Tag: Millennials

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How To Prepare Your Ridgewood Teen To Succeed In A Complex World

skateboarding_theridgewoodblog

May 11,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, When a bright, happy preteen evolves into a self-absorbed or anxious teenager, apprehensive parents can’t help but wonder, “What’s wrong with my child?”

The answer could be “nothing,” other than the typical struggles adolescents have always faced, says Jeffrey Leiken, author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood” (www.Leiken.com).

As CEO of Evolution Mentoring International, Leiken provides mentoring for teens and young adults, going beyond the typical work of a therapist by building a relationship so that they come to see Leiken as a trusted confidant who answers their late-night text messages and isn’t quick to label them.

“I don’t start with the premise that there is something wrong with them that needs to be fixed,” Leiken says. “The teens and young adults I work with often are saner than the system they are in – a system that seems to forget we are raising humans, not building robots.”

Parents sometimes get caught up in that system, too, but in many cases they just need to chill, he says.

Leiken says parents who want to prepare teenagers for the day they will venture out on their own should:

• “Great advice, wrong source” – Enlist the aid of other adults. Parents are puzzled when they give excellent advice that their teenager promptly ignores. But adolescents often discard words of wisdom from their parents that they would embrace if the guidance came from someone else. That’s why it’s important to enlist the help of other adults who can offer coaching, training and guidance to the teen.
• Avoid letting fear be the guide. Too many parents are on edge, worried that if their teen isn’t in the top 1 percent of the high school class, they will be denied hope for economic prosperity, status and independence. Their anxieties can rub off on young people who become hesitant to take risks for fear of endangering their future. Instead of scaring them, parents need to encourage teens to step outside their comfort zones and take risks that will help them grow into confident, well-rounded adults.
• Help teens eliminate choices. One popular bit of advice parents hear is they should encourage teenagers to keep all their options open. That sounds like a good strategy, but isn’t. In reality, parents need to encourage teens to eliminate options – such as for colleges or careers – that aren’t and never will be right for them. The teens’ decision-making abilities will increase as a result. 

“Parents also need to realize they don’t have to become experts in raising teenagers,” Leiken says. “They just have to become expert in raising their own teenager.”

About Jeffrey Leiken

Jeffery Leiken (www.Leiken.com) is the CEO of Evolution Mentoring International and is co-founder of HeroPath International. Leiken also is author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood.” He has presented at TED in Athens, Greece; guest lectured at Stanford University; and facilitated programs for teenagers on three continents and in seven countries, among other accomplishments. He has a master’s degree in educational counseling.

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What’s Missing In The Millennial Skillset?

millennials

April 22,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, One thing is clear: millennials – those born after 1980 – are the world’s future, and they’ve already made significant contributions.

Social media alone wouldn’t be what it is today without millennial entrepreneurs, for example.

“It’s not just technology defining the youngest working-age population, it’s also a distinct optimism and a desire to do work that matters,” says youth psychologist Dr. Jason Richardson.

“I don’t think millennials lack the work ethic and soft skills that others say they do. Many of those things come with age regardless of when you were born. But I do think millennials have been coddled. Many have an aversion to seek resolutions to problems within themselves – outside of technology.”

Richardson, author of “It’s All BS! We’re All Wrong, And You’re All Right!” (www.drjasonrichardson.com), offers millennials suggestions for expanding their skillset.

• Try more authentic “connections.” Competition among millennials can be fierce, especially when it comes to how your social media profile looks. You can have a thousand friends, “Like” the cool, trendy items and have an impressive bio with the right degree from the right school. More one-on-one time with your peers, however, helps with truly interpersonal settings, including working with people from older generations.
• Distinguish yourself by offering your full attention – a rare commodity nowadays. People never have to be bored anymore. If we must wait for anything, we can find distraction in our smartphones, which are on-demand boredom-killers. On the job, dividing your attention while on your phone with clients, management, during conference calls, etc. will not be appreciated. It’s not multitasking when your attention is compromised – a major hindrance in communication.
• Take a cue from older generations; grow thicker skin. Today, colleges are catering to students with “safe spaces” in case their feelings are hurt. Professors often warn students of “trigger warnings” in case academic content could be seen as offensive. Older generations were not as coddled, which helps them accept criticism at work. Thin skin can keep you from finding solutions to problems. Learn to accept professional criticism graciously so you may think more clearly on possible solutions.
• Base progress on doing good and less on feeling good. Doing good and feeling good don’t always coincide. Remember, you’re the baby who learned to walk despite many failed attempts. You didn’t need to feel good to be successful. Place value in the work and personal gains made as you move forward. Think of yourself as continually developing or becoming. You are more than what’s written on your social media profile.

