Trivial Pursuits: Patronizing "Young People"

I fully admit that I am someone who will occasionally yell at the computer, newspaper, or whatever book I happen to be reading when I come across something that bothers me. Today I read something that just about sent me into orbit. In the interest of not accidentally starting an internet war, I will not mention the website by name (although those of you who are working on the Digital Collections assignment in 501 might be able to figure it out). The site in question was a resource guide for teens on a variety of subjects. While it had some fairly significant issues, the part that really floored me was the following line from their user submission page:

“We couldn’t figure young people out…then we had a brainstorm: STOP TRYING! Instead, we’ll give you a theme, a space to write, the promise to post your moderately relevant responses and see what happens.”

?!?!??!?

Would you ever dream of saying something like that to an adult? Let’s try it. Replace the word “young people” with “the elderly” or “middle aged people” or “parents” or “baby boomers.” When you put it in that context, it seems kind of rude, right? But it’s not just the context: it’s just rude! This statement trivializes an individual’s needs, desires, likes and dislikes, and human qualities based on the fact that the person saying it “doesn’t get it.” You don’t have to “get it” in order to be an effective youth services librarian—you have to embrace and respect it in order to be an effective youth services librarian.

And “young people”? Really? Can we pick something a little less patronizing?

There are other things that bothered me, but it’s getting late and I’ve already expended way too much energy getting worked up about this. I’d also love to hear what other people think about this. Leave a comment and let me know.