Apocryphal or not, I love the idea that Plato carried a sentiment about the younger generation that we hold today. The next time you are thinking, “the kids these days are so….” remember that that may not be as unique an observation as you assume.
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato, according to William L. Patty and Louise S. Johnson, Personality and Adjustment, p. 277 (1953).
Below, I have made my own version of this sentiment updated into the current language.
Patty& Johnson Mullooly
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The children now love luxury;
they have bad manners,
contempt for authority;
they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.
Children are now tyrants,
not the servants of their households.
They no longer rise when elders enter the room.
They contradict their parents,
chatter before company,
gobble up dainties at the table,
cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
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Kids these days are self-indulgent;
they have bad manners,
contempt for authority;
they show disrespect for elders and love gossip in stead of work.
The kids these days are self absorbed, not members of their households.
They are rube to adults.
They contradict their parents,
openly gossip before company,
eat like pigs at the table,
slouch in their seats,
and disobey their teachers.
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TheAnthroGeek 
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