Bill Maher: American Kids are Way Too Confident

[jerryskids 6,825]

Maher nails it as usual.  

TL;dr:  Millenials and GenZ tend to suck at actual important things, but they think they don't, because we've trained them to think they don't.  We don't listen to your music because it sucks.  Being an influencer is not a great career goal.

Quote

Bill Maher: American Kids Are Way Too Confident

And it’s all Paris Hilton’s fault.

America is a country whose children score low in math and science but off the charts in self-esteem. A study of eight developed countries found that U.S. students were dead last in math skills but number one in confidence in math skills, even though they suck at it. Yes, we’re number one in thinking we’re number one.

The idea that kids have too little self-esteem is antiquated. It’s a Zombie Lie, one of those ideas that perhaps was true in the past but now is not, and yet people keep saying it. Kids now have too much self-esteem, and it’s turning them into angry, screaming grievance collectors.

All of that childhood tolerance is resulting in grown-up tyrants. It’s no wonder that by the time they get to college, just having to listen to an opinion they don’t agree with is considered an act of “violence.” This is what happens when no one ever loses and everyone gets a prize. You can run the wrong way on the field and score five goals for the other team, and you’re still a winner. Even though you’re actually a big loser. No wonder today’s NBA players give each other high fives when they miss a foul shot.

We tell our children they don’t have to fix their flaws, because it’s the world’s job to accept everything about them and love it. Like they say on reality shows, the most important thing is just “you doing you.” But what if “you” is a big ?

Remember that song about how “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all”? Yeah, that was a bad idea. To teach children that there is nothing better than falling madly, head-over-heels, leaving-notes-on-your-own-windshield in love with yourself. And also that anyone who doesn’t agree that you are fabulous and perfect in every way is just a hater and they can suck it.

Parents put notes in their kids’ lunch boxes that say “I love you” when there’s already something in the lunch box that lets kids know you love them: food.

Every time a parent takes the kid’s side over the teacher’s, or asks a child where they want to go for dinner, or doesn’t say “Be quiet when adults are talking,” you’re creating the monsters of tomorrow. The grown-up version of every pain-in-the-ass kid who ever sat behind you on a plane kicking the back of your seat while the parents did nothing.

“Little Logan is just exploring.” No, little Logan is being a , and if you won’t shove him in the overhead bin, I will.

The result of this kind of thinking is that American kids now have a totally deluded and unearned belief in their charm, brains, and talent. It’s not only that the entire generation wants to be famous, it’s that they think not being famous isn’t fair. If you think I’m exaggerating, let me quote from a 2021 article in Rolling Stone that lamented how streaming has not given us equality of outcomes in the music industry.

The article tells us that more than 1.6 million artists released songs between January 2019 and July 2020—forty thousand tracks a day on Spotify—and yet, Rolling Stone complains, “today’s streaming landscape looks a lot like the music industry used to. . . a small class of artists. . . see not just the majority of activity, but damn near all of it.”

Yes, these are called the good ones. Of course, an occasional big talent can fall through the cracks, but in general, it’s simply the case that most people who try their hand at music write the songs that don’t make the whole world sing.

Rolling Stone whines that “nearly all the streams went to artists in the top ten percent, with the bottom 90 percent pulling in just 0.6 percent of streams.” Whoa, let me get this straight—talented artists people like are listened to more than untalented ones that they don’t like? Yes, meritocracy!

If people don’t like your song, your mommy can’t make them listen to it. You know why 99 percent of artists aren’t getting heard? Because music is hard and most people suck at it. For more details, Google “reality.” Rolling Stone actually writes the sentence “In a perfect world, the bottom one percent of artists would get one percent of activity.” No, they wouldn’t, that’s a stupid world I don’t want to live in.

Who taught you this nonsense? And when you grumble that “streaming hasn’t just upheld the gap between music’s haves and have-nots, it’s widened it,” you’re making my case for me—because streaming allows the public to sample everybody. There are no more gatekeepers, so you can’t gripe that no one heard your song because no label would sign you.

We tore that wall down, and the result was the same: some musicians are have-nots because, yes, they may have a voice, but we have ears. It reminds me of the early audition rounds of the old American Idol where contestants are all attitude and image, as if to say, “Can we not focus so much on the talent and just skip to the part where I’m an idol?”

