A Jarring Chat on The Entitlement Era and A Huge Lack in Self-Awareness… i.e. An Average Day

Each week I feel like there’s an event that truly makes me question things in view of us as a society. This week it came during an evening class and I cannot move forward without exploring it’s theme deeper. I tweeted about this to my new Twitter account so I’ll just use that snapshot to describe the event in the shortest amount of characters:

The entitlement era, as I call it

I’ve decided to aptly name the space that we’re in as a society, “the entitlement era”. And yes, I hate it so much that it’s doesn’t even get capital letters or italics. Quotations, bare minimum.

This era is manifesting itself in plenty of people going further than wanting things that they haven’t worked for, but instead feeling like they should simply have it just because they want it. It also includes that added dime-sized amount of delusion that has people stealing valuable time to talk about obtaining a position that people have to prepare years to get.

It’s not just this instance! It’s so much more. I used to follow a natural hair girly on YouTube because she also had type 4 hair. One day she’s making a “day in the life” video and is capturing photos outside of a corporate office during working hours. Security comes up and kindly asks her to stop and move away from the building. She tells him, on video mind you (no shame), “oh but I’m an influencer”.

It was at that moment that I unfollowed that child and never looked back. Not only did this “title” go to your head but that inflated sense of self and entitlement went to your head too and it’s ugly on everyone! Not just you. But that is where we are as a society. In your minds, you’re so above rules, protocol, hard work, and earning things and it’s quite odd to me. When did that become cute? When did riding on someone else’s coattails become the standard? And when did that become desirable?

The fallout for the hard-workers

I always talk about how the rules of life changed just as I was old enough to start applying my skills to the game. And they truly have.

Wherein life used to be about working hard and earning your keep, someone broadcasted that they got an easy “in” and the rest of the world wanted that same thing. This is why you can’t go anywhere without being accosted by someone else’s iPhone — they’re always looking to be the next viral sensation that’ll give them enough attention to skirt the hard work requirement. It also why everyone is walking around looking exactly the same — same outfits, same body types, same faces, same hairstyles.

So, where do the originals go? Where do the hard-workers go after being pushed to the side for someone completely unqualified? Where do they go?

Why does this cause such an uproar within my being?

This level of entitlement disproportionately affects those who are still in the game of working hard and having their work speak for them. They are losing out to those who are willing to yell with far less skills and experiences under their belts. I’m not saying that these people don’t have a place, but a lot of time it should be at the back of the line because the same way they ran from hard work to get there, they’re going to run from hard work while working there and the customers (where applicable) will suffer.

It’s similar to what’s happening in the entertainment industry. While some are having success finding talents via outlets like Tiktok and Instagram, others are suffering because people are entering spheres that they don’t belong in, aren’t ready for, or strive to change significantly because can’t keep up with what’s truly required to be in that field. It’s truly unfair to those who have put in the work for years to get to where they are to then ben pushed to the back for what’s currently “new and hot” which’ll honestly change within the same week.

The constant here is always going to be change. We must always grow, change and adapt, but you will never get me to “adapt” to bad behavior instead of you growing out of it. We, as a society, shouldn’t be requesting change of the people who simply don’t want to deal with constant entitlement and the rudeness and delusion that comes with it.

All I ever mean to say in these rant-like posts is: “do better”.

Best,
Bree 🤎

Note:
The audio clip above makes reference to a Let’s Be Breef Podcast… Stay tuned… 😌