Quote:
Originally Posted by Radar Rider
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.
When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly unwise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.
This quote and others attributed to Socrates and Plato make the point that adults throughout history have been alarmed by the behavior of young people and that civilization hasn't yet come to an end because of the rebelliousness of teenagers.
I honestly believe that kids are no worse than they've ever been, but that bad behavior is simply more visible due to stupid things like mytube and youspace.
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Perhaps you're right.
Then again...maybe we can draw different inferences.
Hesiod was a poet and a philosopher - and someone was around to record his words for posterity. What does this mean? It could tell us that Hesiod lived during a period of relative affluence, with considerable leisure time. If we look at societies through history, the above factors (affluence and leisure) seem to be at least corrosive - and maybe, an indicator of the looming demise of the society.
Our present age enjoys unprecedented mass affluence, as well as the time to enjoy the abundance.
So - perhaps the behavioral problems have less to do with "modern" youth (whatever era modern might refer to), than to youth exposed to some set of experiences. Perhaps Hesiod whispers to us that by developing a certain environment, we assure ourselves that youth will be frivolous and reckless.
Ah, well. Not to worry. Affluence seldom lingers long in a society that abandons the old virtues of hard work and thrift in favor of luxury and hedonism.