# Individualist trends and fads: kids just phoning it in these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631 "2011-03-22T18:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/1 "2011-03-22T18:14:54Z")
The 50’s, the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s - seemed like youth had something to say. Or something to do, or show off, or just bug their parents. I’m not seeing it that much these days. As we grow older, are we going to be cared for by humorless dweebs? What are kids doing these days? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/2 "2011-03-22T18:21:36Z")
Being hipsters? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/3 "2011-03-22T18:34:24Z")
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”. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/4 "2011-03-22T18:36:43Z")
They rebel by dressing like this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tLPZmPaHme0/maxresdefault.jpg "The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPZmPaHme0) The video’s a joke, but the outfits aren’t. I think they’re trying to be ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/5 "2011-03-22T18:40:32Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > **Individualist trends and fads** Which of these words doesn’t belong with the others? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/6 "2011-03-22T18:47:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Which of these words doesn’t belong with the others? 😃 Exactly why I phrased it that way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/7 "2011-03-22T18:54:11Z")
Camwhoring? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/8 "2011-03-22T19:58:09Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > 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: ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/9 "2011-03-22T21:36:11Z")
I’m nearly 40 and when I was in college, guys wore their pants around their knees and their baseball caps backwards… ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/10 "2011-03-22T21:45:32Z")
Did you go to clown college? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/11 "2011-03-22T21:46:10Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > 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: Someone let grandpa out of the basement again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/12 "2011-03-22T22:14:03Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Someone let grandpa out of the basement again. ☹ Well, chain him to the radiator and make sure he’s got enough Ambien laced stewed prunes, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/13 "2011-03-22T22:35:07Z")
Obviously a comedy site, but [http://www.yourscenesucks.com/](http://www.yourscenesucks.com/) is a decent introduction to recent youth fads. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/14 "2011-03-22T22:42:17Z")
They’re texting it in 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/15 "2011-03-22T23:45:25Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > 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”. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/16 "2011-03-23T00:15:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > 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. But, but, we made ‘Angry Birds.’ Surely this must count for something? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/17 "2011-03-23T00:22:54Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > 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. A criticism which is surely unique to this generation, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/18 "2011-03-23T00:39:20Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > 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. This is what happens when your parents feel they were mistreated by _their_ parents. They breed a generation of whiny, over-coddled losers who are afraid to grow up and be men. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/19 "2011-03-23T02:53:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A criticism which is surely unique to this generation, no doubt. 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. I don’t see that with kids these days. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/20 "2011-03-23T03:07:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > 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. > > I don’t see that with kids these days. Maybe because they’ve figured out that living like that can get you dead? Perhaps they’re testing other, less tangible, boundaries. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631.md?page=2)