OPINION:
America’s Millennials and Generation Z classes — the youth and those under the age of 41 or so — have become so stressed by the frustrations of buying homes that they’re actually breaking into tears.
This is not funny.
It’s hilarious.
“What millennials are most famous for besides narcissism is its effect: entitlement,” as Time wrote back in 2013.
“Millennials and Generation-Z are painted as entitled, self-focused, unmotivated and all-around disappointing,” Forbes wrote in 2019.
There are reasons for that.
And they’re not just anecdotal.
As Time also wrote a few years ago, diagnoses of narcissistic personality disorder are roughly three times as frequent for younger Americans than those over the age of 65. And in a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, 58% of college-age youth scored higher in 2009 on a scale of narcissism than compared to 1982.
It’s the generation of participation trophies.
Too many parents tried to boost their kids’ self-esteem by telling them how great they were based on the simple fact they were born.
Too many children believed that lie — understandable and forgivable.
But then too many children grew passed through the age of reason and entered adulthood never challenging that lie — lazy and arrogant.
Instead of maturing into adulthood and leaving behind the absurd fantasies about their own greatness based on zero accomplishments, these youth only circled each other on social media, reinforcing with each tweet their own illusions of grandeur. They lived in their echo chambers and believed in their bubbles. A little self-reflection might have saved them.
A little truth from a higher power would have helped them.
“In terms of identity, Generation Z is the least religious generation yet,” American Survey Center wrote in March. “More than one-third (34 percent) of Generation Z are religiously unaffiliated.”
Meanwhile, 29 percent of millennials are “religiously unaffiliated,” the survey also found.
Failure to believe in a higher power leaves only belief in self.
No wonder America’s younger generations need fake self-esteem to prop them up and get them through the days: They have no vision of the greatness God implanted within them at birth so they have no idea of the talents they should sow and grow as they journey through life.
Success, to them, goes to the selfie with the greatest number of shares.
They can’t deal with the normal disappointments, frustrations, struggles, challenges, setbacks and defeats — the parts and parcels of normal life — without sinking into despair.
They can’t buy a house without bursting into sobs.
“More than 65% of Gen Z buyers and 61% of millennial buyers cried at least once when going through the process of purchasing their home,” Zillow just reported in a new survey.
Why? What’s going on?
“In today’s low-inventory market, homes are receiving multiple offers and oftentimes selling for over list price; 60% of sellers report getting at least two offers on their home and nearly half of all homes sold in the U.S. in April 2022 went for over the asking price, up from 37% a year ago,” Zillow wrote.
In other words: reality is what’s happening. And today’s youthful Americans can’t deal.
There’s no homebuying participation trophy to make them feel better. Boo. Freaking hoo.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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