Have you ever heard older generations say that people are getting more entitled and less resilient as time goes on? My mother says this all the time. Normally, I ignore these kinds of generational comparisons —I find them mostly pointless. But recently, I started wondering: What if there’s some truth to it? What if one of the many reasons people feel unsatisfied today is because, in some ways, we are more spoiled?

Think about it. Everything is designed to cater to you. Spotify curates playlists based on your taste. Netflix changes movie covers until it finds one you’ll click on. Instagram delivers only the content it believes you want to see. Even I try to write things you’ll enjoy (or at least, I hope so). It’s as if the digital world functions as our personal assistant, constantly rearranging itself for our pleasure.

• But here’s the catch: This can create the illusion that the entire world should work this way—tailored to our preferences, bending to our desires. Don’t like a song? Skip it. Bored with a show? Drop it. A creator’s outfit isn’t your style? Well, better comment on it, because clearly, that creator should be dressing to impress you. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

The problem? When we never grow out of that phase. Technology and social media keep reinforcing the idea that everything should be customized to us, that our opinions are fundamental, that our desires should always be met. And when that doesn’t happen? We feel frustrated. Entitled. Like something is wrong when in reality is not. We start believing that if something doesn’t please us, it’s a problem that needs to be fixed, rather than just something that isn’t meant for us. Instead of ignoring or moving on, we feel the need to complain, and demand change, as if the world owes us an apology for not constantly meeting our expectations.

• The more we expect the world to shape itself around us, the more irritated we become when it doesn’t.

But here’s the liberating part: accepting that not everything is about you is a sign of maturity. The song you don’t like? It might be someone else’s favorite. The movie you found boring? It could be deeply meaningful to another person. The world isn’t wrong for not constantly catering to you—we are wrong for expecting it to.

So yes, maybe our generation is more entitled. But I’ve found life so much lighter when you start realizing that people and things don’t have to be centered around you. That’s a lot of expectation to place on the world. Let go of it. Take a step back, breathe, and enjoy the fact that even without being the center of everything, it’s still a damn amazing world to live in.

With love,

Micael.