Many of you may have seen the latest YouTube hit that has nearly fifteen million views as of Saturday night. The video is of a North Carolina father sending a message to his teenage daughter, Hannah, who, her father felt, needed a reality check. This young, teenage girl appears to have a set of chores from sweeping the floor, to wiping the counter, and a few other simple chores. Apparently, these chores have been a hardship on her, so she posted a Facebook update where she was complaining about the incessant cycle of chores that her parents force her into doing. She arrogantly mentioned that they have a “cleaning lady” or maid to do tasks like these, and she should be monetarily compensated for her “demanding tasks”. In response to this arrogant post, which she though was never going to be seen by her parents, her father went forth and recorded a video displaying his utter disgust in the pompous attitude his daughter has shown towards himself and Hannah’s mother. The video was summed up after an eight-minute rant with himself, clearly a rural man, using his .45 caliber firearm to unload eight rounds into her laptop from which she posted on Facebook.
This video, as spoken about above, reminds us of a trend of our youth that many people tend to forget about: the current generation of youth has this undeserved feeling of entitlement. Though the average college student is barely out of their teenage years, for some, it is sickening to see the current teenage generation interact with their parents. For myself, I may go to the local store or an event and there will be a fair number of teenagers present, but unlike the years when I was in their shoes, they sit on their iPhones and other portable devices without any recognition that there are people around them. When I was younger, I would beg to be allowed to ride my bike up to the local park to shoot hoops or play flag football with some neighborhood friends, but nowadays, I never see kids playing at the park because they are all consumed with video games and, apparently, Facebook.
The reason this has become so concerning for some is not just due to the simple fact that these notion of entitlement causes children to be disrespectful to parents and others, but it brings up a notion that the future for the working class for this youthful generation may bring many issues. As this wave of kids grow up, they will feel as though they deserve jobs with good wages and benefits but will refuse to work hard. This is very concerning for the progression of our country as a whole in the future and makes one wonder if our nation will ever return to the age of the “American Dream”.