Helicopter Parenting: The Birthplace Of Campus Crybabies
(And crybullies.)

Terri Murray writes at Spiked:

So who is to blame for generation snowflake, in all its victimhood-seeking, offence-taking inglory? [Claire] Fox fingers us, its elders. We have socialised these youngsters in a culture of health and safety, in which we catastrophise life's challenges and obsess about health scares and child protection. And it's this overprotection of children, their immersion in our risk-averse culture, in which we now see threats and suspect abuse everywhere, argues Fox, that has blurred the line between physical and psychological harm.

Until very recently, liberals followed 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill's definition of 'mental harm'. He defined it as anything that impairs an individual's development, for example, depriving children of an education. He also understood harm as something that happens against our will.

For Mill, then, offensive words or sentiments would not have qualified as causes of 'mental harm'. For example, when we find someone offensive we can avoid them and continue our lives unimpaired. As for today's claim that we are harmed by the mere existence of people who live in ways of which we disapprove, Mill's response is that not being offended is less important than not being physically injured, detained, or criminally deceived. Fox urges her readers to get back to this more robust understanding of harm - a definition that leaves room for legitimate parental discipline and proper academic pressure.

But there are considerable obstacles barring a return to this definition of harm. Children's charities and NGOs are constantly broadening definitions of abuse, actively encouraging children to deem as abusive, 'being pressurised or manipulated into making decisions', or being 'pushed too hard'. Widening the scope of bullying, and therefore victimhood, to include everything from 'spreading rumours' to 'just being ignored' creates an environment in which kids are discouraged from developing coping mechanisms, and are taught to seek psychological 'support' when faced with any challenge or criticism.

So, instead of helping young people to put unpleasant experiences into perspective, we have been encouraging children to over-react, to become traumatised by minor slights. It is no wonder that young people now head off to college, obsessed with their psychological wellbeing, and conscious of themselves as vulnerable and victimised. As Fox writes, we have pathologised what were once considered basic experiences of student life, from being broke, to staying up all night to get an essay finished. Disappointment, stress and frustration are no longer integral parts of life, of growing up; they're sources of mental distress and illness.

Just call the "The Unhireable Generation."

If you're looking for employees, and would have focused on people starting out, I highly recommend the accidental wonderfulness I've experienced by hiring two people who were starting over (my previous assistant [30s] and my current one, whom I love to pieces [40s]).

This isn't to say there are no millennials worth hiring. That would be idiotic.

For example, I follow this great girl on Twitter, a Columbia student named @Toni_Airaksinen. Smart, thinking, opinionated, and strong, and sees beyond herself and her own needs (click on the link).

Unfortunately, in my experience, she's kind of rare these days.