They don't call, they text. In fact, they don't even text - they Snapchat. The older we get, the harder it is to relate to the fresh-faced youth being shipped off to college this month.
To get some perspective on how the class of 2020 sees the world - keep in mind, these kids were born in 1998 - we looked to Beloit College's "mindset list" of cultural touchstones that are meant to help professors (and other old people) understand students.
For this year's freshmen, "Sex and the City" has always been on TV (mostly in reruns), and they've never seen a billboard advertising cigarettes.
The list is updated annually, and we combed through this year's to pull out some of the more poignant pointers. The full list can be found here, and is worth a read on its own. Take a look below to know what the world looks like to your next batch of interns - or your kids.
In their lifetime:
- eBay has always existed.
- Vladimir Putin has always been calling the shots at the Kremlin.
- Cloning has always been a mundane lab procedure.
- The United States has always been at war.
- Euros have always been the coin of the realm... Well, at least part of the realm.
- They have never had to watch or listen to programs at a scheduled time.
- They disagree with their parents as to which was the "first" Star Wars episode.
- Exxon and Mobil have been one company - and it doesn't own any gas stations.
- A Bush and a Clinton have always been campaigning for something big.
- Snowboarding has always been an Olympic sport.
- While chads were hanging in Florida, they were potty training in all 50 states.
- John Elway and Wayne Gretzky have always been retired.
- Airline tickets have always been purchased online.
- There have always been iMacs on desks.