“We can’t always control the conditions of this amazing world,” Richardson says, “but you can take control of the amazing you, if you believe you can.”

About Jason Richardson, Psy.D., MBA

Dr. Jason Richardson (www.drjasonrichardson.com) is a psychologist who earned his principles for self-improvement as a world-traveling athlete, doctoral student and student of life. He maintained top-10 status on the professional BMX circuit for most of his 15-year career, retiring with a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.

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Taxpayers Pay through the Nose for the Minimum Wage

CASHIERS WORK AT THE CHECKOUT LANES OF A WALMART STORE IN THE PORTER RANCH SECTION OF LOS ANGELES

A Billion Dollar Stool to Reach the Bottom Rung of the Job Ladder

Adam Millsap

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

In February, the Obama administration proposed a “First Job” initiative. The main goal of the aptly titled initiative is to help unemployed young people obtain their first job by spending $5.5 billion on grants, training, and direct wages. Unfortunately – but unsurprisingly – the press release failed to acknowledge the most significant factor impeding employment in this age group: the minimum wage.

Everyone knows that a first job is a vital step in a young person’s development. Research has shown that work experience at a young age teaches positive work habits, time management, perseverance, and improves self-confidence. Increases in teenage employment also reduce the rate of violent crime. Yet despite these well-known benefits, the US maintains a minimum wage policy that makes it very difficult for all but the most productive teenagers to find a job.

When the minimum wage was discussed in the late 19th and early 20th century it was in the context of preventing the least skilled, most “undesirable” workers from finding a job, with the goal of eradicating the unemployable people. For the next 80-plus years it was common knowledge that a minimum wage would reduce employment among the least-skilled workers. The only debate was about whether such a reduction was desirable from society’s perspective, as many of the appalling eugenicists of the time contended.

As late as 1987, the New York Times editorial staff recommended a minimum wage of $0 because of its negative effects on employment. The Times argued that the minimum wage was an ineffective anti-poverty tool whose employment costs outweighed any benefits from higher wages.

https://fee.org/articles/taxpayers-pay-through-the-nose-for-the-minimum-wage/

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How To Prepare Your Teen To Succeed In A Complex World

grads

April 12,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, When a bright, happy preteen evolves into a self-absorbed or anxious teenager, apprehensive parents can’t help but wonder, “What’s wrong with my child?”

The answer could be “nothing,” other than the typical struggles adolescents have always faced, says Jeffrey Leiken, author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood” (www.Leiken.com).

As CEO of Evolution Mentoring International, Leiken provides mentoring for teens and young adults, going beyond the typical work of a therapist by building a relationship so that they come to see Leiken as a trusted confidant who answers their late-night text messages and isn’t quick to label them.

“I don’t start with the premise that there is something wrong with them that needs to be fixed,” Leiken says. “The teens and young adults I work with often are saner than the system they are in – a system that seems to forget we are raising humans, not building robots.”

Parents sometimes get caught up in that system, too, but in many cases they just need to chill, he says.
Leiken says parents who want to prepare teenagers for the day they will venture out on their own should:

• “Great advice, wrong source” – Enlist the aid of other adults. Parents are puzzled when they give excellent advice that their teenager promptly ignores. But adolescents often discard words of wisdom from their parents that they would embrace if the guidance came from someone else. That’s why it’s important to enlist the help of other adults who can offer coaching, training and guidance to the teen.
• Avoid letting fear be the guide. Too many parents are on edge, worried that if their teen isn’t in the top 1 percent of the high school class, they will be denied hope for economic prosperity, status and independence. Their anxieties can rub off on young people who become hesitant to take risks for fear of endangering their future. Instead of scaring them, parents need to encourage teens to step outside their comfort zones and take risks that will help them grow into confident, well-rounded adults.
• Help teens eliminate choices. One popular bit of advice parents hear is they should encourage teenagers to keep all their options open. That sounds like a good strategy, but isn’t. In reality, parents need to encourage teens to eliminate options – such as for colleges or careers – that aren’t and never will be right for them. The teens’ decision-making abilities will increase as a result. 

