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Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a pejorative term referring to the young adults of the 2010s, who are perceived as more prone to taking offense and less resilient than previous generations. The term has been described as a "disparaging moniker" and is associated with criticism of safe spaces and trigger warnings in academic settings. The term has also been used to refer to Millennials. Related terms include "special snowflake syndrome", "special snowflake" and simply "snowflake". Sources attribute the characteristics ascribed to Generation Snowflake to parenting methods, particularly those that focus on boosting self-esteem.

Background

The term originated in the United States, a reference to parents reportedly raising their children as "special" and "precious" snowflakes. A possible origin for the term is Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel Fight Club and the 1999 movie of the same name, which included the quote

"You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all a part of the same compost pile."

Author Claire Fox used the term in 2015, in reaction to a confrontation between university students shown on a viral video and Yale faculty head, Nicholas Christakis. 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". Fox described the video showing the students' reaction as a "screaming, almost hysterical mob of students". Fox said the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.

The term "snowflake generation" was one of Collins Dictionary's 2016 words of the year. Colins defines the term as: "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".

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. 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." Fox and journalist Bryony Gordon described these traits as being coupled with a strong sense of entitlement.

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?"

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". In the UK, Tom Bennett was recruited by the government to address behaviour in schools. 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". 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 phenomena called "no-platforming", where speakers on controversial topics such as abortion or atheism are prohibited from speaking on a university campus.

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."

Jessica Roy, writing for the LA Times says the alt-right describes those protesting Donald Trump as "snowflakes", using the term as a pejorative. Richard Brooks wrote in The Daily Telegraph that "students have always been instrumental in turning the tide of public opinion", 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.

Generation Snowflake characteristics have been discussed in relation to the skills required by entrepreneurs.

See also

• Political correctness
• The Great Indoors

References

1. ^ "Top 10 Collins Words of the Year 2016". Collins English Dictionary. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
2. "Definition of snowflake generation". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
3. ^ Fox, Claire (2016). 'I Find That Offensive!'. London: Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-849-54981-3.
4. ^ Halls, Eleanor (12 May 2016). "Millennials. Stop being offended by, like, literally everything". GQ. New York. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
5. ^ Gordon, Bryony (8 April 2016). "I feel sorry for the poor ickle millennials". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
6. ^ Meredith, Fionola (27 May 2016). "Precious little snowflakes we call students are taught to be weaklings from a very early age". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
7. ^ Fox, Claire (4 June 2016). "Generation Snowflake: how we train our kids to be censorious cry-babies". The Spectator. London. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
8. ^ Kingwell, Mark (17 November 2016). "Generation Snowflake? Not the millennials I know". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
9. ^ Rumbelow, Helen (9 November 2016). "Generation snowflake: Why millenials are mocked for being too delicate". The Australian. Surry Hills. Retrieved 15 November 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
10. North, Anna (25 July 2014). "Are Trophies Really So Bad?". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
11. Rumbelow, Helen (8 November 2016). "Welcome to the sensitive Snowflake Generation: They're mocked as too delicate, but are they just misunderstood?". The Times. London. Retrieved 18 November 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
12. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, ch 17, Henry Holt and Company, 1996
13. "Do You Know What Jomo Is?". BBC News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
14. ^ Espinoza, Javier (19 February 2016). "Expose children to extremist views early on to prepare them for university, says expert". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
15. Bennett, Tom (20 November 2015). "For every flaky child we have one with real guts". TES. London. Retrieved 18 November 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
16. Jessica Roy, 'Cuck,' 'snowflake,' 'masculinist': A guide to the language of the 'alt-right', November 16, 2016
17. Brooks, Richard (14 November 2016). "In defence of generation snowflake- everyone's favourite punching bag". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
18. Brazier, Colin (25 July 2016). "The economic risks of raising Generation Snowflake". CapX. London. Retrieved 18 November 2016.

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.

• Cultural generations
• Social justice
• Political correctness
• Words coined in the 2010s