The Folly Of Youthful Vanity!

Just read a rather nasty article in Cosmopolitan magazine concerning the types of people to 'avoid' should a young woman venture abroad. Has it really come to this? Are we so fragile a species now that we're unable to converse with and be accepting of diversity, whether that be age, race or gender? Do young people have such poor social skills and such an impaired grasp of other people's lives that it's better to ignore those whom we can't relate to rather than enlightening ourselves by engaging with those who aren't from our particular cosy, cosseted demographic?

It galls me, the grotesque sense of self-entitlement and sneering, covert prejudice this current 'Selfie' culture promotes. Far from being inclusive, all embracing and friendly, young people in particular, now actively exclude those whom they believe are inferior to them. Usually because they don't meet their particular criteria in terms of savviness and prettiness that would undoubtedly bolster their fragile egos.

Appearances mean everything these days. You can have the personality of Ed Gein but if you have a mug like Kylie Jenner, you've basically won the lottery of life. Social Media smugness has never been so rampant. You've only to clock the profile picture of someone to know whether you'd have them as a Facebook friend or not. Shameless and shameful showboating on Instagram takes narcissism to an entirely new level. Those of us who aren't able to swish our long hair around, arm in arm with our own personal 'Girl Squad' as we saunter through Tesco, don't get a second look. Least of all if we can't boast and brag about the expensive clothes we've recently bought or the meal we've just eaten.

It's arrogance of the most pervasive kind! Unless you're part of the 'In' crowd then you cease to exist. It's the 'Mean Girls' society coming to fruition.

We've come such a long way haven't we?