THE SPOILED UNDER 30 CROWD

 

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every morning Uphill... barefoot...BOTH ways

 

Yadda, yadda, yadda

 

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

 

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty-five, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

 

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!  And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

 

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, We had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen!

 

Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!

 

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass!  No where was safe!

 

There were no MP3' s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!

 

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up!  There were no CD players!  We had tape decks in our car.  We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished and the tape would come undone...cause that's how we rolled dog!

 

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

 

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!  When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

 

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or

screens, it was just one screen forever!

 

And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

 

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was

on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!  There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

 

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that!  That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy.

 

 

You're spoiled. You kids wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or earlier!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

The over 30 Crowd

Ha what prompted that?

Ha what prompted that?

 

My cousins kids complaining about their internet being out and not being able to research something.  My cousin told them to go look up the information at the library, then realized, they don't know how to look for a book in the library since they use the internet.

 

and it's been a bad family day.

Man, does that give me an opening for a rant; sounds like MTS grew up in the lap of luxury.

 

I don't have time to go into all of it right now, though; I gotta go chop some firewood and shoot a squirrel to cook for supper.

 

The dang-near-70 crowd

The first casualty (of many) of the internet is the loss of our creative information gathering skills.

So basically, this guy listed a bunch of technological advancements as making a case that he had it harder.  Mkay.  Let me ask this:  What's the point in doing that?  If you're going solely on technology, then yes, the current generation always has it easier, AS IS THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY.

I wonder what they would do if they couldn't use a calculator during a test!

I wonder what they would do if they couldn't use a calculator during a test!

 

It would take me forever to finish a calculus exam. Otherwise, I can still do math in my head as well as on paper. :)

 

^gasp!!!  Blasphemy!!!

So basically, this guy listed a bunch of technological advancements as making a case that he had it harder.  Mkay.  Let me ask this:  What's the point in doing that?  If you're going solely on technology, then yes, the current generation always has it easier, AS IS THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY.

 

Under 30, eh?

MTS, regarding the library part of your rant, my school didn't have an internet catalog system until I was in 7th grade, so, I know how to use the card catalog system. Also, I find it rather easy to find the information I need at the library (well, more so back in Mansfield, the KSU library is confusing, too many floors). Oh, and most teachers/professors won't accept internet resources for research papers, so you have to get most, if not all, of your info from the library,

 

Moving on to the cooking things in the microwave part of your rant; I still know how to cook food in the oven and on the stove. I might not be the best cook, but I can still find my way around the kitchen. Oh, and I have never had a maid/nanny that cooked for me, so...

 

Perhaps your cousins kids are just really lazy.

MTS, regarding the library part of your rant, my school didn't have an internet catalog system until I was in 7th grade, so, I know how to use the card catalog system. Also, I find it rather easy to find the information I need at the library (well, more so back in Mansfield, the KSU library is confusing, too many floors). Oh, and most teachers/professors won't accept internet resources for research papers, so you have to get most if not all of your info from the library,

 

Moving on to the cooking things in the microwave, I still know how to cook food in the oven and on the stove. I might not be the best cook, but I can still find my way around the kitchen. Oh, and I have never had a maid/nanny that cooked for me, so...

 

Perhaps your cousins kids are just really lazy.

 

These are middle school kids and yes, all of you are lazy!

So basically, this guy listed a bunch of technological advancements as making a case that he had it harder.  Mkay.  Let me ask this:  What's the point in doing that?  If you're going solely on technology, then yes, the current generation always has it easier, AS IS THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY.

 

Under 30, eh?

 

Your point?

 

My point is that yes, the under 30 generation does have it easier.  There are many reasons for this that have nothing to do with stating ridiculous things like, "In my day we didn't have the internet."

 

Since technology is always improving, it MAKES NO SENSE to use that as an example of the previous generation having a rougher go then then the current one.  Why does it makes no sense?  Because this formula will always apply.  Your generation had it easier ON A TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL than the one before you.  And so on.  And so on.

 

Follow along, or should I slow down and break out the sock puppets, old man?  ;)

 

 

The microwave oven--along with the dishwasher and clothes dryer--is one of the greatest technological achievements of all time. The bastard progeny of cable TV and mobile phones, however, is a pox on humanity.

So basically, this guy listed a bunch of technological advancements as making a case that he had it harder.  Mkay.  Let me ask this:  What's the point in doing that?  If you're going solely on technology, then yes, the current generation always has it easier, AS IS THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY.

 

Under 30, eh?

 

Your point?

