Now the media need a new plot line, and Gen Y is providing it. Just as the slump of the '90s has been replaced by the eternal boom, the cynical pessimists of Gen X have been vanquished by the cheery Ys. In the '80s, writing about teen-agers meant writing about rising pregnancy rates, drug use, and crime. Today, teen pregnancy, drug use, crime, dropout rates, and sexual activity are down. Church-going is up.
Racism is out.
Rebellion is pass . At last, commentators gloat, kids are having real childhoods again. The school massacres in Littleton, Colo., and Jonesboro, Ark., have barely soured the mood. The media have focused on kids' passionate, unified response to the killings. This incessant cheer is inspiring inane predictions about what magnificent adults these Gen Yers will be.