Kids These Days

Human Capital and the Making of Millennials

By: Malcolm Harris

Narrated by: Will Collyer

In Kids These Days, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets real about why the Millennial generation has been wrongly stereotyped, and dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up.
Millennials have been stereotyped as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and immature. We've gotten so used to sloppy generational analysis filled with dumb clichés about young people that we've lost sight of what really unites Millennials. Namely:

We are the most educated and hardworking generation in American history. We poured historic and insane amounts of time and money into preparing ourselves for the 21st-century labor market. We have been taught to consider working for free (homework, internships) a privilege for our own benefit. We are poorer, more medicated, and more precariously employed than our parents, grandparents, even our great grandparents, with less of a social safety net to boot.

Kids These Days is about why. In brilliant, crackling prose, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets mercilessly real about our maligned birth cohort. Examining trends like runaway student debt, the rise of the intern, mass incarceration, social media, and more, Harris gives us a portrait of what it means to be young in America today that will wake you up and piss you off.

Millennials were the first generation raised explicitly as investments, Harris argues, and in Kids These Days he dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up.

Critic reviews

"A landmark...Harris is a peerless observer of the harrowing economic costs of 'meritocracy'."—n+1

"Malcolm Harris offers up an exciting, persuasive argument that young people are not, in fact, monsters. An excellent gift for NPR-listening elders who appreciate a good debate and could use a little sympathy for the millennial."—New York Magazine

"The first major accounting of the millennial generation written by someone who belongs to it."—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker

"When will someone stick up for millennials? We have been sheltered by our parents, swindled by our universities, deadened by our therapists, and for all this our reward has been glib condescension from the boomer press. Rising to our defense is Harris, a familiar provocateur from the internet's left flank. Harris contends that America has stiffed our generation...He brings a fresh, contrarian eye to some of the usual data points...As generational advocates go, we could do worse than Harris."—New York Times Book Review

"Malcolm Harris's thesis is the kind of brilliantly simple idea that instantly clarifies an entire area of culture: Millennials are the way they are-anxious, harried, and 'narcissistically' self-focused, though hardly lazy or entitled-because the neoliberal economy has made them so. When we raise children in a world that reduces people to 'human capital', then bids down the price of that resource, what else should we expect? Kids These Days is deft, witty, unillusioned, and brutally frank. Read it and weep, puke, scream."—WilliamDeresiewicz, New York Times bestselling author of Excellent Sheep

"Kids These Days is the best, most comprehensive work of social and economic analysis about our benighted generation. Malcolm Harris matches Naomi Klein for depth of research and Jane Jacobs for systemic vision. If you're a millennial who feels economically jinxed and unfairly spat-upon, but can't say why, cram this book in your brain; if you think millennials are lazy and entitled, cram this book in your mouth. Fascinating, infuriating, and bulging with receipts, Kids These Days shows us why no space is safe."—Tony Tulathimutte,author of Private Citizens

"This fiercely smart book is not just another 'millennials killed chain restaurants' kind of thing. Instead, Harris dives deep into the ways that the millennial generation has been shaped by the capitalist economic forces at work now in America. . . It's a must read for anyone who cares about the future of our society."—Nylon

Interesting read and take on millennial.

The author makes some interesting connections and conclusions, not all of which use a complete set of data. Interesting perspective worth reading.

A Mixed Bag

The book serves as more of a commentary of modern society than a real exploration into Millennial culture and norms. It is still an engaging read (or listen, as it were) but it also falls prey to most of the sociology classes I took in college which is that it is highly critical of society and the methods we might try to use to fix the problems and inequalities but offers no insight in how we might actually set about making change. The book literally pokes holes in all methods of change and then implores our generation to act...but doesn't offer us even a first step on the path of a better tomorrow. That's not to say the criticisms are wrong it just gives us nothing to actually go on.

The narrator is awesome. Will Collyer definitely imparts a sense of irony and even sarcasm into the writing that made this an enjoyable listen.

The voice of a generation

This book nails it. We’re in a crisis and just trying to tread water. This book elucidates it all.

An in-depth look at millennials

This book does a great job reviewing the childhood, teen years and young adulthood for millennials. The authors voice makes the concepts approachable. I never once felt lost even though there were a few times there were ideas being covered I’m not familiar with. I also respect how the book was ended. Overall I am thankful I read it and I wish more people in power or their staff would read it.

So informative!!

Great book!! I think more people should read. It gave a good understanding of our issues and concerns.