Man's Take Magazine

Dominant Traits of the 21st Century

By Maxwell G. Moore
Editor-in-Chief
Man’s Take Magazine

Before you get all pissed off about how this article unfairly portrays you and your generation– oh wait, I just remembered something… I don’t care if this article pisses you off. That’s what I’m here for!

Let me try that again: before you get all pissed off about the stereotypical nature of this article, I want to point out that this article intentionally targets the entire demographic in the United States (and somewhat across the world), and does not solo out any particular individuals. There are lots of intelligent, hard-working kids today who will go on to change the world for the better and conversely plenty of dumb-ass old men and women working the system until their death (and possibly beyond) who were nothing more than
a burden to our planet. I recognize this and make no apologies for generalizing by generation.

With that said, here goes:

When I think of my grandparents and their generation I think:

Stoic and reserved

Financially conservative (Depression Era)

Committed

Went out of their way for others

When I think of my parents’ generation I think:

Once experimental and rebellious, but over it now

Company-minded – long term careers

Generally responsible and helpful, but struggling to keep up with science and technology (medicine, computers, etc)

Witnesses to the dramatic acceleration of technology

Dying breed of smokers (literally)

The first obese generation

When I think of my own generation (those 40 and under) I think:

Irresponsible

Unreliable

Financially reckless

Glued to passive entertainment and reliant on chemicals

Morbidly obese

Little to no respect for others

Little to no interest in anyone other than “I”

Zero command of the English language

Unapologetic for any of it

This is the sad reality of the 21st century. Kids don’t want to work. They feel entitled to have everything they could want, while playing video games, surfing Facebook, and sending text messages while driving their gas-guzzling SUVs. They don’t even know how to keep track of their bowling score without a computer.

We’ve turned a corner in our knowledge of health (though admittedly we’ve only broached a small percentage of what there is to know), and we still disregard it by taking drugs, smoking cigarettes, being sedentary, and eating abhorrently unhealthy food that’s been chemically engineered from the cheapest ingredients possible. Worst of all, our society rewards and idolizes such behavior.

Any 18 year old can get a credit card and treat it like “found money,” going out and spending thousands of dollars he can’t pay back, only to set himself up for years of debt with nothing to show for it. It’s one thing to go into debt to buy a house that will continue to have value equivalent to and above the debt (current housing crisis not withstanding), but it’s quite another to charge up trinkets, booze, designer clothes, fast food, energy drinks, and unlimited text messaging until even the credit card companies cry uncle and force the kid to start slowly repaying the rapidly accruing interest.

If today’s youth ever outgrow their party phase and decide to stop slurping down fruity intoxicants and dancing until their cell phones need to be charged, they’re left with a huge mess to clean up in their lives. They’re likely on a path toward obesity (as is more than two-thirds of the US population), may be headed toward alcohol or drug dependence, and if nothing else have a staggering financial crisis ahead of them. This is amplified by the costs of higher education, should they be so inclined to attend college. Credit history is becoming more important not only in qualifying for a mortgage or auto loan, but also renting an apartment or even getting hired.

I’ve also seen a few career-minded youngsters shoot themselves in the foot with social media sites by posting pictures of their partying ways online. Colleges and potential employers may shy away from kids who post “too much information” about their private lives, especially those who post pictures of illegal drug use or underage drinking. This is not to mention the social drama that can be invoked and made public by a constant dependence on Twitter or other social media “status” sites.

I also need to point out how abhorrent the grammar of this generation is. Our society has more forms of communication than any other ever has, many of them are typed/written, and despite spelling and grammar check, auto-correct, and a dozen other features and tools we still can’t write a sentence to save our lives. (We cant right us a sentence to save are lifes). I’m not even going to get into the stupid abbreviations, emotes, and icons that have replaced our language, but I will point out how disjointed our communication is and how confusing this poor mastery of language can become. This creates what I call communication escalation, where a person must continue to escalate a message through various communication forms in order to ascertain it’s meaning.

Your three word text meant nothing to me, so I write an email. Your email response was written too quickly to make any sense, so I just pick up the phone and leave a voicemail message. Alas, my cell phone’s battery is now dead, so you have get in the car and burn up some gasoline to stop by my house. This is communication escalation.

It may seem as if I’m just an angry old man pointing out a few punk kids I’ve come across and how they’re wrapped in evil technology. But the sad reality is this “syndrome” is all too common and continuing to propagate. I certainly don’t fault the technology or the chemicals. The people are the problem. But which people?

I wouldn’t blame a young child for his or her poor behavior when it’s usually the fault of the parents or guardians. Perhaps the current struggle goes back to the parents who brought many of these behaviors to the forefront and who can’t keep up with the technology their children are growing into. Either way blame does no good in moving forward. It’s time that each man learns to take responsibility for his actions (likewise for women, but this is a men’s article). Responsibility is really what it comes down.

Real men live up to their word, take responsibility for their actions (and inactions), and make a solid effort to improve the world around them. If you can do these three things consistently, then maybe we can turn this ship around.

I suggest every man, including those just coming of age, educate himself on how to improve his health and that of his family. This includes learning to exercise properly and understanding nutrition. I also believe every man should become practiced at how to save and invest money and control a household budget. This is important even if you’re the only guy in the household. With knowledge of these two areas you can live a much more comfortable, fulfilled life and make stronger contributions to the community and perhaps even the world over the long-term.

In the coming issues, Man’s Take plans to tackle these issues head-on to help provide our readers the information they need to foresake these dominant traits and move on to more responsible for fulfilling lives.

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