 

My point is that yes, the under 30 generation does have it easier.  There are many reasons for this that have nothing to do with stating ridiculous things like, "In my day we didn't have the internet."

 

Since technology is always improving, it MAKES NO SENSE to use that as an example of the previous generation having a rougher go then then the current one.  Why does it makes no sense?  Because this formula will always apply.  Your generation had it easier ON A TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL than the one before you.  And so on.  And so on.

 

Follow along, or should I slow down and break out the sock puppets, old man?  ;)

 

 

 

I'll be 30 in a few months but I feel the need to respond as a member of the under 30 crowd.

 

...when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet.

 

The internet was invented in 1957. Its not our fault that you didn't have a computer. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_the_Internet_invented

 

Then you had to walk all the way across the street

 

We had a mail slot in my parents first house where I lived almost 30 years ago. So do many houses over 30 years old.

Stamps were 10 cents!

 

Stamps were 15 cents 30 years ago. http://www.akdart.com/postrate.html

 

As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass!

 

Yeah, that still applied when I was growing up.

 

You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!

 

It was easier to borrow the tape from the library, put it in your tape deck, and put a blank tape in your brother's tape deck, then just leave them alone in your room for an hour or so. Unfortunately, this once resulted in me getting a tape of my parents fooling around in the bathroom that was next to my bedroom.

 

We had tape decks in our car.

 

You had cars? As kids? We had to wait till we were 16, get a job, than buy some piece of crap where the radio didn't even work, the roof leaked when it rained, the smell of pot smoke wouldn't come out now matter how many air fresheners I put in it and that eventually was totalled when I hit a pothole in the church parking lot going 5mph. (It snapped the rusted out frame)

 

We had the Atari 2600!

 

There were hundreds of Atari 2600 games, many of which involved more than a mere dot. I was awesome at Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.

 

And we didn't have microwaves

 

Micro waves have been around since 1947. Not our fault you didn't have one. http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html

 

 

 

I never could figure out E.T. on atari.

Well, I'm part of the non-spoiled under 30 crowd.  I work 26 hours / week, plus full time in grad school.  I may not own a home, which cuts out a lot of work, but when I would go home during summers in my undergrad years, I did just about all the yardwork since both my parents held down demanding jobs, and my dad would teach online classes when he got home from work while my mom cooked, and cleaned house.  I feel like my story is becoming increasingly common, which may debunk your theory all-together.

So basically, this guy listed a bunch of technological advancements as making a case that he had it harder. Mkay. Let me ask this: What's the point in doing that? If you're going solely on technology, then yes, the current generation always has it easier, AS IS THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF TECHNOLOGY.

 

Under 30, eh?

 

Your point?

 

My point is that yes, the under 30 generation does have it easier. There are many reasons for this that have nothing to do with stating ridiculous things like, "In my day we didn't have the internet."

 

Since technology is always improving, it MAKES NO SENSE to use that as an example of the previous generation having a rougher go then then the current one. Why does it makes no sense? Because this formula will always apply. Your generation had it easier ON A TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL than the one before you. And so on. And so on.

 

Follow along, or should I slow down and break out the sock puppets, old man? ;)

 

 

 

 

That's absolutely useless to me, as Youtube is blocked here at work.  I guess I actually have it harder.

Well done.  Haha

I never could figure out E.T. on atari.

What's to figure out? You walked, then you fell down the hole. End of game.

MTS, regarding the library part of your rant, my school didn't have an internet catalog system until I was in 7th grade, so, I know how to use the card catalog system. Also, I find it rather easy to find the information I need at the library (well, more so back in Mansfield, the KSU library is confusing, too many floors). Oh, and most teachers/professors won't accept internet resources for research papers, so you have to get most if not all of your info from the library,

 

Moving on to the cooking things in the microwave, I still know how to cook food in the oven and on the stove. I might not be the best cook, but I can still find my way around the kitchen. Oh, and I have never had a maid/nanny that cooked for me, so...

 

Perhaps your cousins kids are just really lazy.

 

These are middle school kids and yes, all of you are lazy!

 

Botch, you don't know me! You don't know where I came from! ;)

 

I would also like to add that I had a job since I was 15 and worked odd jobs (babysitting, mowing lawns, etc) before then and paid for the things that I wanted, if I wanted anything (I prefer to save money). Also, I preferred, and still do prefer, to be outside to inside playing video games.

F*ck Atari, Calico Vision was way better!

...and yes, all of you are lazy!

 

Really? Who just started this thread by posting something that was obviously a forward? (I got the exact same thing from a coworker a couple months ago.)

