerPows · 21/02/2023 11:35

It’s every generation but now they record each other for likes.

Sep200024 · 21/02/2023 11:35

girlfriend44 · 21/02/2023 10:58

Thing is you are now hearing more and more of it.
James Bulger was a shock, but you hear it more and more now.
Nothing gets better.
Who would have thought you'd hear of somebody being stabbed because they asked some teens not to behave badly. Years ago you would have been ashamed to be told off by an adult now you've got to fear being abused or killed.

Lack of discipline and respect is at an all time low and its not going to get better sadly.

Show quote history

This is a weird comment.

As though cases like James Bulger are now ten a penny?

It would be just as shocking if it happened now as it was in the 90’s.

What an awful thing to say.

AllOfThemWitches · 21/02/2023 11:37

I'm 34 and youths like that have existed at least since the 90s...

budgiegirl · 21/02/2023 11:38

I'm really sick of older people complaining about younger people

Me too. I work with YP, and the vast, vast, majority are funny, engaging, caring kids who care more about the planet, their families, other people, animals, food choices etc than my generation ever did. Of course there are a few who cause problems, but this has always been the case, with every generation.

Quite interesting that the OP says she's 'going to sound like her gran' by complaining about the youth of today. Says all you need to know, really. It was ever thus.

budgiegirl · 21/02/2023 11:41

For goodness sake I don't think anyone is saying that ALL young people are like this, but the ones that are are a real problem in society

Said every older generation, ever, since the dawn of time.

Sep200024 · 21/02/2023 11:42

wherearetheturtles · 21/02/2023 10:45

For goodness sake I don't think anyone is saying that ALL young people are like this, but the ones that are are a real problem in society.

Show quote history

Such an embarrassing comment, this one 🤦🏻‍♀️

Goldenbear · 21/02/2023 11:49

There have always been youth that are badly behaved. My Mum was a young teenager in the 1950s and at the local milkshake cafe a Teddy boy stabbed the owner's son.

My parents were 1960's Beat generation youngsters that were politically active and wanted to radically drive change which they did do as a generation. Many people of their parents' generation did not agree with this liberalism and would have asked, "what is wrong with them'.

I have a nearly 16 year old son, he is thoughtful, intellectual and would not dream of carrying out violence or being a thug, not would his friends but that's not to say they don't challenge things and some of them have/do smoke occasionally just like we did and our parents'(DH and I) did! My son and his friends enjoy being social, they are not all on their phones 24/7, I do think just gaming and phones all the time has really limited some young people in terms of intellectual capacity and emotional intelligence.

My Mum who is 75 was on the bus the other day and told me how annoying some people who are older are towards teenagers. Two teenage boys had sat on the flip down seats and the priority seats remained, the bus was pretty empty, they were chatting to each other minding their own business, an older lady (60s so not too old) got on the bus and despite having these seats available told one of the boys to move, he replied, 'of course' and then she proceeded to sit on the flip down chair in the middle of them so they could no longer talk. All the while my Mum said loads of seats available, including the priority seats. My Mum said the same day, she dropped a five pounds note in the shopping centre and 3 teenagers called out to her and ran after her to return it. My Mum is old but she thinks many people just fall back on bias and stereotyping and having a teenage grandson she knows lots of those thoughts are rubbish and not substantiated.

Goldenbear · 21/02/2023 12:00

I'm not sure this automatic respect was always around in the good old days. I mean I was a teenager in the 1990s and there was lots of drinking, lad culture, etc youth the got told off by an old person certainly weren't embarrassed. Equally, have you ever heard of the film(and book) Saturday Night, Sunday Morning from 1960, it is literally about a young rebellious man that goes out drinking on Saturday night and has casual sex. He is reacting to what his parents' represent. Youth again that would not be embarrassed to be told off by an older person as they were literally rejecting the stuffiness of their parents.

vera99 · 21/02/2023 12:04

It was ever thus sadly.

RosetteNebula · 21/02/2023 12:06

I'm 32 and I don't want to be one of those older people that hates teenagers and forgets what it's like to be young but it's hard. Went to my local shopping centre on Friday night and the place was crawling with them. The lads think they're god's gift and the girls are all just screechy irritating clones of each other. Realistically I know I was just as annoying as a teen though. I used to hang around the same shopping centre with my mates 18 years ago in our matching chavvy clothes and we thought we were great. I think most teenagers aren't too bad when they're alone, it's more when there's groups of them.

