The Gimme Generation

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http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=VxHfYNTrnic

This is a must watch segment with Steve Doocey from @FoxNews interviewing Jack Cha, an economics professor from Valencia College.  Professor Cha asked his sophomore students to write an essay on “The American Dream”.  After they completed their essays he asked them what they wanted the Federal Government to do to help them achieve their American Dream.  Professor Cha took the essays from 3 classes, about 180 students, and went over their responses.

Here were the results:  Eighty percent of the students felt that the government should provide them with a job, pay for their college tuition, give them the money for a house, pay for their health care and fund their retirement.  What are your thoughts on this?  Do you want to know mine?

First off, everything I have today – my house, my medical insurance, my retirement money and my education, I worked my tail off for and have funded all on my own.  To me, this level of entitlement by our American youth is extremely troubling because it leads to one place—apathy.  How in the world are these kids going to find the motivation to achieve anything in their life if their mentality is that everything should be handed to them.  Sorry folks but the tooth fairy isn’t real.

As an educator and psychotherapist, I work with a lot of teenagers and young adults and I’d have to agree with Professor Cha,  the majority of today’s kids feel entitled.  I believe most of it has to do not only with government but with media and technology.  Think about it, today’s teenagers and young adults are natives to our digital world; with the click of a button they get what they want instantly.  There is no work involved, no effort and their brains get used to this.  Go to one of my favorite websites and twitter pages, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/  @CommonSenseNews and learn some great tools to help you help your kids how to use media and technology the right way.

My advice to parents out there—make your kid work for and earn those extra things they want.  This way they will understand the following quote:  “Success Comes Before Work Only In The Dictionary.”  If you’re interested in having me present my “Digitally Distracted” talks for your group or organization, visit my website at www.tomkersting.com and send me an email or call me.  I speak to lot’s of Parent Groups on this topic.