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But they are really different, though. I always joke that when I was a kid, being sent to your room was a punishment, nowadays, it’s a reward. Pretty much every Gen Z kid I know has no desire to get a driver’s license. They don’t want the independence or responsibility. My friends who teach on the university level tell me that their undergrads struggle with the basics of being an independent adult. 

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No?

Things do change, and I do think the problems are different. But that doesn't mean the current generation Z and Alpha kids are better or worse than previous generations. I highly recommend Jean Twenge (https://www.jeantwenge.com/) who has studied generation difference for years, and her book Generations is one of my favorite books ever!

I even did an in-service, largely inspired by her work, on teaching gen Z and alpha.

And yes, the biggest change is technology....with every generation. Teens today grew up with smartphones, as people my age were the first kids to grow up with a television. Kids being born today (gen Beta) are going to grow up with AI. The tech gets more extreme.

We gen Xers were the kids who raised ourselves, whereas "helicopter parenting" has been around for decades now.

driver’s license.

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I teach Driver's Ed as a second job. Yes, fewer Gen Z kids get their licenses as early as previous generations did. There are many reasons.

One is living life slower than previous generations. Younger adults now aren't in a hurry to graduate, get a career, get married, have kids, etc. They figure they have time and don't need to rush.

Younger generations are more dependent on parents and don't mind not having the freedom of driving.

More people live in big cities and have more public transit choices.

Finally, in my state, the cost of driving starts with the cost of Driver's Ed. Many families can't afford the lessons. Public schools long ago abandoned Driver's Ed due to costs. The state is trying now to give more teens scholarships to take the classes, but that only helps a few. And. of course, many can't afford a car anyway so they don't see the point.

To give you an anecdotal example: I live in one of the most expensive cities in North America. It’s true that I “left home” at 24, but I moved straight in with my girlfriend and her family in Toronto, and we lived with them until we were able to afford to buy a home, four years after we married. We were 30. This was a year after I started teaching, and my wife had amassed a decent savings, with a helping hand from an inheritance. Within two years of purchase, our property value had more than doubled, meaning that if we hadn’t bought our home at 30, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy it at 32, even though we were both making a good living as teachers. And it’s only continued to go up, though it’s plateaued the last few years. 

But I acknowledge that my story is unusual. For starters, my wife came from an upper middle class family, avoided college debt, and accrued a respectable high five figure savings account. Oh, and she inherent five figures from her grandmother, the widow of a judge and former Member of Parliament, in her early 20’s on top of her savings. The vast majority of the kids we’re talking about grew up with families in debt. 

I will acknowledge one point about how kids have changed: since the pandemic, more kids seem to be delayed in their progress through emotional maturity. Kids act like kids for longer, and seem to be in less of a hurry to grow up. There are exceptions to that, though. But the ones who act in a hurry tend to have home lives that necessitate they do. It’s sad. Anyway, as a dad of a 12-year-old boy who remains loving and incredibly affectionate, I’m ok with that. I’m going to be so sad when that changes in him.