Why are we jaded?

I am a member of a generation that has gotten a pretty impressive amount of attention for its lack of enthusiasm, sarcasm, frustration, and crossed-arm stance toward pretty much everything that crosses its path. I was pondering the reason behind this on the way to work, and after a short walk had accumulated a pretty hefty list of causes for an entire age group to be overwhelmingly more jaded than the previous one.

I should start off by mentioning that i didn't start the morning with the question "why do I have a chip on my shoulder about the world?" but rather the question "Is there any way I could get a job at Google?" (the answer is no.) I like Google as a corporation, and I realized it's because their image promotion is directed squarely at people like me. Google is popular among recent college grads who are broke, can't find entry-level employment, can't afford housing, and honestly can't afford anything even resembling a luxury item. They're grumpy that there's heaps of new technology and gadgets and shiny objects in the world that they can't have.

Google, of course, offers the bulk of its products and services to the public free of charge. The only snag is that they post an unobtrusive list of ads everywhere you go, which most people have learned to ignore. Most of the time ads piss us off--the pop-ups that resist every blocker, the flashy obnoxious ones that induce seizures, the "you're the ten-millionth visitor" banners that mislead children and the elderly--indeed, internet-based advertising has done nothing to improve anyone's sales since its inception. But Google's ads are polite. Discrete. Apologetic, even, as though they begrudgingly post them as a means of paying the bills so they can offer you, the impoverished techno-geek, their cool programs for free. As though they want you to believe that they're philanthropists slaving for the public good and wanting nothing in return.

Which explains, of course, why Google is a massive, multi-billion dollar company. The whole image is a complete sham, but it works wonders on the jaded mind. See, poor people like folks who give away things for free. Unfortunately, though, the new generation of educated poor people expect there to be a catch, so we're reluctant to take that which is given to us. We expect the ads, the sermons, the viruses, the pickpockets, and the fine print that go along with free things. People don't give things away for free unless they expect a mighty return on the investment.

So what Google does, then, is put up the ads and plainly say "we know you're expecting a catch, and that's it. right there. Money doesn't grow on trees." They give you the illusion of showing all their cards. But oho! Turns out the last card in their hand is the one they've convinced us we don't want to see. That, of course, being that Google is an advertising company. They turn a very sweet profit off of their discrete advertisements. And they do it through trust. A Gmail user understands the agreement of ads for free products, and assumes Google is out there for them. They logically can conclude, then, that any company Google would be willing to do business with is staffed with nice people too, and, just as a favor to the generous free-stuff provider, folks click the ads occasionally. To show their support for what's going on. Well, naturally, those clicks add up and Google's clients pay up. Everybody gets what they want, especially Google.

Similar arrangements can be seen on any Comedy Central webpage, where the words "Payin' the bills" are scrawled over the ad banners. Its an apology. It makes the company look humble so you don't grumble when faced with them. So Comedy Central turns some cash for hosting ads and you keep coming to the site. Brilliant. (It goes without mention that comedy central and Google are frequented by the same sort of patronage.) Serious advertisers will pay a lot of money now to have their commercial not only seen, but given attention. Most will agree that any company that advertises via false offers, flashing lights, and flying pigs is going to go down on every viewer's "no" list. As in "No way in hell do i want whatever you're trying to sell."

So, as I was saying, I'm a member of an increasing number of startlingly jaded young adults. And i came up with some reasons why. It's really quite rational, given the context of our lives.

We're jaded because we've just spent between four and six years and between ten and fifty thousand dollars to get a piece of paper that clearly states we're just as dumb as everyone else.
Moreover, we've got proof that we're a dozen times more intellectually capable than the person the majority of our countrymen elected to be our executive leader and we're getting turned down by temp agencies.
We're jaded because we live in a diverse, multicultural, international country that is in the process of erecting walls to keep out foreigners.
We're jaded because, although we live in an age in which every magazine cover screams that a good sex life is vital to physical and mental health, our Puritanical society consistently tells us to keep our bits to ourselves.
We're jaded because big corporations have replaced edible food with corn syrup and petroleum derivatives. These same corporations keep their employees locked up throughout all daylight hours, seated, squinting at computer monitors, breathing canned hi-rise air. These same corporations fund research into the American obesity problem, which points to poor diet and lack of exercise. These Same corporations air ads stressing the importance of an active lifestyle, plenty of sunshine, and healthy food, and blame the individual's poor nutrition choices for their newfound Type II diabetes. These SAME corporations...are the only people hiring.
We're jaded because the will of the masses is repeatedly consulted and ignored by the government.
We're jaded because we're smarter than everyone ever and we're still considered members of "the masses."
We're jaded because television has been reduced to cameras following boring people around through their boring daily lives, but we still squirm through the commercial break to find out what happens next.
We're jaded because we pay a lot of money for curbside recycling pickup but we hear homeless people pick the bottles out of the bin and take them to the center for their own profit.
We're jaded because even the church has conceded that there's no meaning to life, but we'd feel silly to just end it.
We're jaded because we're capable of realizing all of this, and yet helpless to do anything about it.

Feel free to add your own!