“Parents also need to realize they don’t have to become experts in raising teenagers,” Leiken says. “They just have to become expert in raising their own teenager.”

About Jeffrey Leiken

Jeffery Leiken (www.Leiken.com) is the CEO of Evolution Mentoring International and is co-founder of HeroPath International. Leiken also is author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood.” He has presented at TED in Athens, Greece; guest lectured at Stanford University; and facilitated programs for teenagers on three continents and in seven countries, among other accomplishments. He has a master’s degree in educational counseling.

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Baby Boomers And Millennials May Share More Similarities On The Job Than They Realize

sony and cher

April 8,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, Baby Boomers and Millennials often are portrayed as two generations that don’t always see eye to eye in the workplace.

But they may share something in common that could help bridge the generation gap.

Both groups long to find a purpose in their careers beyond a paycheck, say Jackie Dryden and Bethany Andell, co-authors of “Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line: And Build Your Brand on Purpose” (www.savagethinking.com).

“Millennials are not only worried about how much money they earn, but also about how they earn it,” says Andell, president of Savage Brands, which works with companies to build purposeful brands.

“They gain satisfaction from their work when they feel they are contributing to something larger and more valuable than the company’s earnings.”

Baby Boomers, idealistic in their youth, somewhere along the way became part of the system they fought to change, she says.

Now, nearing retirement, many look back and wonder what kind of legacy they will leave.

“They’re reigniting their earlier desire to add meaning to life,” Andell says.

Dryden and Andell say that tapping into the two generations’ longing for meaningful work can create an improved outlook for businesses. Here are a few reasons why:

• Everything a company says and does contributes to building its brand. Because of this, the actions and attitudes of employees are central to the brand experience for the customers.
• Too many companies begin their pursuit of success by focusing on profit. Dryden and Andell say a better route to sustainable success is to flip traditional business thinking upside down and start with purpose. Purpose drives performance, they say, and performance drives profits.
• Customers feel better about buying from or working with brands they connect with in some way. When they connect with the purpose for why a company exists they begin to feel as if they are a part of something meaningful, just as the employees do. This deeper relationship adds value to every interaction customers have with the company, building loyalty for the brand.

“When you have two generations – one older, one younger, but both seeking greater meaning at work – there’s an incredible opportunity,” Dryden says. “But that opportunity can only be seized if a company’s purpose and values align and connect with employees on a level beyond the bottom line.”

About Jackie Dryden

Jackie Dryden, co-author with Bethany Andell of “Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line” (www.savagethinking.com), is Chief Purpose Architect with Savage Brands, which works with companies to build purposeful brands. She also is author of “Just Me: What Your Child Wants You to Know About Parenting.”

About Bethany Andell

Bethany Andell, co-author with Jackie Dryden of “Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line,” is president of Savage Brands. She is an MBA graduate from Rice University’s Jones School of Management, a regular speaker and author of several articles recently published in the Houston Business Journal.

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Millennials are being dot.conned by cult-like tech companies

Soylent Green lg

By Kyle Smith

April 3, 2016 | 11:25am

Tech startups love millennials. Tasty, tasty millennials who get underpaid, overworked, churned up and turned into nourishment for venture capitalists. Millennials are the Soylent Green of the tech world.

As each batch gets mashed up, there’s a long line of new hires eager to be made into the next meal for the execs and their billionaire backers, as tech survivor Dan Lyons shows in a scathingly funny new book, “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble” (Hachette Books).

