Are we fear mongering here? Maybe a bit.

Are we just accepting higher levels of collateral damage getting our younglings to adulthood intact?

Hard to say.

I recall all the old ones falling into hysterics over the state of youth back in my day. Mostly cause of drugs. No argument it was a problem and not everyone survived Nancy Reagan's War on Drugs. But. Gen X seems to be doing better than both Boomers and Millenials, so what was all that fussing for in the end, except maybe entertainment and anxiety at how the world was moving faster and so changed from when they were young.

My Grandma kept old family diaries and journals. Those were enlightening. There were a few entries bemoaning what the world was coming to with the youth who were too loud and looking too hard for adventure. Stealing liquor and cigarettes and such. Lol. Seems quaint now, doesn't it?

I know this. Every generation faces challenges and are drawn to something or other by the zeitgeist. It freaks the old ones out. Sometimes the kids try it, don't like it, and then do their own thing. Sometimes they get burned a bit and learn a hard lesson. Not everyone makes it to adulthood or makes it there unscathed. I think that's always been true.

I also know there's Hollywood, the digital world and then the real world. In the digital world you see all the lost souls cause they're the loudest and their clammoring draws our attention. In Hollywood you see a lot of unnecessary drama being glamorized for attention, as you said.

But does every kid really want to be famous? Do they even understand what it means? Are they just sayinf that because they believe, rightly or wrongly, it's what their parents want? We've all seen those shows too.

But out in the real world, maybe most of the kids are just doing their thing. Without falling into histrionics. Are they anxious? Yes. They have reason to be. But, I think they're are probably fewer self absorbed young ones than the internet and media would have us believe.

Then, maybe I'm biased because most of the ones I know IRL are more or less okay and we're amongst families in hardship for one reason or another. It's their parents who are the abject trainwrecks.

I think k may be this generation is more like Gen X. Keeping their heads down and showing up every day. Trying to stay out of trouble and take care of their families.

I met the mother of a young man I knew from elsewhere the other day. He's very impressive. Incredibly self possessed. Mature. Reminded me a lot of Urchling. He's 21, so 2 yrs older. He's got 7 siblings he's looking after, after his dad died. He's running a household at 21 while his mom works. Raising 7 kids. Like how Urchling runs ours except for the extra kids.

I'm finding that's pretty common once you get out of spoiled and priviledged land and as long as the family is stable and functional enough.

I think the identity problem belongs to the adults too. I know why this man is so self possessed. He knows he was wanted and loved. He grew up knowing he was a belovee and cherished family member, unconditionally loved, instead of being seen as a status symbol, purpose, extension, completion, trophy, possession, soldier for God, all those things that are proof of the parent's desires and identity.

Maybe that's where the focus should be. Kids are resilient. If you want the kids to be okay, they need to know they belong and they're wanted for themselves, more than anything else, no matter what. They need that inner circle of belonging to be strong and not contingent on circumstance or performance of a role for someone else.