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02/20/2008: "Generational map of decline in American values"

Baby boomers (1946 to 1964)

"The world revolved around us as children. We're the spoiled brats. We had a decadelong temper tantrum beginning in the mid '60s. In the '80s, it was acquire, acquire, acquire. In the 1990s, many of us who'd postponed parenting for careers had children. We're the 'I, I, I, me, me, me' generation. We want to think of ourselves as altruistic, but we always make sure that we take a picture of ourselves standing in front of the house that we helped rebuild."

Gen Xers (1965 to 1980)

"These are the latchkey kids who had to bring themselves up as mothers went off to break the glass ceiling. Over half of this generation come from divorced families and over half from two working parents. They're self-reliant but don't trust others as much. They're great entrepreneurs. You can give them a project, and they'll get it done. But they don't like working in teams. They are more of an angry generation. They see themselves as wedged between entitled boomers and millennials."

Millennials (1981 to present)

"They've been told they were special since the day they were born. Their idea of one-on-one is text-messaging, but they love groups and are great team players. They don't wear watches. They find the time on their cellphones. They never had their own alarm clock. Mama got them up. Nickelodeon, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Pottery Barn for Kids, Gap Kids. For goodness' sake, Las Vegas even went family.

"Parents - both boomers and Gen Xers - thought they could give their kids self-esteem, forgetting that each one of us earns our own self-esteem."

[ Ego-drama makes decline. ]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/DN-Hall_20bus.ART.State.Edition1.399c025.html