Lyons became a strange kind of celebrity a decade ago when he began posting nutty but funny insights as “Fake Steve Jobs.” Today he’s a writer for HBO’s brilliant tech comedy “Silicon Valley,” but in between he blogged for a Boston tech company called HubSpot and wrote this book about it.

https://nypost.com/2016/04/03/millennials-are-being-dot-conned-by-cult-like-tech-companies/

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Why Millennials don’t eat Cereal

breakfast of champions
February 25,2016

PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The other day the Washington Post ran an article entitled “The baffling reason many millennials don’t eat cereal.”
I have never been a fan of cereal myself,actually I hate it, and I thought finally something good to say about Millennials ,so I clicked on it to see if they shared my distaste in the common breakfast ,some call it “food”.

The answer  shocked me ,no Millennials like cereal alright it’s just the cleaning up afterwards they object to.(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/23/this-is-the-height-of-laziness/)

The Washington Post article goes on to describe how this trend toward convenient and quick foods is a sign of a fast-paced, two-income family society in which very few people have time to prepare and eat a meal at home. However, the article also makes another interesting observation:“But there is something different about the backlash against cereal bowls, something more fundamental about it that seems to speak to a greater truth about American households today.

A 2014 national survey, conducted by Braun Research, found that 82 percent of parents said they were asked to do chores as children. But when they were asked if they required their children to do chores, only 28 percent of them said yes. ( https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-kids-chores-vanishing-balancing-20141013-column.html )

Wow you would never survive in my house . That is a generational shift in how families raise their kids. This disconnection from the consequences of everyday living appears to be turning even the most mundane of responsibilities, like doing the dishes, into unthinkable nuisances and raising a generation of self entitled  helpless brats .

Let’s face it: modern parents love and want the best for their children. And in an attempt to achieve that best, parents have pushed aside chore requirements because their children fussed over them or simply didn’t have time to handle them with the busyness of school, sports, and extra-curricular activities.

But have parents missed the fact that training their children to be diligent, capable, and efficient through the medium of chores might be one of the best ways to help their child become a success in the adult world?

The simple things like chores teach children discipline, confidence, persistence, and many other life skills. Skills many new to the workforce seem to be severaly lacking.  In an article in Business Insider about the mid-20s girl in California that mouthed off on Yelp and fired for it. This is another example of someone that lacked discipline to have good financial habits, lack of confidence that she could turn her situation around with hard work, had no persistence in that she wanted and expected more freebies. The typical Bernie Sanders voter I might ad .

I’m sure she’s now fuming at her former boss instead of appreciating her own mistakes because she does not seem to know better. Example of a self-entitled brat, and nobody wants that for a coworker. (https://www.businessinsider.com/stefanie-williams-response-to-yelp-employee-talia-jane-2016-2 )

Why Children Need Chores
Doing household chores has many benefits—academically, emotionally and even professionally.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-children-need-chores-1426262655

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Lawmaker proposes lowering New Jersey’s drinking age to 18

booze

Lawmaker proposes lowering New Jersey’s drinking age to 18

Republican Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll recently introduced the measure, saying it’s wrong that an 18-year-old can serve in the military but not be allowed to buy alcohol. The bill seems unlikely to pass, since lowering the drinking age would cost the state millions of dollars in federal highway funds

A New Jersey legislator wants to lower New Jersey’s drinking age from 21 to 18. Associated Press Read more

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Yellen’s Job Puzzle: Why Are 20-Somethings Retiring?

Millennials theridgewoodblg.net

January 4, 2016 — 8:00 AM EST
Americans are increasingly foregoing paychecks due to disability, school or retirement

Kasia Klimasinska kklimasinska

How come more people are retiring in their early 20s? Why are middle-age men becoming stay-at-home dads? What’s keeping women out of the workforce other than illness, kids or school?

Those are some of the questions raised in a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report that shows changes over the past decade in why people stay out of the labor

Here’s what the bureau found, broadly: Thirty-five percent of the U.S. population wasn’t in the labor force in 2014, up from 31.3 percent a decade earlier. (You’re considered out of the workforce if you don’t have a job and aren’t looking for one. That’s distinct from the official unemployment rate, which tracks those out of work who are actively job hunting.)

Drilling down into the numbers reveals more about the shifts in the reasons some people forego a paycheck. In all age groups, for instance, more people cited retirement as the reason for being out of the labor force, and it wasn’t just older people.