...and yes, all of you are lazy!

 

Really? Who just started this thread by posting something that was obviously a forward? (I got the exact same thing from a coworker a couple months ago.)

 

*ZING!*

Coleco had a driving simulator game (Dukes of Hazzard) that was so good it took about 10 years and multiple systems before any driving game surpassed it.

F*ck Atari, Calico Vision was way better!

 

What are you smoking? Calico was so much more expensive, and had a lot fewer games.

I wonder what they would do if they couldn't use a calculator during a test!

 

It would take me forever to finish a calculus exam. Otherwise, I can still do math in my head as well as on paper. :)

 

A calculator usually doesn't help on a calculus exam, as you have to show your work step by step.

I wonder what they would do if they couldn't use a calculator during a test!

 

It would take me forever to finish a calculus exam. Otherwise, I can still do math in my head as well as on paper. :)

 

A calculator usually doesn't help on a calculus exam, as you have to show your work step by step.

 

On my calculus exams in high school the calculator helped a lot and there were some things that we didn't need to show our work for.

I didn't take calculus.

 

Math and I don't get along.

 

I am not taking it in college, I no longer need it since I changed my major. Thank god because I hate calculus!

What's to figure out? You walked, then you fell down the hole. End of game.

 

If that is the case, I beat E.T. with ease!

...and yes, all of you are lazy!

 

Really? Who just started this thread by posting something that was obviously a forward? (I got the exact same thing from a coworker a couple months ago.)

Grumpy Smurf, I never said it wasn't.

 

...and yes, all of you are lazy!

 

Really? Who just started this thread by posting something that was obviously a forward? (I got the exact same thing from a coworker a couple months ago.)

 

*ZING!*

 

YOU!  HUSH!  You know I aint (yes, I aint) but two seconds off you lil @ss!  Grrrrr

 

I'm 24 and remember life before most of the technological advances you stated quite clearly. Card catalogs, Encyclopedia Brittanica, cassette tapes, pay phones, Nintendo, dot matrix printers, floppy disks, VHS...the list goes on. I would have to say its the generations born from about 1990 on that are the ones who are spoiled, if thats what you really want to say. Every single one of the aforementioned items had gone the way of the dinosaur. As I've already read those who are substantially older than me have a whole list of different gripes about things my generation doesn't appreciate. It's the nature of progress and sadly a sign that we are getting old.

 

I knew there was a reason I like you!  Unlike some ungrateful heathens!!!  You all need a good belt taken to your backside or in CDMs case a green switch!

I didn't take calculus.

 

Math and I don't get along.

 

I am not taking it in college, I no longer need it since I changed my major. Thank god because I hate calculus!

 

I feel old now saying I don't remember some things from my classes in college (I'm 29), but I had to take a lot of math, and I remember needing the calculator more in the science and engineering classes than most of my math classes.

I will say one thing we definitely do not have easier: getting a good paying job that doesn't require much of an education, just hard work...

 

Back in the day, you had so many good GM, Ford, P&G, Goodyear, Firestone (shall I go on?) factory jobs, that going to college wasn't that big of a deal.  There was an absolute glut of manufacturing jobs.  Unions weren't demonized and there was no competition from foreign countries.  Places like Barberton and other blue-collar towns were good places to raise a family.  Health care didn't cost an arm and a leg, and you had a much better chance at working your way up the ladder.  Those days are long gone, and the American middle-class will never be the same.

...I think kids have it too easy today because we now try to isolate them from failure

(All sports I played, we actually kept score -- thats how I knew we sucked --- and I didn't play much, if it all since I really sucked)

I will say one thing we definitely do not have easier: getting a good paying job that doesn't require much of an education, just hard work...

 

Back in the day, you had so many good GM, Ford, P&G, Goodyear, Firestone (shall I go on?) factory jobs, that going to college wasn't that big of a deal. There was an absolute glut of manufacturing jobs. Unions weren't demonized and there was no competition from foreign countries. Places like Barberton and other blue-collar towns were good places to raise a family. Health care didn't cost an arm and a leg, and you had a much better chance at working your way up the ladder. Those days are long gone, and the American middle-class will never be the same.

 

yeah but you had to start from the BOTTOM

I agree on that.  Kids are too coddled.  There are some places where no one wins tee ball games, and where no one makes an out.  It's really ridiculous.  If you're not taught how to correctly handle failure at a young age, you will not be able to handle the multitude of failures one encounters during life.

 

**I think video games stink, too.  I think they decrease social skills.  It's probably no different, though, than the generation that grew up with TVs.

