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'''Generation Snowflake''', or '''Snowflake Generation''', is a pejorative term referring to young people, typically university or college students, who are perceived as avoiding emotionally charged topics or dissenting ideas and opinions. The term has been described as a "disparaging moniker"<ref name="GFox" /> and is associated with criticism of ]s and ] in academic settings.<ref name=GQ/><ref name=Bryony/><ref name="Belfast">{{cite news|last=Meredith|first=Fionola|date=27 May 2016|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/fionola-meredith/precious-little-snowflakes-we-call-students-are-taught-to-be-weaklings-from-a-very-early-age-34749687.html|title=Precious little snowflakes we call students are taught to be weaklings from a very early age|work=]|location=Belfast|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Spec">{{cite news|authorlink=Claire Fox|last=Fox|first=Claire|date=4 June 2016|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/06/generation-snowflake-how-we-train-our-kids-to-be-censorious-cry-babies/|title=Generation Snowflake: how we train our kids to be censorious cry-babies|work=]|location=London|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref> The term has also been used to refer to ].<ref name=GQ>{{cite news|last=Halls|first=Eleanor|title=Millennials. Stop being offended by, like, literally everything|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/millennials-created-generation-snowflake|accessdate=9 July 2016|work=]|location=New York|date=12 May 2016}}</ref><ref name=Bryony>{{cite news|authorlink=Bryony Gordon|last=Gordon|first=Bryony|title=I feel sorry for the poor ickle millennials|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2016/04/08/bryony-gordon-why-i-feel-sorry-for-the-snowflake-generation/|accessdate=9 July 2016|work=]|location=London|date=8 April 2016}}</ref><ref name=Kingwell>{{cite news|last1=Kingwell|first1=Mark|title=Generation Snowflake? Not the millennials I know|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/generation-snowflake-not-the-millennials-i-know/article32879280/|accessdate=19 November 2016|work=]|location=Toronto|date=17 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="RumbelowDelicate"/> Sources attribute the characteristics ascribed to Generation Snowflake to parenting methods, particularly those that focus on boosting ].<ref name="Spec"></ref><ref name=Bryony></ref> It is commonly associated with the ], a conservative movement associated with websites such as ].<ref name=LATimes>Jessica Roy, , November 16, 2016</ref>
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==Background==
The term originated in the United States, a reference to parents reportedly raising their children as ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Are Trophies Really So Bad?|first=Anna|last=North|date=25 July 2014|work=]|location=New York|url=http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/25/are-trophies-really-so-bad/?_r=0|accessdate=17 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="RumbelowDelicate">{{cite news|last=Rumbelow|first=Helen|title=Generation snowflake: Why millenials are mocked for being too delicate|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/generation-snowflake-why-millenials-are-mocked-for-being-too-delicate/news-story/2f885d016af1a881bff92b69282fd88e|accessdate=15 November 2016|work=]|location=Surry Hills|date=9 November 2016|subscription=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Welcome to the sensitive Snowflake Generation: They’re mocked as too delicate, but are they just misunderstood?|first=Helen|last=Rumbelow|date=8 November 2016|work=]|location=London|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/please-dont-do-anything-to-make-us-cry-vzj5hdldn|accessdate=18 November 2016|subscription=yes}}</ref>

Author ] used the term in 2015, in reaction to a confrontation between university students shown on a viral video and ] faculty head, ].<ref name="GFox" /> The confrontation arose after Christakis' wife, ], a lecturer at the university, had suggested students should "relax a bit rather than labeling fancy dress Halloween costumes as culturally insensitive".<ref name="GFox" /> Fox described the video showing the students' reaction as a "screaming, almost hysterical mob of students".<ref name="GFox" /> Fox said the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.<ref name="GFox">{{cite book|last=Fox|first=Claire|authorlink=Claire Fox|year=2016|title='I Find That Offensive!'|publisher=Biteback Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-849-54981-3}}</ref>

