Gen Z Camp Counselor Is 'Terrified' Of Gen Alpha's Entitlement — 'I Didn't Understand The Severity Of The Brain Rot'
Like many others, she is concerned about the future of Generation Alpha.
Studio Romantic | Shutterstock Every generation complains about the generation that comes after them — it's a tale as old as time. Gen X whined about millennials, millennials complained about Gen Z, and now, Gen Z is sounding alarms about Gen Alpha.
Olivia, a content creator and Gen Z camp counselor, complained in a recent TikTok about the entitlement and stupidity of the children works with, claiming she is "genuinely terrified for this next generation of children."
The Gen Z camp counselor said she's 'terrified' of Gen Alpha's entitlement and stupidity.
“I decided to work at a summer camp this year, and I didn't understand the severity of the brain rot,” Olivia admitted. “Not only is their lingo actually terrifying, but the entitlement and genuine stupidity … is so scary.”
Although she hesitated to call children "stupid," she felt that word was the only accurate descriptor. She recalled working with 12-year-old children who didn't know that there were seven continents and who couldn't spell basic words without asking for help.
As for their entitlement, Olivia insisted that children today cannot handle simple rule changes or being told "no."
"I had a ten-year-old boy breakdown, like throw a literal hissy fit for 30 minutes, over one rule changing in walkie-talkie tag," she recounted.
She then drew attention to the slang that Gen Alpha uses, admitting she had to Urban Dictionary many words while working at the summer camp. For example, while playing a game with the other coaches, some kids began yelling, "Liv sells." After asking one of the camper's what their chant meant, she found out that the kids were saying that she sucked.
However, their slang and stupidity weren't even what Olivia dubbed "the scariest part" of working with Gen Alpha. That would be "watching the girls be so overly consumed about what they look like," she said.
Olivia described a 12-year-old girl who complained every day about being ugly, not having the right skincare products, or forgetting her "Dior lip gloss." And that girl is not alone. Instead of acting like carefree children, many of these young girls who are not yet teenagers are excessively concerned about their appearance and makeup.
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"We have girls that are 10 to 12 years old worrying about what they look like on a day-to-day basis while at summer camp," she said. "There is not a single guy for you to impress at summer camp — you are twelve, let's not worry about men."
"It's just so concerning," she concluded.
Is there real cause for concern, or is the cycle simply repeating itself?
It's likely a bit of both. Every generation is inevitably shocked by the differences between their own and the one that comes after and claims that the next generation is getting out of hand. It wasn't that long ago that millennials were saying stuff like that about Gen Z (and sometimes they still do).
Another factor that may be distorting our view of Gen Alpha is the internet. Videos such as Olivia's throw people into a frenzy, with complaints of the latest generation attracting the most views.
One content creator, Sandra Vasquez, said that she's sick of hearing people complain about Gen Alpha. As someone who worked in childcare, she has had experience dealing with Gen Z as children and claims that Gen Alpha is no worse.
"The only reason these young people think that is because they don't know what it was like to deal with them," she insisted. "You only have a problem with it now because you have to deal with it."
Yet many teachers and experts have expressed concern about Generation Alpha, urging parents to step up.
Every generation has its own slang, and it's natural for older generations to be confused, but that's not a cause for concern. Olivia's unease about kids' entitlement and inability to spell these days are far more valid.
Many teachers have sounded alarms about their students' literacy levels and spelling abilities, with many admitting children today are underperforming in the classroom
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. reading and math scores are the lowest they've been in decades. Factors such as the pandemic, technology use, and new parenting methods have been discussed as the reasons for this unprecedented decline.
Many teachers have also expressed concern about children's behavioral issues in the classroom.
Of course, not every Gen Alpha kid is running wild, and not every parent is at fault. However, if we have teachers with decades of experience saying something is wrong, then something probably is — and parents need to acknowledge that.
"Your children are missing the mark on discipline, they're missing the mark on education standards, they're missing the mark on literacy, they're missing the mark on socialization," Teresa Kaye Newman, an educator and content creator, stressed. "We have a real problem, and some of y'all need to stop making excuses."
"Gen Alpha have been raised to believe that they are grown folks [and] that they can speak to whoever they want, however they want," she continued. "[They were] raised in a world that tells them that it's OK to be as nihilistic and individualistic as possible."
"Most importantly," Newman added, "they are being conditioned to believe that they are immune to consequences. That there are no consequences to their poor behavior, to their rudeness, to their lack of care in completing tasks and doing well in school."
"If you are not ready to admit that there is a problem here, we cannot get anywhere near even talking about the solutions," she concluded.
Ultimately, whether this is par for the course for younger generations or a new issue entirely, parents must actively raise their children and address these issues so that we can ensure the next generation, and every generation after that, has the opportunity to succeed.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.