Every time I think “the kids are alright” the kids go and disappoint me by being shitty, and every time I’m down on the youth they go and do something that makes me say “the kids are alright.” In conclusion, the kids are how they’ve always been: young, trying to learn, and making mistakes along the way that they will hopefully learn from. Some are shitty and will likely grow up to be shitheads, some are solid people who will hopefully understand themselves better as they learn and grow, some are shitheads who will grow up to be better, and some are sadly at their best now and will get worse and more reactionary as they grow. Same as it ever was.

edit: I will say, as part of the cohort that I guess preceded this current one, kids are dealing with a lot more today that we really only got a taste of when I was a kid. I never had to form an opinion on Andrew Tate when I was 15 years old. We had bro science bullshit and toxic gym culture, but it was not on the level that I see today. A less politicized daily life, which I guess one could criticize since it was an extremely apolitical “end of history” era, but that was probably better for our mental health than the post-2016 chaos that only gets worse each year. We didn’t have to make sense of a mass disabling pandemic in the ninth grade. Social media was a damaging presence, but it was not everywhere like it is today. Being extremely online was uncommon also, at least to the degree people are today. So I think there are some real issues that have gotten worse over the years that might make those who deal with teens feel like they’re “worse” or more annoying, but to blame the kids for that is some boomer logic. The kids didn’t cause the Covid pandemic, the kids didn’t ask their parents to raise them on social media, or start promoting white supremacy on twitter. Any issue with the kids is an issue with us, you can’t blame a group of people who have no experience or understanding, and who’s brains are not even fully formed yet, for the issues in society.