Fifty-four percent of Gen Z and millennials say they would become an influencer “given the opportunity.” According to the Los Angeles Times, “content creators are the fastest-growing type of small business in the U.S.” By one estimate, over fifty million people worldwide now consider themselves to be online creators or influencers. When we used to ask kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” they’d say “firefighter” or “astronaut.” Now most six-year-olds would probably say “I wanna be Instagram-famous, !”

And why not? The supposedly media-savvy millennials and Gen Zers really do buy stuff just because some ding-dong holds it up on Instagram or opens a box of it on YouTube. They laugh at Boomers buying crap on QVC, but they’re doing the same thing. Grandma’s buying Tupperware, and they’re selling mascara to each other. The only difference is, she’s suffering from dementia—what’s your excuse?

I keep hearing that there are no good jobs out there. Well, there certainly are many shitty jobs out there, but there are also millions of openings in professional and business services, education, health, construction, retail, manufacturing—America right now has more job openings than at any time in its history, and more than there are people looking.

A lot of the time “there are no good jobs out there” just means “I want to be a Kardashian.” It means “I want my job to be ‘I’m me, and people pay to watch that!’ ” What’s the fallback career to that, marijuana tester?

We spent decades dismantling the patriarchal notion that women should stay home and not work, and then the Kardashian phenomenon happened and now it seems like millions want to. . . um, stay home and not work. This generation’s financial plan is hitting the jackpot.

Paris Hilton recently made a return to the limelight, revealing that the ditzy party girl we knew back in the day was just her playing “a character,” and that there was really more to her than sex tapes, driving drunk, carrying around a little dog, and saying “That’s hot.” I mean, what about her work on the Human Genome Project? Some people thought we owed Paris an apology.

But maybe Paris is the one who owes us an apology for being patient zero for today’s vapid, entitled, famous-for-nothing culture. She kind of birthed the world where every fifteen-year-old with a phone aspires to be an “influencer”—she’s the face that launched a thousand little shits. Paris is who led directly to the Kardashians, and then to Housewives and Teen Moms and Snookis and a generation of young girls who look up to the “role models” who managed to turn an unenthusiastic blow job into an empire.

Young people think, “Talent? My talent is being me, and you wanting to live my life.” For the generations who are always on about “This is my voice!” and “I have something to say!” an awful lot of that something is about lip gloss. Home movies have never been interesting—that’s as true in the YouTube era as it was back when kids had to sit through Uncle Morty’s Super 8 footage of his trip to Cypress Gardens. But at least he didn’t ask us to hit the “like” button and “subscribe” to it.

https://www.thefp.com/p/bill-maher-american-kids-paris-hilton?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,121]

Excellent article by Maher.  he's spot on!

We need to get back to the basics - English, Math, Science, History, Money/Finance - skills that will actually be useful.  We've dumbed down America because RACISM!!!

[thegeneral 3,236]

Kids are the worst. 

[weepaws 3,202]

Parents are worst than the kids, that’s who’s to blame for the actions of their children.  And society finds it okay not to educate them, but to change them.  

Kids just go along for the ride, adults should be blamed.  

 

[IGotWorms 4,058]

Kids these days! :shakes fist:

[RLLD 4,242]

Maher is good, but not thoroughly..... Megan Kelly called him out on the standard liberal lies which he has apparently consumed, and he is misinformed on a range of topics.

 

 

[MDC 7,470]

Kids today! I tell ya.  

[TimHauck 2,905]

Why are Millenials being lumped in with kids?  The youngest Millenial is 28.

Keep in mind Gen Z was raised by Gen X.

I have hope for the kids of Millenials.

[jerryskids 6,825]

19 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

Why are Millenials being lumped in with kids?  The youngest Millenial is 28.

Keep in mind Gen Z was raised by Gen X.

I have hope for the kids of Millenials.

Fair.  I think it's mostly GenZ, with some spill into Millenials.  They aren't hard and fast delineations.  

Also I'm Gen X, not far from Boomer.  My kids are a Millenial/Z boy (28 yrs old) and two Gen Z girls.  The boy is much more conservative than the girls, which seems consistent with the stereotypes.  Our family is like Family Ties, if the parents were conservatives.   

2 hours ago, weepaws said:

Parents are worst than the kids, that’s who’s to blame for the actions of their children.  And society finds it okay not to educate them, but to change them.  

Kids just go along for the ride, adults should be blamed.  

 

There is truth in this.  My generation was the first of the "latchkey" kids, and I think a lot of those people grew up feeling like they weren't loved, so they swung the pendulum too far the other way into helicopter parenting.

