Snowflake Generation

It is common for the older generations to critique Gen Z and millennials for being too sensitive. That “kids” now have it too easy. A particular subject of discussion for the older generation is how education has changed over the years. Grandpas around the world are used to telling their grandchildren that they had to walk five miles in the snow in order to get to school. They feel as though younger generations are too soft these days. Mental health and its severities are greatly contested amongst all age groups. Anxiety and depression from school could be all made up.

College is typically a time when students try to find out who they are. College kids experiment and try to find their place in the world. For the first time, many students are living out from under the watch of their parents. Parents play a crucial role in their child’s development. Psychology Today’s Diane E Dreher suggests that over controlling parents are to blame for their child’s school related anxiety. Dreher writes, “they frantically package them for success, protecting their children from failure while pressuring them to excel, doing their homework, making their decisions, and micromanaging their lives.” Dreher is commenting on how some parents choose to parent their children. She feels as though the parents are to blame for school related anxiety. There is no argument that parents cause school related stress for their children due to the pressure. However, it is called into question whether the parents are making their children “soft” which causes them to be overly anxious students. Or, if school is really that hard for the students of today, regardless of the way the children were parented.

Dreher furthers her stance by saying, “They experience greater distress and adjustment difficulties, putting overwhelming demands on college counseling centers.” Dreher is acknowledging that college aged kids have stress. Nowadays colleges have counseling and wellness centers. This concept can be lost on the older generation who maybe had a nurse/doctor on campus. Dreher is taking the responsibility of good mental health off the school and onto the student. Dreher is actually blaming the students for overcrowding the school counselors. By putting the blame on the students, she is inferring that it is today’s students that are the issue. That too many of them are having mental health issues.

When college kids do see the counselors, the counselors are ready to diagnose. Rutter and Mintz from Inside Higher Ed say, “Institutions, especially the best funded, have grown increasingly responsive to the psychological problems on their campuses – a response intensified by liability concerns.” These writers are alluding to the notion that high funded colleges are succumbing to the illusions of today’s students out of liability concerns. Rutter and Mintz are taking away the severity of bad mental health in college students. These authors are alluding that these counselors are just going along with the act to cover their own asses.

For people who have trauma and anxiety with certain subjects, a trigger warning is issued. For example, when discussing sexual assault or discrimination in a public setting like a college, a trigger warning could be issued. However, some people are suggesting that trigger warnings have gone overboard on college campuses. The Atlantic’s Greg Lukianoff and Johnathan Haidt say, “A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense.” These authors are acknowledging that there has recently been more support of removing potential “offensive” language and thinking from institutions. These authors are concluding that today’s kids are just too sensitive. The notion that “nobody can take a joke anymore” has overtaken some. Rutter and Mintz write, “Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Maher have publicly condemned the oversensitivity of college students, saying too many of them can’t take a joke.” Comedians that are brought to schools to bring laughter are refusing to attend due to the sensitivity on campus.

The authors and quotes I have cited bring up good points but ultimately, they biased. It is true that parenting has changed over the years. Parental figures get locked up now for hitting and giving “tough love” to their children. In response, new ways of parenting have taken place such as not saying no or letting children make their own decisions and deal with the consequence. And it is true to say that today’s society is becoming more woke. Protests and politics are at an all-time high and people are very passionate and defensive of their views. In a diverse place such as college, people are bound to bash heads with one another. With all these truths, it could be concluded that due to parenting and today’s society that the younger generation is just weaker. However, all these factors do not take away from the anxiety and depression students are experiencing at school and about their grades. Whichever way the child was brought up, does not take away from the stress that the school system is placing on them as young adults.

A majority of college students are too stressed and overwhelmed about their education. Mental health is suffering in exchange for a career. Today’s millennials and Gen Zer’s are living in a totally different world. It is unrealistic to not notice the changes of the times that leads the younger generation to be more sensitive.

References

Dreher, Diane E. Why Are Today’s College Students So Emotionally Fragile? (n.d.). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-personal-renaissance/201508/why-are-today-s-college-students-so-emotionally-fragile

Lukianoff, G., & Haidt, J. (2015, September). The Coddling of the American Mind. The Atlantic; The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

Rutter, Michael Patrick & Mintz, Steven. Higher Education Blogs | Blog U. (n.d.). http://Www.insidehighered.com. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/are-today%E2%80%99s-college-students-more-psychologically-fragile-past