I agree with Mac that every generation has its prodigies.

I agree with Kemmrich that changes in technology lead to changes in expectations.

I agree with Mike that Instant coffe is awful.

I agree with Rharv that life has a way of giving us all a reality wakeup call.

<personal rant mode ON>
But what Manning says resonates strongly with me. My son and I have often had this same discussion. (mostly about his friends). Instant gratification has led a much larger portion of his generation to unrealistic expectations about how much effort is required to succeed.

I think the success of reality shows is tied to this in some way. Such shows (survivor, American Idol etc) are all about the fact that you don't win just because you show up. The sheer number of kids who try out for Idol with absolutely NO TALENT, yet still believe they are worthy of national accolade is jaw-dropping to me.

This mentality may be caused by the American school system where everybody gets an A because they don't want to demean anybody's self esteem. But maybe not, if Manning is seeing it in the UK as well.

I actually think that it is possible to get to a point where life DOESN'T necessarily give people a wakeup call... and it would happen when there are enough voters whose expectations are out of synch with reality that they would lobby for the state to support them, fully expecting that they have a right to it.

<personal rant mode OFF>

As a kid,I actually had to get off the old guys lawn and go buy a new whiffle ball. These days they'd probably sue the old man for the ball back plus a million dollars damages for hurting the kids' feelings.
;-)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0