[Fnord 2,280]

I agree with Maher's assessment of the kids.

Strongly disagree with the bits about the music industry, but that's probably not relevant to the thread.

[Fnord 2,280]

1 hour ago, jerryskids said:

My generation was the first of the "latchkey" kids, and I think a lot of those people grew up feeling like they weren't loved, so they swung the pendulum too far the other way into helicopter parenting.

I'm also Gen X, but on the younger side. My parents were older boomers. I never felt unloved, but I was spending full days alone by age 6 (living in the country on a farm). I was mostly self sufficient by 8 and we lived in a small town by then. By the time I was 15 and could have a job other than a paper route, I could have lived on my own.

My 12 year old son and his cohort don't have a clue what it's like to not be supervised by parents. Many are functionally helpless. It's focked up. I guess they stay out of trouble, but trouble is part of growing up and they're missing out. Covid only exacerbated their stunted development. 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,121]

30 minutes ago, Fnord said:

I agree with Maher's assessment of the kids.

Strongly disagree with the bits about the music industry, but that's probably not relevant to the thread.

The mid 60's - 80's were the greatest decades for music, with the 80's being the culmination.  After that, all music started sounding the same.  

Also, get off my lawn and don't get me started on the government.

[Fnord 2,280]

16 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

The mid 60's - 80's were the greatest decades for music, with the 80's being the culmination.  After that, all music started sounding the same.  

Also, get off my lawn and don't get me started on the government.

I know how you feel about the government and definitely prefer you not get started.

There's a fukton of great music out there, you just have to find it. Spotify is your friend. Hell, you can even find good current music that sounds like it was made in the 80s.

 

[iam90sbaby 2,618]

Dumb article, dumb opinion and wrong. 

[jerryskids 6,825]

1 hour ago, iam90sbaby said:

Dumb article, dumb opinion and wrong. 

Excellent input, thanks.  I know you are young, so maybe you are taking it personally?  Care to elaborate?

[Sean Mooney 1,984]

At least it isn't an existential threat to the country....so that is a positive

[edjr 6,602]

7 hours ago, IGotWorms said:

Kids these days! :shakes fist:

biden?

[jerryskids 6,825]

48 minutes ago, Sean Mooney said:

At least it isn't an existential threat to the country....so that is a positive

You used to add at least a little value.  Did I fock your mom or something?  If so, I'm sorry.

[iam90sbaby 2,618]

2 hours ago, jerryskids said:

Excellent input, thanks.  I know you are young, so maybe you are taking it personally?  Care to elaborate?

Me and all my millennial coworkers would run circles around you in a workplace. 

[Sean Mooney 1,984]

8 hours ago, jerryskids said:

You used to add at least a little value.  Did I fock your mom or something?  If so, I'm sorry.

Excellent input, thanks.  I know you are young, so maybe you are taking it personally?  Care to elaborate?

 

[Tree of Knowledge 1,868]

Reality Television was a game changer in the slugization of people.  People could become “household” names by being on those dopey shows. That morphed into influencers making money providing content on apps by being more outrageous than the other person.

 It’s different than sports, acting or academic success where kids see and know people that get cut, can’t get a job or flunk out. Kids now only see the ones that succeed and other people “like.”  The dude that blows all his money trying to be Star and gets no likes or push is never seen and therefore is not a cautionary tale.  
 

We also need to bring back bullying  

And get off my lawn   

 

[TimHauck 2,905]

9 hours ago, iam90sbaby said:

Me and all my millennial coworkers would run circles around you in a workplace. 

Would you agree with the article if it didn’t include Millenials?  (Which it shouldn’t if it’s focused on kids)

[jonnyutah 293]

9 hours ago, iam90sbaby said:

Me and all my millennial coworkers would run circles around you in a workplace. 

Interestingly high level of confidence. I just read something about that...

[TimHauck 2,905]

1 hour ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

 

We also need to bring back bullying  

 

 

It never left. And it’s probably the number one cause of school shootings 

[Tree of Knowledge 1,868]

12 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

It never left. And it’s probably the number one cause of school shootings 

Then why didn’t we have school shootings during the heyday of bullying?

[TimHauck 2,905]

1 minute ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

Then why didn’t we have school shootings during the heyday of bullying?

When was the heyday of bullying? If anything it’s probably right now thanks to social media

[Hardcore troubadour 15,484]

15 minutes ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

Then why didn’t we have school shootings during the heyday of bullying?

