# News Roundup: Which generation is the most sensitive?

- **Episode:** [166](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/166.md) (2025-01-28)
- **Type:** news-roundup
- **Tags:** news, generations, sensitivity, workplace
- **Time:** 18:25–24:49 (start 1105s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/166?t=1105](https://truthliesandwork.com/166?t=1105)

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[18:25] Leanne Elliott: Which generation is the most sensitive? You're not gonna— you have to read that article, right?
[18:34] Al Elliott: Yes, you have to read the article because in your head you're like, oh yeah, I know, but go on
[18:38] Leanne Elliott: Who is it?
[18:39] Al Elliott: Well, no, you see, I don't know because— no, when you said that initially, I was like, well, it's reported widely that Gen Z is the most sensitive, snowflakey, etc., etc
[18:48] Leanne Elliott: Okay
[18:48] Al Elliott: Um, but that's what's been reported in the news. It's not my opinion
[18:52] Leanne Elliott: Well, well, let's see what— let's see what the psychology opinion is. So this is an article from BBC Science Focus
[18:59] Al Elliott: Ooh
[18:59] Leanne Elliott: And it does, it's a pretty divisive question and it is clickbaity for sure, but equally, there's some really interesting science reported here, so I wanted to share it with you. So, they basically ask, are millennials really snowflakes? Are Gen Z entitled? Or actually, is it boomers that are getting their knickers in a twist about the world around them changing so much? According to neuroscientist Dr. Christian Garrett, Psychology may have the answer. Oh, kind of, really. Um, dare I say it, it might depend. Um, so Dr. Garrett pulled all the research, uh, to find out which generation is the most sensitive. First of all, he quoted a U.S. psychologist, Dr. Jean Twenge. Twenge? I don't know. Dr. Jean. Um, Dr. Jean reckons that millennials— um, if you're not sure, millennials are 1981 to 1996— They take the prize for being the most hypersensitive. She says they're more prone to things like neurotic narcissism and anxiety, thanks to growing up with participation trophies, the rise of individualism, and the early days of the internet. They also entered the workforce during 2008 financial crisis, which really did throw a bit of a spanner in the works in terms of early career. So she suggested that this has made them less equipped to handle criticism. But there is other research that doesn't necessarily back that up. So a big study of US high school students born between 1967 and 2006 found no major differences in traits like egotism or sensitivity across generations. So '76 to 2006, that'll include the Gen Xs, the Millennials, and some Gen Zs as well, quite a lot of Gen Zs. So yeah, so, so no real difference found, um, in that. Um, and then a 2019 study looking at people born between 1923 and 1969, so this is the Silent Generation and the Boomers, suggested it's actually older generations who show more signs of hypersensitivity. Many of them lived through some tough times, including World War II, the war recovery, rigid social norms, big societal changes, which might explain why they sometimes struggle with criticism or rapid change later in life. Al, thoughts? Which generation is the most sensitive?
[21:22] Al Elliott: So, uh, Gen X were the— we complained that we were the original latchkey kids, that our parents weren't home. Um, so we're like, oh, you know, and then maybe we're just crying our eyes out about it. Millennials, they were complaining about helicopter parents and how difficult it is, so they can't get on them on the housing market because of boomers and people like me. I mean, some parts of life for them is much, much easier. And Gen Z, digital natives, I mean, God, we've got AI. If you, if you are now, say, 12 to 14 years old and you just spend a year immersing yourself in AI, you are going to have more skills than all the rest of us generations, older generations put together. So that's my thoughts
[22:00] Leanne Elliott: Yeah, I think that's the trouble, isn't it, is that is that actually, is it really about generations or is it just about age? You know, the Boomers were the rebels who protested for peace and, and, um, invented the Peace Corps. And what else did they do? Lots of, um, environmental-based—
[22:20] Al Elliott: Lots of drugs
[22:20] Leanne Elliott: And lots of, lots of, um, herbs. Um, and then as you said, you had the Gen X who were known as like slackers, like the very Nirvana generation. And then You had millennials who are snowflakes and now Gen Z that are entitled. And what's interesting, there was a study last year that actually found that narcissistic traits, including hypersensitivity, actually decline with age. So actually, while Gen Z might seem more sensitive now, it's really because it's a youth thing than a generation thing. So yeah, I think it is— is it to say these generational labels Aren't useful? No, but I think they can be massively overgeneralized, and we need to be really careful about that
[23:01] Al Elliott: That's great. That's great. Well, there you go. That's the end of the news roundup for this week. Um, after this short break, we're going to be going to Rob Hosking for a hot take. Rob is a former frontline police officer turned motivational TEDx speaker. That's not, that's not the normal route, career route for police officers. And he thinks that being adaptable at work will be the superpower of 2025
[23:39] Al Elliott: And 2 out of 3 of us are devilishly good-looking. And you're not gonna say— wait, Phil, host of Nerdcast. UK's number one marketing podcast. It's brought to you— we need to do this in threes—
[24:34] Al Elliott: It can
[24:42] Leanne Elliott: But come back
[24:43] Al Elliott: Yeah, come back. Definitely come back, because Nudge isn't as good as this, so come back. I'll cut that out. Keep that in