Contemporary (2000 or newer) or Historical (pre-1990) Quiz

They are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances.

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Aristotle, 4th Century BC

“The beardless youth… does not foresee what is useful, squandering [their] money.”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Horace, 1st Century BC

“Modern fashions seem to keep on growing more and more [perverted] … The ordinary spoken language has also steadily [declined]."

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Essays in Idleness, Yoshida Kenkō, 1330 – 1332

“The free access which many young people have to romances, novels, and plays has poisoned the mind and corrupted the morals of many a promising youth…”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family, Reverend Enos Hitchcock1790

“We defy anyone who goes about with his eyes open to deny that there is, as never before, an attitude on the part of young folk which is best described as grossly thoughtless, rude, and utterly selfish.”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

The Conduct of Young People, Hull Daily Mail 1925

“The traditional yearning for a [kind and caring] employer who can provide a job for life also seems to be on the wane… In particular, they want to avoid ‘low-level jobs that aren’t keeping them intellectually challenged.’”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Meet Generation X, Financial Times 1995

“They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder. They have few heroes, no anthems, no style to call their own. They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial.”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Proceeding with Caution, Time 2001

“[They] are lazy and think basic tasks are beneath them.”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

A generation with a huge sense of entitlement, Daily Mail, 2017

“They’re out-of-touch hipsters who spend too much on coffee and too little on facial hair care. Many are spoiled, entitled, or both.”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

A Boss’s Guide to Managing Bratty Millennials, Momzette, 2016

“My huge generalities touch on… their insistence that they are right despite the overwhelming proof that suggests they are not…”

• Contemporary

• Historical

Answer explanation

Bret Easton Ellis in ‘Generation Wuss’, Vanity Fair, 2014