Generation Snowflake

Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a term referring to the young adults of the 2010s, who are perceived as more prone to taking offense and less resilient than previous generations. Collins Dictionary describes the term as informal and derogatory^[1] and it is often associated with criticism of safe spaces and trigger warnings in academic settings.^[2][3][4][5] The term has also been used to refer to Millennials.^[2][3][6][7] Sources attribute the characteristics ascribed to Generation Snowflake to parenting methods, particularly those that focus on boosting self-esteem.^[5][3]

Background

The term originated in the United States, a reference to parents reportedly raising their children as "special" and "precious" snowflakes.^[8][7][9] Rebecca Nicholson, writing for The Guardian writes "a much-memed line from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club expresses a very early version of the sentiment" with the line “You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.”^[10]

In 2015, libertarian writer Claire Fox used the term in her book I Find That Offensive, in reference to a confrontation between university students shown on a viral video and Yale faculty head, Nicholas Christakis.^[11][5] The confrontation arose after Christakis' wife, Erika Christakis, a lecturer at the university, had suggested students should "relax a bit rather than labeling fancy dress Halloween costumes as culturally insensitive".^[11] Fox described the video showing the students' reaction as a "screaming, almost hysterical mob of students".^[11] Fox said the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.^[11]

The term "snowflake generation" was one of Collins Dictionary's 2016 words of the year, with Collins defining the term as: "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".^[12][1][13]

Characteristics

According to Claire Fox, Generation Snowflake members "are genuinely distressed by ideas that run contrary to their worldview"; they are more likely than previous generations of students to report that they have mental health problems.^[5] A UK Higher Education Policy Institute survey of university students in 2016 "found that 76% would ban speakers who had views that offended them, while half (48%) wanted universities to be declared safe spaces where debate can only take place within strict rules".^[4] Fox and journalist Bryony Gordon described these traits as being coupled with a strong sense of entitlement.^[3][5]

After University of Oxford law school implemented trigger warnings in 2016, with the purpose of alerting law students of "potentially distressing subject matter such as criminal cases involving rape and murder", GQ writer Eleanor Halls described this as related to Generation Snowflake saying: "How are these lawyers going to do their jobs? Are they going to turn down important cases if they broach the topic of rape and murder?"^[2]

Conservative political commentator Michelle Malkin argued the provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring employer-based health coverage to extend to adult children up to 26 years of age is related to Generation Snowflake, arguing that the mandate has "cultural consequences" via "reducing the incentives for 20-somethings to grow up and seek independent lives and livelihoods".^[14]

Fox argues that Generation Snowflake was created by over-protecting people when they were children and she argued the emphasis on self-esteem in childhood resulted in adults "tiptoeing around children's sensitivities" to avoid "damaging their wellbeing".^[5] In the UK, Tom Bennett was recruited by the government to address behaviour in schools.^[15] He commented that Generation Snowflake children at school can be over-protected, leading to problems when they progress to university and are confronted with "the harsher realities of life".^[15] Bennet argues being sheltered from conflict as children can lead to university students who react with intolerance towards people and things that they believe may offend someone or toward people who have differing political opinions, leading to a phenomenon called "no-platforming", where speakers on controversial topics such as abortion or atheism are prohibited from speaking on a university campus.^[15]

The negative connotations of the term Generation Snowflake have been criticized for having been applied too widely: Bennett also commented that "It's true that our children have never had it so good.... It's true that, for some of these children, losing fast wi-fi is a crisis and being offended on the internet is a disaster.... But then I remember the other ones, and I reckon they all balance each other out."^[16]

Jessica Roy, writing for the Los Angeles Times, says the "alt-right" describes those protesting Donald Trump as "snowflakes", using the term as a pejorative.^[17] Richard Brooks wrote in The Daily Telegraph that "students have always been instrumental in turning the tide of public opinion",^[18] and Mark Kingwell, philosophy professor at University of Toronto has objected to the use of the term to characterize political protesting as "whining", in response to protests by Millennials following Donald Trump's election as president of the United States.^[6]

Generation Snowflake characteristics have been discussed in relation to the skills required by entrepreneurs, with the suggestion that early risk-taking may be linked to later enterprise and innovation.^[19]

In November 2016 British website The Daily Mash ran a satirical piece on the term "special snowflake" in which "a man is wrongly using the term ‘special snowflake’ to refer to anyone who does not share his mean-spirited opinions."^[20]

See also

• Political correctness

References

Further reading

• "Generation Screwed or Generation Snowflake? Britain's young are doing better than many think". The Economist. London. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.