Kids These Days...

Each year Beloit College publishes a "Mindset List" that show us old fogies the differences between the youth world and our world. As its website describes it:

This is the 11th year that Beloit College has assembled these observations that help to identify the experiences that have shaped the lives–-and formed the mindset—of students starting their post-secondary education this fall.

The Mindset List is not a chronological listing of things that happened in 1990, the year they were born. It is instead an effort to identify the worldview of 18 year-olds in the fall of 2008. Of course, our students come from many backgrounds and different traditions and these generalizations may not apply to all. The list identifies the experiences and event horizons of students and is not meant to reflect on their preparatory education.

It is also not deliberately designed to make readers feel really old!

I chose a few facts about the graduating class of 2009 that surprised me.

1. Boston has been working on the "The Big Dig" all their lives.
2. Pay-Per-View television has always been an option.
3. Iran and Iraq have never been at war with each other.
4. Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have never preached on television.
5. Money put in their savings account the year they were born earned almost 7% interest.
6. They never saw the shuttle Challenger fly.
7. Digital cameras have always existed.
8. Tom Landry never coached the Cowboys.
9. CNBC has always been on the air.

Find more here.