For Americans between the ages of 20 and 24, the share of those sidelined over the past decade because they were in school increased, unsurprisingly, during the decade that included the Great Recession. What’s more unusual is that the share of 20- to 24-year-olds who say they’re retired doubled from 2004 to 2014.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-04/yellen-s-job-puzzle-why-are-20-somethings-retiring-

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Politically correct universities ‘are killing free speech’

FREE SPEECH NOT

British universities have become too politically correct and are stifling free speech by banning anything that causes the least offence to anyone, academics argue

By Javier Espinoza, Education Editor; and Gordon Rayner

10:56PM GMT 18 Dec 2015

British universities have become too politically correct and are stifling free speech by banning anything that causes the least offence to anyone, a group of leading academics warns on Saturday.

A whole generation of students is being denied the “intellectual challenge of debating conflicting views” because self-censorship is turning campuses into over-sanitised “safe spaces”, they say.

Their intervention comes as an Oxford college considers removing a historic statue of Cecil Rhodes, one of its alumni and benefactors, because he is regarded as the founding father of apartheid in South Africa.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12059161/Politically-correct-universities-are-killing-free-speech.html

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Generation Cry Baby: Why Millennials Are a Joke

jill-greenberg-crying-photoshopped-babies-end-times-17

Generation Cry Baby: Why Millennials Are a F**king Joke

DECEMBER 2, 2015 ~ RACHEL

We’re raising a generation of pussies. There. I said it.

When I was a junior in high school, I had the most amazing AP English teacher. Her name was Ms. Wei. She prefaced the class by saying that she would grade us fairly, and that these grades would not always be A’s.

“I get that you and your parents all think you all are ‘special snowflakes,’ but I will grade you based on your writing, and if your parents email me complaining about these grades, I will ignore them.”

Now Ms. Wei was a little blunt for some (I freaking adored that woman, and I don’t know anyone who didn’t), but she brought up a good point.

Millennials: your parents won’t say it, and your peers won’t say it because it seems every little thing is sending you all to a therapist because you’re just sooooooo victimized, but

Get. The. FUCK. Over. Yourself.

I won’t even say pardon my French, because you know what? Don’t pardon it. I hope it offends you. Although honestly, I could say just about anything and it would offend you. Because that’s just how our generation is.

And this isn’t just some backless rant. Oh no, it’s backed by psychology and science.PsychologyToday has gathered information from colleges saying that teachers are essentially giving up and grading easier because they are AFRAID OF STUDENTS’ EMOTIONAL REACTIONS ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!

TEACHERS ARE AFRAID TO DO THEIR FREAKING JOBS BECAUSE YOU’RE SO DAMN DELICATE?!

I was a camp counselor this summer, and the next generation is worse than ours. These kids are being raised on so much organic, special snowflake bullshit that they’ll probably have a psychological breakdown the second someone tells them they’re not as perfect as they think they are. And it’s nauseating.

Newsflash: Not every single criticism is an attack on your character. Sometimes, you just suck. And people tell you SO THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE. NOT SO YOU CAN GO HOME SOBBING ABOUT HOW THE WORLD IS UNFAIR AND YOU’RE SUCH A VICTIM AND YOU’RE SO DEPRESSED NOW.

Now, I get college is stressful. I get life is stressful. And yes, words can hurt. But we have gotten to a point as a generation where people can’t even make a joke without someone going all #ThisIsACauseNow.

Please, shut up.

Most likely, you are not a victim. Everyone’s been bullied at some point. Everyone’s gotten a bad grade at some point. Everyone’s been sh*t on and hurt and imperfect AT SOME POINT.

But Rachel, everyone reacts and feels things differently.

