I am of a generation - a baby boomer - so old now - ha!. Despite trying to keep abreast of current affairs and enjoy the company of younger people, now and again a new term crops up in common parlance - that it not familiar. Such a term now cropping up regularly - is he or she is "a snowflake" or the "snowflake generation". What does it mean? Wikipedia provides a definition. I copy it here! :
Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a neologistic term used to characterize the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offence and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own. The term is considered derogatory.
It goes on to provide more as follows :
Background
The term snowflake has been used to refer to children raised by their parents in ways that give them an inflated sense of their own uniqueness.This usage of snowflake has been reported to originate from Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel Fight Club, and its 1999 film adaptation. Both the novel and the film include the line "You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.In January 2017, Palahniuk claimed credit for coining this usage of snowflake, adding "Every generation gets offended by different things but my friends who teach in high school tell me that their students are very easily offended." Palahniuk referred to the young adults of the 2010s as exhibiting "a kind of new Victorianism".According to Merriam-Webster, Palahniuk was not the first person to use the metaphor saying, "It's the stuff of self-help books and inspirational posters and elementary school assurances. The imagery before negation is lovely; we are each unique snowflakes, each worth treasuring because each is uniquely beautiful", furthering "Palahniuk's denial of the individual's snowflake status struck a chord."
The term "Generation Snowflake", or its variant "Snowflake Generation", probably originated in the United States and came into wider use in the United Kingdom in 2016 following the publication of Claire Fox's book I Find That Offensive!. In it she wrote about a confrontation between Yale University students and faculty Head of College, Nicholas Christakis.The confrontation arose after Christakis's wife, Erika Christakis, a lecturer at the university, had suggested students should "relax a bit rather than labeling fancy dress Halloween costumes as culturally insensitive", according to Fox.Fox described the video showing the students' reaction as a "screaming, almost hysterical mob of students".Fox said the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.[9]
Although the term "snowflake generation" was previously considered no more than slang, it was recognised as one of Collins Dictionary's 2016 words of the year.[11] Collins defines the term as "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".[11] Similarly, in 2016 the Financial Times included snowflake in their annual Year in a Word list, defining it as "a derogatory term for someone deemed too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own, particularly in universities and other forums once known for robust debate" and noting that the insult had been aimed at an entire generation.[2]
Fox argues that Generation Snowflake was created by over-protecting people when they were children and she argued the emphasis on self-esteem in childhood resulted in adults "tiptoeing around children's sensitivities" to avoid "damaging their wellbeing". In the UK, Tom Bennett was recruited by the government to address behaviour in schools.He commented that Generation Snowflake children at school can be over-protected, leading to problems when they progress to university and are confronted with "the harsher realities of life".Bennett argues being sheltered from conflict as children can lead to university students who react with intolerance towards people and things that they believe may offend someone or toward people who have differing political opinions, leading to a phenomenon called "no-platforming", where speakers on controversial topics such as abortion or atheism are prohibited from speaking on a university campus.
In 2016 some law lecturers at the University of Oxford began using trigger warnings to alert students to potentially distressing subject matter. This drew criticism from Fox and GQ writer Eleanor Halls, who related the phenomenon to Generation Snowflake, and questioned how well law students educated with trigger warnings would function as lawyers.The university had not adopted a formal policy on trigger warnings, leaving their use to the discretion of individual lecturers.
Back to me - ha! Now it is clear. Yes "snowflake" makes sense and recognise the characteristics and like so many of our citizens are exasperated by them. New Victorians indeed. Politically correct and judgemental to exaggeration. Paper thin self esteem. Too easily offended. Fragile. Wrapped up in "mental health issues" - or shall we call it what it really is - normal stress or anxiety. They have an unhealthy obsession with "me me me" - to their paramount so called human rights - which include not being verbaly offended. They seem to believe they can have the benefits without the down side - and struggle to handle they are not actually entitled. Many suddenly realise life away from over indulgent parents is tough. They now have to compete - but they have been cosseted from the school of hard knocks by "loving" parents. The real world is not always a place focussed on their "feelings" - and of course the bombshell - they find out in the real world - they are relatively ordinary rather than special.
But maybe they are not culpable - it is the loving parents and grandparents faults. Everybody meant well. However it does not take away from the fact they will have to toughen up and get on with it - otherwise it will be a miserable life for them (and us - ha!).
Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a neologistic term used to characterize the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offence and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own. The term is considered derogatory.
