I wasn’t alive in the '50s, '60s, '70s or '80s but I get the feeling that there’s less of a divide between “the youth” and the, uh, “unyouth” than there was back then. So sure, kids have something to say, but you’re not going to see them as “kids with something to say” but rather as “people with something to say”.
Not hardly, Junior. Adults do not take people under 30 seriously about much of anything. We don’t like that hippity-hop shakey booty music they play (way too damn loud) in their cars, we think they look like damn fools running around with their pants around their knees and their baseball caps on backwards. When they opine about national or international affairs, based on the entirety of their two whole decades of experience, we :rolleyes:
Think again. People my age (late 30) and older tend to view your generation of having the distinction of being the first generation to be less cool than their parents. Out of shape physically. Poor socialization. Whiny. In constant need of validation. Developmentally arrested. We don’t see your generation as “changing the world” so much as bitching about it on the blogosphere constantly.
Just your statement that you need to be treated as “people with something to say” is a very different way of thinking from previous generations. My generation (typically referred to as “X”) didn’t really give much thought over what the older generations thought about us. And earlier generations (“Boomers” mostly) seemed to have more of a “fuck you! You need to hear what we are saying!” mentality.
When I was growing up, each new generation tried to be “cooler” and “edgier” than their parents. They partied harder. Listened to louder music. Tried heavier drugs. Dated creepier guys or slutier girls. Whatever. Basically tried to figure out new ways to piss off their parents as a statement rebellion and independence.