We have completed maintenance on DiscoverMagazine.com and action may be required on your account. Learn More

Why We’ve Been Hating on ‘Kids These Days’ for Thousands of Years

There are underlying psychological explanations for why adults so consistently think that kids are deficient.

D-brief
By Nathaniel Scharping
Oct 16, 2019 1:00 PMMar 21, 2023 8:24 PM
Old Person Grumpy - Shutterstock
Kids these days, amiright? (Credit: aastock/Shutterstock)

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

Ugh. Kids these days. They’ve got no respect. They dress all weird. They’re always on their phones. And don’t get me started on their music!

Versions of this argument have echoed through editorials, taverns, hair salons and Roman bathhouses for millennia. Kids these days just aren’t what they used to be.

To hear the various ills of youth, one might well think that Western civilization has been in decline since it started. The culprits? The kids, of course. Specifically, the ones these days.

0 free articles left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

0 free articlesSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

Stay Curious

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and unlock one more article for free.

 

View our Privacy Policy


Want more?
Keep reading for as low as $1.99!


Log In or Register

Already a subscriber?
Find my Subscription

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.