It goes on to provide more as follows :
Background
The term snowflake has been used to refer to children raised by their parents in ways that give them an inflated sense of their own uniqueness.This usage of snowflake has been reported to originate from Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel Fight Club, and its 1999 film adaptation. Both the novel and the film include the line "You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.In January 2017, Palahniuk claimed credit for coining this usage of snowflake, adding "Every generation gets offended by different things but my friends who teach in high school tell me that their students are very easily offended." Palahniuk referred to the young adults of the 2010s as exhibiting "a kind of new Victorianism".According to Merriam-Webster, Palahniuk was not the first person to use the metaphor saying, "It's the stuff of self-help books and inspirational posters and elementary school assurances. The imagery before negation is lovely; we are each unique snowflakes, each worth treasuring because each is uniquely beautiful", furthering "Palahniuk's denial of the individual's snowflake status struck a chord."
The term "Generation Snowflake", or its variant "Snowflake Generation", probably originated in the United States and came into wider use in the United Kingdom in 2016 following the publication of Claire Fox's book I Find That Offensive!. In it she wrote about a confrontation between Yale University students and faculty Head of College, Nicholas Christakis.The confrontation arose after Christakis's wife, Erika Christakis, a lecturer at the university, had suggested students should "relax a bit rather than labeling fancy dress Halloween costumes as culturally insensitive", according to Fox.Fox described the video showing the students' reaction as a "screaming, almost hysterical mob of students".Fox said the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.[9]
Although the term "snowflake generation" was previously considered no more than slang, it was recognised as one of Collins Dictionary's 2016 words of the year.[11] Collins defines the term as "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".[11] Similarly, in 2016 the Financial Times included snowflake in their annual Year in a Word list, defining it as "a derogatory term for someone deemed too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own, particularly in universities and other forums once known for robust debate" and noting that the insult had been aimed at an entire generation.[2]
Usage
"Generation Snowflake" and snowflake have been used in relation to purported generational differences; snowflake and similar terms have also been used more broadly.[3]Generational differences
According to Claire Fox, members of Generation Snowflake "are genuinely distressed by ideas that run contrary to their worldview"; they are more likely than previous generations of students to report that they have mental health problems.Fox and journalist Bryony Gordon described these traits as being coupled with a strong sense of entitlement.According to an article titled "The 'Snowflake' Generation: Real or Imagined?" from the John William Pope Center reasons proposed by researchers for the reported increase in mental health problems among university students differ.They vary from increased pressure on students, reduced self-reliance resulting from overuse of mental health services, to university authorities' expectations of student fragility.Fox argues that Generation Snowflake was created by over-protecting people when they were children and she argued the emphasis on self-esteem in childhood resulted in adults "tiptoeing around children's sensitivities" to avoid "damaging their wellbeing". In the UK, Tom Bennett was recruited by the government to address behaviour in schools.He commented that Generation Snowflake children at school can be over-protected, leading to problems when they progress to university and are confronted with "the harsher realities of life".Bennett argues being sheltered from conflict as children can lead to university students who react with intolerance towards people and things that they believe may offend someone or toward people who have differing political opinions, leading to a phenomenon called "no-platforming", where speakers on controversial topics such as abortion or atheism are prohibited from speaking on a university campus.
In 2016 some law lecturers at the University of Oxford began using trigger warnings to alert students to potentially distressing subject matter. This drew criticism from Fox and GQ writer Eleanor Halls, who related the phenomenon to Generation Snowflake, and questioned how well law students educated with trigger warnings would function as lawyers.The university had not adopted a formal policy on trigger warnings, leaving their use to the discretion of individual lecturers.
Back to me - ha! Now it is clear. Yes "snowflake" makes sense and recognise the characteristics and like so many of our citizens are exasperated by them. New Victorians indeed. Politically correct and judgemental to exaggeration. Paper thin self esteem. Too easily offended. Fragile. Wrapped up in "mental health issues" - or shall we call it what it really is - normal stress or anxiety. They have an unhealthy obsession with "me me me" - to their paramount so called human rights - which include not being verbaly offended. They seem to believe they can have the benefits without the down side - and struggle to handle they are not actually entitled. Many suddenly realise life away from over indulgent parents is tough. They now have to compete - but they have been cosseted from the school of hard knocks by "loving" parents. The real world is not always a place focussed on their "feelings" - and of course the bombshell - they find out in the real world - they are relatively ordinary rather than special.
But maybe they are not culpable - it is the loving parents and grandparents faults. Everybody meant well. However it does not take away from the fact they will have to toughen up and get on with it - otherwise it will be a miserable life for them (and us - ha!).
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