Do you think American culture is too obsessed with youth?

I would say that we have become too obsessed with the idea of youth itself..with scientists lately having breakthroughs in areas that could potentially lengthen the life of a person. I wouldn’t say that respect has diminished for the elders though, its just that the respect has remained the same but the obsession with youth has increased.

As for your last question, I’m not American…so my apologies.

Things seem to be reversed now. When I was a child, it was “respect your elders”, Now it seems to be “get out of the way you old fart”.

`The youth of today are scum, may they grow old, may they get real.’’

it would appear that each generation has become less worthy of respect from the subsequent generation, each subsequent generation is degenerating, society is in a state of terminal decline, trapped into a diminishing return.

I’m part of the current generation (well, not for long.) I make a big effort to respect my elders. I can definitely tell that this isn’t quite the norm, but don’t let it fool you. There’s still hope. Anyways, we haven’t been reveling around it for too long. Hopefully its a fad that’ll subside.

I think it is for sure. I have several younger friends from other parts of the world, and they are much more respectful for me being an “elder statesperson”! It’s very nice.

Absolutely every generation has been and will be complaining about how the “younger” generation has lost respect towards the “older generation” in comparison to the past. That goes back to the old Greeks. I think this is a whole lot of bollocks. If this “trend” were real, it would be common place everywhere that young people slit the throat of the old people whenever they give problems.
What people, now and then, concentrate on when they complain about the perceived disrespect are the ones that are visible, the ones that openly diss old people. What they totally ignore are the millions children and youths, the vast majority, who very well have respect for the older generation (not to mention the differences between countries). But that makes a bad basis for a “when I was young, I was better than you all” tirade. It is the same for most other subjects too. People see some muslim extremists blow up themselves, and voilá, all muslims are terrorists. Someone sees a black guy steal something, and voilá, all blacks are thieves. Someone sees a jew being a banker, and voilá, all jews are part of a global banking conspiracy aimed at controlling the world. See my point? It is all bollocks, and anyone that thinks that way, that thinks that “youths are more disrespectful towards elders” need a slap on the back of the head and start seeing reality.

@ragingloli I feel that America in particular is more subject to this, and I think that, in general, more respect has been shown for older generations previously in this country. I think much of it has to do with mass media and the glorification of our youth culture.

Yes. Both Hollywood and Madison Avenew drill this idea into all of us at a very early age.

I think you’re more obsessed with appearance & wealth over substance.

@ragingloli said it much better than I could, but that has always been my feeling on the matter.

Yes and no. American culture is obsessed with the idea of a youthful appearance, but animosity towards teens is practically a national pastime. As ragingloli pointed out, the older generation always believes that the younger generation is going to hell in a handbasket. I think it’s ironic that some middle aged and older adults wish to look like they are 17, and yet they do not value the personality traits associated with youth. For example, young people tend to be idealistic, with an enterprising spirit and the ability to think outside the box. But instead of valuing this idealism and asking how we as adults can help teens channel it productively, some older adults simply see these idealistic teens as foolish and naive. I think that Americans would be better off if, instead of trying to maintain our smooth skin and girlish (or boyish) figures, we tried to save some of that youthful enthusiasm to take with us into our old age.

As to your question about respect for the elderly, some young people are definitely lacking in this trait, but there are many well-mannered teenagers out there, too. The good kids just don’t make the news because a news story about a young drug addict is more marketable than a story about a Boy Scout who helps old ladies cross the street.

seriously though, kids these days are subject to the unreality or maybe even the surreality of a sedentary, solipsistic life, saturated with technological fetishism, got to blame the parents really, for the world they forged. But when you walk past a skulking band of weasily looking kids just waiting to take a bite out of you, well it kind of makes you want to straighten things out, how you do that is of course a matter for serious debate, i see cheekiness in all children but in western cynical, nihilistic cultures it has a sinister taint to it. People that want to abort a whole generation have lost the best part of their parental instinct. We need to regain custody, from those that would miseducate them, and exploit them for profit, spoil them, Enlist them into military service, allow sexually precocious behaviour to shorten their youth, and of course from those that abuse them pyschologically, physically and sexually, no matter how subtle. i think this illustrates my point even if it is an unlikely source.

@mammal… Though you and I are never going to agree on this, I found your answer intriguing.