Because kids weren’t having psych drugs pumped into them? 

[Tree of Knowledge 1,868]

36 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

When was the heyday of bullying? If anything it’s probably right now thanks to social media

No way.  Probably the 70’s and 80’s.  

[TimHauck 2,905]

2 minutes ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

No way.  Probably the 70’s and 80’s.  

The 70’s when many were hippies?  Yeah okay lol.

 

[Tree of Knowledge 1,868]

1 minute ago, TimHauck said:

The 70’s when many were hippies?  Yeah okay lol.

 

Hippies were gone by ‘73 and were a coastal phenomenon.  In real America you had to know how to defend yourself either with witty retorts or some fisticuffs.  

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,121]

10 hours ago, iam90sbaby said:

Me and all my millennial coworkers would run circles around you in a workplace. 

Maybe in a texting competition but other than that I'm just not seeing it.  I'm GenX and it's best you keep us as the forgotten generation.  You don't want us getting involved. 

[jerryskids 6,825]

4 hours ago, Sean Mooney said:

Excellent input, thanks.  I know you are young, so maybe you are taking it personally?  Care to elaborate?

 

 

6/10.  Would be better if I were young.  But hey, it isn't "hur dur you hates kids$%@!"  So you got that going for you.   

[Sean Mooney 1,984]

1 hour ago, jerryskids said:

 

6/10.  Would be better if I were young.  But hey, it isn't "hur dur you hates kids$%@!"  So you got that going for you.   

I'm not the one who spouts that nonsensical garbage....you are

[jerryskids 6,825]

6 minutes ago, Sean Mooney said:

I'm not the one who spouts that nonsensical garbage....you are

You are the person who drives by and gives summaries like a tween from Tumblr.

I thought about this this morning:  I'm trying to provide content for discussion, sometimes complex and challenging.  What is the last thread you started here to contribute to this place?

[Sean Mooney 1,984]

On 5/24/2024 at 11:33 AM, jerryskids said:

You are the person who drives by and gives summaries like a tween from Tumblr.

I thought about this this morning:  I'm trying to provide content for discussion, sometimes complex and challenging.  What is the last thread you started here to contribute to this place?

I've started plenty of threads here and it is usually quickly followed by you and your demented ramblings

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,121]

4 minutes ago, Sean Mooney said:

I've started plenty of threads here and it is usually quickly followed by you and your demented ramblings

Oh, the irony. 

[edjr 6,602]

On 5/23/2024 at 6:50 PM, iam90sbaby said:

Dumb article, dumb opinion and wrong. 

forgot to login as peefoam

[jerryskids 6,825]

2 hours ago, Sean Mooney said:

I've started plenty of threads here and it is usually quickly followed by you and your demented ramblings

Well, at least you didn't tell me I posted this because I hate young peoplez$#@!  Baby steps.   

Also, it's easy enough to see topics posted.  Your last one here was February of 2023, 15+ months ago.

And I didn't comment in it.

Before that it was November 2022.

Quite the prolific thread starter, you are.   

Have you given thought to what your 2024 thread will be?

[Sean Mooney 1,984]

2 hours ago, jerryskids said:

Well, at least you didn't tell me I posted this because I hate young peoplez$#@!  Baby steps.   

Also, it's easy enough to see topics posted.  Your last one here was February of 2023, 15+ months ago.

And I didn't comment in it.

Before that it was November 2022.

Quite the prolific thread starter, you are.   

Have you given thought to what your 2024 thread will be?

So you've devolved into "I start more threads than you"?

Take a break here dude. I'm sorry I don't have the time to start threads about existential threats like you. 

[jerryskids 6,825]

58 minutes ago, Sean Mooney said:

So you've devolved into "I start more threads than you"?

Take a break here dude. I'm sorry I don't have the time to start threads about existential threats like you. 

Jerry:  What exactly have you contributed here other than drive by Tumblr summaries?

Sean:  I've started plenty of threads!

Jerry:  [Data]

Sean:  [Oopsy.  Guess I was wrong. Quick, deflect!]

 

I'd be interested to hear why you think you've started plenty of threads when it's been 15+ months.  How does one make that mistake?  Did you come || close to posting a bunch of threads, only to back button them at the last minute?

And don't have time?  You are a teacher -- you get paid to do nothing for three months every year.

Take the L and move on.