Originally Posted by
KnightErrant
This is so spot on!
Just like every class of wise, cultured 15-year-old high school sophomores inevitably looks at the incoming class of obnoxious clueless 14-year-old freshmen and says "I know WE weren't like that", like clockwork every older generation believes the new one is soft and unprepared for the "real world." Personally, I think this is a product of judging our own generation based on ourselves and our friends, while judging the other generations by the worst examples we witness, whether in person or in the media. That's how you assume millennials are all snowflakes who blow all their money on avocado toast, and Gen Z are all phone-addicted zombie children who eat Tide Pods for "likes". Nah. In reality, there are smart, dedicated individuals and lazy idiots in every generation.
I mean, yes, society is constantly changing and facing different problems, and now obesity is an issue of more humans being literally softer, but I think it's appropriate to blame that on society becoming more sedentary and unhealthy food being more available and economical than healthy food, rather than acting like it's some kind of moral failing on the part of lazy young people.
As for a soft society reducing thru-hike completion rates, my registration number at Katahdin Stream compared to HF and Amicalola would suggest that this year, completion rates were quite high, even with all the rain.