No, no, no. Shut up. Listen. Because if you’re pissed off at this point in the article, you are EXACTLY who I am talking about.

https://theoxytocinchronicle.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/generation-cry-baby-why-millennials-are-a-fking-joke/

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Alexandrite Group Offers Money Management Classes for Parents and Students

Millennials_theridgewoodblg
file photo by ArtChick
December 5,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Is your college student/recent grad clueless about Managing their money?rnDo they understand the real life lessons of money management?rnrnThe Alexandrite Group is offering Money Management Classes in a small group setting in Rochelle Park, NJrnSign up for our classes:rnrnTopics include: bank accounts, credit cards, loans, spending plansrnrnprivate sessions also availablernrnIntro to Managing Your Money rn(ages 18-26)rnTuesday, January 12rnorrnThursday, January 14 rn7:00 –8:30 pmrnrnIntro to Managing Your Money rn(for parents)rnTuesday, January 5rnorrnThursday, January 7 rn7:00 –8:30 pmrnrnOne session: $79rnrnBoth sessions: $139rnrnto register online www.alexandritegroup.comrnrnDianeNissen, CMA and money coach, has been helping clients and presenting financial seminars since 2008. Her presentations are interactive and always leave the audience with practical, useful information. rnrndiane@alexandritegroup.comrnrn

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“This is not a day care, This is a university!”

animal house

We couldn’t agree with this more!

A letter from our Wesleyan Church College President, in Bartlesville Oklahoma.

In the face of college students far and wide complaining about emotional “triggers” they see and hear, annexing “safe spaces” where opposing views can’t hurt their feelings and even threatening free speech, Everett Piper is seemingly fed up with it all.

The president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University began his recent open letter to students with a story it appears he could hardly believe himself.
“This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt ‘victimized’ by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13,” Piper explained in his letter posted to the school’s website.
“It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love! In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.” And with that, Piper apparently had enough.
“I’m not making this up,” he continued. “Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic! Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims! Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them ‘feel bad’ about themselves, is a ‘hater,’ a ‘bigot,’ an ‘oppressor,’ and a ‘victimizer.'”
Piper went on to explain to students that the familiar feeling of “discomfort” when confronted with wrongdoing is called a “conscience” — and that the “goal of many a good sermon is to get you to confess your sins–not coddle you in your selfishness” or help you achieve “self-actualization.”
More from Piper:
If you want the chaplain to tell you you’re a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you’re looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place.
If you’re more interested in playing the “hater” card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don’t want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn’t one of them.
At OKWU, we teach you to be selfless rather than self-centered. We are more interested in you practicing personal forgiveness than political revenge. We want you to model interpersonal reconciliation rather than foment personal conflict. We believe the content of your character is more important than the color of your skin. We don’t believe that you have been victimized every time you feel guilty and we don’t issue “trigger warnings” before altar calls.
“This is not a day care,” Piper concluded. “This is a university!”

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An idea who time has come : After Yale, Mizzou, raise the voting age — to 25

VOTE_theridgewoodblog

Glenn Harlan Reynolds10:18 a.m. EST November 16, 2015

How can students too spoiled to tolerate debate weigh opposing political arguments? They can’t.

In 1971, the United States ratified the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. In retrospect, that may have been a mistake.

The idea, in those Vietnam War years, was that 18-year-olds, being old enough to be drafted, to marry and to serve on juries, deserved a
vote. It seemed plausible at the time, and I myself have argued that we should set the drinking age at 18 for the same reasons.

But now I’m starting to reconsider. To be a voter, one must be able to participate in adult political discussions. It’s necessary to be able
to listen to opposing arguments and even — as I’m doing right here in this column — to change your mind in response to new evidence.

This evidence suggests that, whatever one might say about the 18-year-olds of 1971, the 18-year-olds of today aren’t up to that
task. And even the 21-year-olds aren’t looking so good.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/11/11/raise-voting-age-25-yale-missouri-protests-political-debate-column/75577468/

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Teens spend more time on media each day than sleeping, survey finds

millennials

Matthew Diebel, USATODAY12:17 p.m. EST November 3, 2015

You’ve probably seen it – a teenager rocking to music blasting from headphones while also texting, checking out Facebook and watching TV.

And, supposedly, doing homework.

For those people who date back to pre-handheld-device days and who found it hard enough to concentrate on homework even without digital distractions, the sight of multitasking teens is mind-boggling.

It’s also more prevalent than you might think.

A new report by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based non-profit that tracks children and their technology use, finds that teens age 13 to 18 spend almost nine hours a day – that’s longer than they usually sleep – on “entertainment media,” which includes things like checking out social media, music, gaming or online videos.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/11/03/teens-spend-more-time-media-each-day-than-sleeping-survey-finds/75088256/