The term "snowflake generation" was one of ]'s 2016 words of the year. Colins defines the term as: "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-lovers-blog/new/top-10-collins-words-of-the-year-2016,323,HCB.html|title=Top 10 Collins Words of the Year 2016|date=3 November 2016|work=]|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37857968|title=Do You Know What Jomo Is?|date=3 November 2016|work=]|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
According to Claire Fox, Generation Snowflake members "are genuinely distressed by ideas that run contrary to their worldview"; they are more likely than previous generations of students to report that they have mental health problems.<ref name="Spec" /> A UK Higher Education Policy Institute survey of university students in 2016 "found that 76% would ban speakers who had views that offended them, while half (48%) wanted universities to be declared ]s where debate can only take place within strict rules."<ref name="Belfast" /> Fox and journalist ] described these traits as being coupled with a strong sense of entitlement.<ref name=Bryony/><ref name="Spec" />

After ] law school implemented trigger warnings in 2016, with the purpose of alerting law students of “potentially distressing subject matter such as criminal cases involving rape and murder”, ] writer Eleanor Halls attributed this to Generation Snowflake questioning: "How are these lawyers going to do their jobs? Are they going to turn down important cases if they broach the topic of rape and murder?"<ref name=GQ/>

Fox argues that Generation Snowflake was created by over-protecting people when they were children and she argued the emphasis on self-esteem in childhood resulted in adults "tiptoeing around children’s sensitivities" to avoid "damaging their wellbeing".<ref name="Spec" /> In the UK, Tom Bennett was recruited by the government to address behaviour in schools.<ref name="Bennett">{{cite news|last=Espinoza|first=Javier|date=19 February 2016|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12165433/Expose-children-to-extremist-views-early-on-to-prepare-them-for-university-says-expert.html|title=Expose children to extremist views early on to prepare them for university, says expert|work=]|location=London|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref> He commented that Generation Snowflake children at school can be over-protected, leading to problems when they progress to university and are confronted with "the harsher realities of life".<ref name="Bennett" /> Bennet argues being sheltered from conflict as children can lead to university students who react with intolerance towards people and things that they believe may offend someone or toward people who have differing political opinions, leading to a phenomena called "no-platforming", where speakers on controversial topics such as ] or ] are prohibited from speaking on a university campus. <ref name="Bennett" />

The negative connotations of the term Generation Snowflake have been criticized for having been applied too widely: Bennett also commented that "It's true that our children have never had it so good...It's true that, for some of these children, losing fast wi-fi is a crisis and being offended on the internet is a disaster....But then I remember the other ones, and I reckon they all balance each other out."<ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Tom|date=20 November 2015|title=For every flaky child we have one with real guts|url=https://www.tes.com/news/tes-magazine/tes-magazine/every-flaky-child-we-have-one-real-guts|work=]|location=London|accessdate=18 November 2016|subscription=yes}}</ref>

Richard Brooks wrote in '']'' that "students have always been instrumental in turning the tide of public opinion",<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brooks|first1=Richard|title=In defence of generation snowflake- everyone's favourite punching bag|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/11/14/in-defence-of-generation-snowflake--everyones-favourite-punching/|accessdate=19 November 2016|work=]|location=London|date=14 November 2016}}</ref> and ], philosophy professor at ] has objected to the use of the term to characterize political protesting as "whining", in response to protests by ] following ].<ref name=Kingwell/>

Generation Snowflake characteristics have been discussed in relation to the skills required by entrepreneurs.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brazier|first=Colin|date=25 July 2016|url=http://capx.co/the-economic-risks-of-raising-generation-snowflake/|title=The economic risks of raising Generation Snowflake|work=]|location=London|accessdate=18 November 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
*]
*'']''

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

]
]
]
]

==Further reading==
*{{cite news|title=Generation Screwed or Generation Snowflake? Britain's young are doing better than many think|date=19 November 2016|work=]|location=London|url=http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21710293-last-year-average-weekly-wage-people-aged-22-29-grew-35-real-terms-much-faster|accessdate=18 November 2016}}

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