Bobbybobbins · 21/02/2023 12:15

There is behaviour like this in every generation. It is more 'visible' now due to social media and deep cuts in provisions for young people.

Good news is that nationally teens are smoking and drinking less, fewer teenage pregnancies.

AllOfThemWitches · 21/02/2023 12:21

I think most teenagers aren't too bad when they're alone, it's more when there's groups of them.

Have a 17yo daughter, can confirm.

hekissedmybottom · 21/02/2023 12:22

I think the type of people you describe reproduce more and quicker than those of us who are not like you describe.

maddiemookins16mum · 21/02/2023 12:28

Kids/teens aren’t ‘scared’ of many adults now - let me clarify I don’t mean terrified of some nasty bloke living next door. If I’d have been mouthing off on the bus home to our small village or rude to the lady in the bakers ‘back in the day’, you can bet your life my Mother would have found out. That would not have been good.

That said, I know many lovely, polite, funny teens, I work with young adults who no doubt had ‘their moments’ within the last decade who are now charming, hard working and bright as buttons, I’m proud to be their colleague.

TeenLifeMum · 21/02/2023 12:29

I have a 15 year old and she’s lovely, but so are her friends. There’s a group at school who behave badly and are disrespectful… her group stays away from them. I don’t think it’s any different to previous generations. When I was a teen it was all about scary hoodies and that was in the 1990s.

Zipps · 21/02/2023 12:29

The middle class older generation 65-75 ish are the rudest imo. Selfish too. Then their spoiled brats 35-45 ish.
Young people are a dream, never had a problem with them- polite, helpful, nice.

AllOfThemWitches · 21/02/2023 12:30

hekissedmybottom · 21/02/2023 12:22

I think the type of people you describe reproduce more and quicker than those of us who are not like you describe.

Jesus christ what a comment.

AllOfThemWitches · 21/02/2023 12:31

Zipps · 21/02/2023 12:29

The middle class older generation 65-75 ish are the rudest imo. Selfish too. Then their spoiled brats 35-45 ish.
Young people are a dream, never had a problem with them- polite, helpful, nice.

I work in hospitality, there is a lot of truth to this.

Sep200024 · 21/02/2023 12:32

AllOfThemWitches · 21/02/2023 12:31

I work in hospitality, there is a lot of truth to this.

Show quote history

Yep, me too.

Forfrigz · 21/02/2023 12:33

Although such behaviour is often vile no matter who does it, I think less regard for authority has some benefits. Eg when the oldest people die off and we have a bigger proportion of the population who don't blindly submit to authority wr might actually start holding our government to account

User135644 · 21/02/2023 12:34

No discipline. A useless police force, cowed teachers, lack of fathers and bad parenting

DdraigGoch · 21/02/2023 12:36

HoodieBell · 21/02/2023 06:18

I don't think they're any different to my generation who brought them up, except that they drink and smoke far less, take a lot fewer drugs and have half the underage pregnancies.

It feels like there are far more kids vaping than there were smoking.

Sep200024 · 21/02/2023 12:39

User135644 · 21/02/2023 12:34

No discipline. A useless police force, cowed teachers, lack of fathers and bad parenting

😂😂

DdraigGoch · 21/02/2023 12:50

But you're describing exactly the sort of uninvolved, 'non snowflake' not-parenting that these threads usually start waxing lyrical about. You read it loads on MN, "oh in my day we weren't ndered to, we went out all day and only came home when it was dark."

In those days communities were often very tightly knit so if there was any misbehavior it would get back to the parents and there would be consequences. The worst fear if you attracted the attention of the police was that they'd tell your parents.

Now on the other hand the kids can do no wrong.

Sep200024 · 21/02/2023 13:00

DdraigGoch · 21/02/2023 12:50

But you're describing exactly the sort of uninvolved, 'non snowflake' not-parenting that these threads usually start waxing lyrical about. You read it loads on MN, "oh in my day we weren't ndered to, we went out all day and only came home when it was dark."

In those days communities were often very tightly knit so if there was any misbehavior it would get back to the parents and there would be consequences. The worst fear if you attracted the attention of the police was that they'd tell your parents.

Now on the other hand the kids can do no wrong.

So which generation was it that killed off the tightly knit communities??

Was it today’s teenagers?