To think that adults are much less resilient than they used to be

[louease]

First of all I'll admit that I'm on the older side of 60 so the weight of my belt onion could be effecting my judgement on this.

I see a lot on social media including here where people say they are upset at words they read on a screen, that they've been triggered, or that it should have a warning attached.

Are we making the world harder to live in by trying to make it too comfortable do you think?

london has nailed it for me, so many people seem to need a kick up the arse now. There is always an excuse for everything. I'm a 'stately homes' survivor, [never been a victim that's defeatist in my book]. I've never broken the law or blamed other people for my mistakes that I've made in life. If anything making mistakes and learning from them has made me stronger and more determined to be a better person.

Superbored of course there's drugs n drink etc now but it's not socially acceptable on a daily basis like it was in my parents generation and docs don't hand out diazepam like they used to.

@Bonelly Drinking or drugs on a daily basis has never been acceptable, certainly not in my family and friends or colleagues

Superbored really? Not even in the 70s and 80s? Oh well.

I'm under 40 and I definitely want to backhand anyone who uses the word "triggered". I find the perpetually offended 20-something generation really tiresome.

So funny that people think life is harder now. Try telling that to someone in the 40s.

I think a lot of natural stress relievers are absent in modern society. Lack of exercise and fresh air can really impact on your mental health. People are a lot more sedentary that in the past.

What I've noticed is that people bandy about the word "resilient" a lot more than they used to.

Resilient meaning "putting up with shit that you shouldn't have to". Mustn't grumble.

Sorry, don't understand this at all - it's easier than it's ever been to access 'recreational' drugs, the number of young people regularly smoking weed, and I mean really young, teens, has increased hugely. And it's certainly not socially unacceptable to have a drink on a daily basis where I live - go out in Durham or Newcastle on any evening and there's plenty of young people drinking to excess.

Are you suggesting older generations were permanently hopped up on prescription drugs and hooch and that explains their ability to cope with life?

@Catspyjamas17 I actually think that resilience is overcoming a difficult situation to move forward to better things...whereas your definition just focuses on the negative

This.

Not really, no. I think this is just GenXers and Baby Boomers being curmudgeonly.

There are always things that are better and worse in each generation so I'm not a fan of this handwringing you routinely get on here about how much worse life is and can't we go back to the 80s (no thanks0. But I do think its a bit rich that people of 40 and over, who have lived through probably the most prosperous and stable period in the whole of UK history, like to moan at younger people going through a much more challenging time about lacking "resilience".

If you think resilience means ignoring your mental health, working too hard for arseholes and putting up with crap from everyone in your life then I don't think I want it.

Just because someone has made an observation and decided to post about it, it doesn't mean they're triggered.

You're proving the point of the OP. Stop throwing the word triggered around.

I noticed that resilience doesn't get bandied about so much when talking about some retired boomer going apeshit at their neighbours over a minor issue, shoving someone in front of them in the queue at Waitrose with their trolley as they are impatient, or moaning on about their minor ailments.

It is only something Gen Y and Z are supposed to have apparently. If they complain about anything they are not resilient enough.

Internalising isn't good. the OP was saying people get triggered and upset too easily.

Introducing debating societies into schools, where people are allowed to disagree with you, and opposite views are allowed, might help.

Get people to understand that free speech isn't only for people who agree with them.

Show that is is possible to disagree, to hold opposite views without taking offence, name calling or falling out.

That's where I'd start.

This will just turn into the usual MN multi generational slanging match.

If younger adults are less resilient surly that's a result of the parenting by the older adults?

In your 60 so children would be in 30 or 40s?

To combine some thoughts from previous posters: I agree with the idea that workplaces requiring us to constantly improve ourselves can be problematic. As it makes people focus so much on their flaws and personalities, and can lead to ruminating, even if they get the job done fine.

But who are "these people" who are, according to some on this thread and in the comments sections of local newspapers, misusing their lives by being "weak"? How many do you actually know well in real life?

Are you complaining about a concept of a person, not one you really know?

"People have never been able to hear views they disagree with. It's just easier to express that now."

Well said @Frabbits

Yes basically. We need to build disappointment into our children's lives in age appropriate ways from the get go. Yes everyone should have to deal with being uncomfortable from a young age. The most effective remedy for anxiety is graded exposure, but it shouldn't have to happen as a therapy. It should be built into our lives as children.
You wouldn't neglect to teach your children how to bathe or concentrate, why are people neglecting to teach them how to regulate emotions.

I agree with this completely.

YANBU op, a lot of people are fucking pathetic nowadays.

Agree with @Starseeed too. I'm a geriatric millennial and even I have no idea what it must be like for today's teens with the entire world - and every positive and negative facet of that - accessible in their pocket all the time. As an adult I find it hard to limit my screen time but notice my mental health improves when I do.

I completely agree. Jesus, even resilience can be twisted to mean the opposite of what it does!