I agree on that.  Kids are too coddled.  There are some places where no one wins tee ball games, and where no one makes an out.  It's really ridiculous.  If you're not taught how to correctly handle failure at a young age, you will not be able to handle the multitude of failures one encounters during life.

 

**I think video games stink, too.  I think they decrease social skills.  It's probably no different, though, than the generation that grew up with TVs.

text messaging and internet chat geek boards, should also be included! :o  :o    :o  :o

I agree on that. Kids are too coddled. There are some places where no one wins tee ball games, and where no one makes an out. It's really ridiculous. If you're not taught how to correctly handle failure at a young age, you will not be able to handle the multitude of failures one encounters during life.

 

**I think video games stink, too. I think they decrease social skills. It's probably no different, though, than the generation that grew up with TVs.

text messaging and internet chat geek boards, should also be included! :o   :o :o   :o

 

Ha.  At least we are interacting with humans instead of Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

I agree on that.  Kids are too coddled.  There are some places where no one wins tee ball games, and where no one makes an out.  It's really ridiculous.  If you're not taught how to correctly handle failure at a young age, you will not be able to handle the multitude of failures one encounters during life.

 

**I think video games stink, too.  I think they decrease social skills.  It's probably no different, though, than the generation that grew up with TVs.

text messaging and internet chat geek boards, should also be included! :o    :o    :o    :o

 

Ha.  At least we are interacting with humans instead of Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

 

Lord you kids crack me up!

I wonder what they would do if they couldn't use a calculator during a test!

 

It would take me forever to finish a calculus exam. Otherwise, I can still do math in my head as well as on paper. :)

 

A calculator usually doesn't help on a calculus exam, as you have to show your work step by step.

 

On my calculus exams in high school the calculator helped a lot and there were some things that we didn't need to show our work for.

 

In graphing calculators you could also program in notes and stuff, so I could just put the step by step instructions in.

 

I will say one thing we definitely do not have easier: getting a good paying job that doesn't require much of an education, just hard work...

 

Back in the day, you had so many good GM, Ford, P&G, Goodyear, Firestone (shall I go on?) factory jobs, that going to college wasn't that big of a deal.  There was an absolute glut of manufacturing jobs.  Unions weren't demonized and there was no competition from foreign countries.  Places like Barberton and other blue-collar towns were good places to raise a family.  Health care didn't cost an arm and a leg, and you had a much better chance at working your way up the ladder.  Those days are long gone, and the American middle-class will never be the same.

 

yeah but you had to start from the BOTTOM

 

So true, my dad started off being a foundry worker to manager of organizational effectiveness.  I don't know what that is....basically a global consultant of some sorts.  Quite a few rungs on that company ladder to climb

I feel that even though there is more technology and kids might have it easier in that regard, there are also more things for kids to worry about these days.  In the post 9-11 homeland terrorism is a major concern in all American children's lives.  The fact that schools these days do both terrorism and school shooting drills, in addition to the normal fire and tornado drills, speaks volumes about the emotional weight that kids have to carry these days.

 

Even at 32 years old, the Atari 2600 is still the most reliable video game system. I have lots of work-level experience with almost every system ever made (I used to work at Game Swap). N64 is a close second. Today's systems are made of paper mache compared to those tanks.

I am 26 years old, life is a breeze and always has been, and in a decade or two I'll be bitching about how easy the kids have it.

I am 26 years old, life is a breeze and always has been, and in a decade or two I'll be bitching about how easy the kids have it.

 

You can borrow one of my mottos/motivational pieces:

 

 

God this thread just made my day. 

 

On top of the dot matrix printers and VHS, don't forget MSDOS!

 

    Just a funny little story that I remember:

 

    It seemed that my family was always the last one to purchase the new technology.

 

    One day the neighbor kid, about 6 or 7 years old, was in the house and he asked if he could use the phone to call his mom. This was before cell phones but well after most folks had touch-tone.

 

    First, the kid couldn't reach the phone on the wall, so he had to stand on a chair.

 

    Second, he had no idea how to use the rotary phone!

 

     

God this thread just made my day. 

 

On top of the dot matrix printers and VHS, don't forget MSDOS!

 

I downloaded a DOS emulator recently just so I could play the old Oregon Trail game on my computer. I remember when my parents bought our first new computer (our first computer was actually an IBM hand me down)...it ran Windows 3.1 and getting a CD drive installed in it was a BIG deal.

 

c:\

c:\DOS

c:\DOS\run

run\DOS\run

 

Remember those GINORMOUS floppy disc???

speaking of that remember microfiche??

^Yeah, I still use it at work.