Why do gamers think they're so entitled?

[OatBob]

Finally someone in this topic got it right. "Entitlement Generation"? Really?

It could be worse.  At least your generation isn't know as "Generation Y."  I hate that one.

They're so entitled they can't even take a friggin' given name like "Generation Y" they call themselves "Millennials".

[ApolloBoy]

They're so entitled they can't even take a friggin' given name like "Generation Y" they call themselves "Millennials".

Isn't that something the media uses though? I certainly don't call myself a "Millennial" even though I would fall under that umbrella.

[bombatomba]

Isn't that something the media uses though? I certainly don't call myself a "Millennial" even though I would fall under that umbrella.

I think it's more sociologists than the media, but yeah, I don't call myself that either.  However, it should be noted that most sociologists consider Gen Y to be the next "Greatest Generation."  Suck it, Gen X'ers!

[techwizard]

i don't like the whole idea of giving a generalized name to a generation. i'm just a 90s kid to me.

[Sirgin]

I have no issues with this. I never frequent any gaming forum. I do not use Twitter. I do not use Facebook. I do not read gaming news sites. And I do not talk to people about games except on rare occasions.

People complain about the silliest of things. Not just gamers.

Look at life back in, say, 1850. Or even 1950. Everybody today is incredibly rich. That includes most of the "underclass" and working class families. The minute Apple releases a new iPhone, every homeless hobo and his dog seem to have one, each. 50 year ago, your iPhone would be the single most valueable thing on earth. We're all incredibly rich by any standard, compared with even the richest man in the world a couple of decades ago. Remarkable.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

I have no issues with this. I never frequent any gaming forum. I do not use Twitter. I do not use Facebook. I do not read gaming news sites. And I do not talk to people about games except on rare occasions.

People complain about the silliest of things. Not just gamers.

Look at life back in, say, 1850. Or even 1950. Everybody today is incredibly rich. That includes most of the "underclass" and working class families. The minute Apple releases a new iPhone, every homeless hobo and his dog seem to have one, each. 50 year ago, your iPhone would be the single most valueable thing on earth. We're all incredibly rich by any standard, compared with even the richest man in the world a couple of decades ago. Remarkable.

I always tell people this. We are largely blithe as to how insanely well we have it compared to the vast lot of previous generations. In our time the poorest family has the ability to live better than the king of England did just a century or two ago. Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris did well in suggesting how man is always unhappy with his place in history, but that were he to go back he would realize the lack of amenities, the sameness of existence etc.

[Zing]

I don't know about older children, but I can see how this is developing in my own seven-year-old despite my best efforts. I am extremely strict and frugal, but her attitudes are definitely shaped by our modern world.

She she has literally never lived at a time when you didn't have a phone and the Internet available 24/7 in your pocket. She has never seen wired phones or network cables. Her Internet has always been extremely fast. She has always been able to go from wanting to watch a particular show, to finding it on usenet, downloading, and watching within minutes (the rare times I allow her to watch television). She can communicate, via video, with her family anywhere in the world at virtually any moment she wishes. Everything has been fast, wireless, and convenient since the day she was born.

Our modern world is that way. There is no going back, at least until we run out of oil. Our lives are fast, wireless, and convenient. People who were alive when it was not this way have some appreciation for how things have changed. People who have always see it this way just expect it to always be this way. I'm not sure of the direct correlation to entitled gamers, as I too have seen the griping in older game magazines and usenet, but there is clearly a change in overall attitude that could exacerbate the problem.

[techwizard]

no matter how much technology advances, i still hate seeing kids under 12 walking around with the newest iPhone. besides the guarentee of having an expensive phone get destroyed in some way, it's just giving young kids way too much without them ever having the chance to live without it. they're not going to appreciate things as much if they came out of the womb connected to the internet. besides that, it's not a very safe thing to do. everyone always suggests parents actively monitor their child's internet use to make sure they're on age appropriate websites, but how do they plan to do that with a phone the kid can take everywhere? parental control locks only go so far, and many of them can be easily broken by a kid who knows how to google search.

i agree with Zing, that kids now will have little appreciate of the things they have. i'm sure it's like that for every generation, but the internet is a much bigger generational difference than most that have come before.

[Rejinx]

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."
   -Socrates, 5th century BC

The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They talk as
if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is
foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest
and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
-Peter the Hermit, 13th Century AD

Every generation thinks they were better then there kids.  The truth is that today's generation actually cause less crime and have higher IQs then any time in the last 40 years.

[Izret101]

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."
   -Socrates, 5th century BC

The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They talk as
if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is
foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest
and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
-Peter the Hermit, 13th Century AD

Every generation thinks they were better then there kids.  The truth is that today's generation actually cause less crime and have higher IQs then any time in the last 40 years.

Yep, no country for old men.

[Crabmaster2000]

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."
   -Socrates, 5th century BC

The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They talk as
if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is
foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest
and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
-Peter the Hermit, 13th Century AD

Every generation thinks they were better then there kids.  The truth is that today's generation actually cause less crime and have higher IQs then any time in the last 40 years.

Last 40 years or ever?

[Izret101]

40 years puts us into the mid 70s. Vietnam vets were coming back and joining/forming biker gangs(like after WW2) and/or just not in the best shape mentally.
I certainly hope we are doing better than that now as far as crime goes. We should be able to keep that 40 year streak going since the 80s and 90s were good for some serious violence.

As for higher IQs whenever i have to deal with someone my age or younger i almost always feel pity for the future.

EDIT
Thinking more about it the lowest crime rate in 40 years thing sounds like a load of crap. My city was on an ever raising spike until a couple years ago. Hard to think we went from being in the top 15 most dangerous cities in the US to being a safe happy place for everyone to live again.

[RetroRage]

I read somewhere that the literacy rate in Detroit is down to 50% now.  That's terrifying.  Is that cultural or economical you think? 

[Razor Knuckles]

Given I am 2 miles west of Detroit I can say its an economical issue.

Da schollzz be broke 'n all dat shitz ya know what I beez sayin'?