they come from increasingly broken homes and distant parents who aren't teaching them basic life skills.
I think this is part of it though too, right? The broken homes are caused by something, perhaps it is a lack of social ability and maturity.
They're also entering a job market that treats them like garbage,
At least in Finland and much of Europe, the conditions are pretty good. Better than the past. The difference is that when kids go home from work today, all they have is ways to entertain themselves. In the past people had responsibilities that mattered to them.
Hell, I was still able to pay for community college tuition from a summer job.
Yep. I paid my university working at McDonald's. Also took on a mortgage at 18 with it.
Now, people have debt but no prospects.
In Finland, people have debt, but education is free, including university. Though, not all degrees are going to lead to a job. A lot of what people choose to do are pretty pointless, and that was well before AI came into the picture.
Many of their complaints are very valid, and lumping it all together as childish whinging is not cool.
The complaints are valid in one respect, but what do you think the solution is? Is it appealing to an authority to fix it? Is it sitting down for more Netflix and playstation? Is it expecting workplaces to change all of the work they do to fit in with a schedule of a twenty year old too afraid to answer the phone and can't be somewhere on time?
Their real estate makes them feel comfortably wealthy, and they can't see the disconnect.
But, this is again only looking at the economic aspect of it, without remembering that money doesn't buy happiness. They do have a better quality of life, but is it only due to money? That is my point here, because I don't think so. My dad died poor, with pretty much nothing. But he was pretty happy. At the age of seven, he also saw his best friend have his head cut off with a sword, along with the rest of his friend's family. Perhaps he had some perspective?