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"Millennials have been stereotyped as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and developmentally delayed. In fact, they are the hardest working and most educated generation in American history, a generation that poured unprecedented amounts of time and money into preparing themselves for the 21st century market. Yet here they are: poorer, more medicated, more precariously employed, and with less of a social safety net than their parents or even their grandparents. To find out why, Malcolm Harris, himself a Millennial, decided to conduct a meticulous, data driven analysis of the cultural, technological, and (especially) economic forces over the past 40 years that have shaped Millennial lives. What he discovered, and the sense he made of it, will change how you see yourself, your country, and our future - whether you're a Millennial or not. Examining broad trends like the professionalization of childhood, runaway student debt, the rise of the intern, mass incarceration, social media, and more, Kids These Days charts the rise of an American ethos so normalized that we forget to notice it: the treatment of children as investments, and he dares us to confront the consequences when those children grow up. Gripping, mercilessly argued, and deeply informed, Kids These Days is essential reading, not only for Millennials but for anyone ready to take a hard look at how we got here and where we're headed if we don't change course fast"--]cProvided by publisher.
About the author
Malcolm Harris is a freelance writer and an editor at the
New Inquiry. His work has appeared in the
New Republic,
Bookforum, the
Village Voice,
n+1, and the
New York Times Magazine. He lives in Philadelphia.
Summary
In Kids These Days, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets real about why the Millennial generation has been wrongly stereotyped, and dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up.
Millennials have been stereotyped as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and immature. We've gotten so used to sloppy generational analysis filled with dumb clichés about young people that we've lost sight of what really unites Millennials. Namely:
We are the most educated and hardworking generation in American history. We poured historic and insane amounts of time and money into preparing ourselves for the 21st-century labor market. We have been taught to consider working for free (homework, internships) a privilege for our own benefit. We are poorer, more medicated, and more precariously employed than our parents, grandparents, even our great grandparents, with less of a social safety net to boot.
Kids These Days is about why. In brilliant, crackling prose, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets mercilessly real about our maligned birth cohort. Examining trends like runaway student debt, the rise of the intern, mass incarceration, social media, and more, Harris gives us a portrait of what it means to be young in America today that will wake you up and piss you off.
Millennials were the first generation raised explicitly as investments, Harris argues, and in
Kids These Days he dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up.
Foreword
A Millennial's groundbreaking investigation into why his generation, the most educated in American history, is economically worse off than their parents, challenging popular stereotypes and creating a radical and devastating picture of what it means to be young in America.
Additional text
Kids These Days is the best, most comprehensive work of social and economic analysis about our benighted generation. Malcolm Harris matches Naomi Klein for depth of research and Jane Jacobs for systemic vision. If you're a millennial who feels economically jinxed and unfairly spat-upon, but can't say why, cram this book in your brain; if you think millennials are lazy and entitled, cram this book in your mouth. Fascinating, infuriating, and bulging with receipts, Kids These Days shows us why no space is safe.
