If I may dig out the deep end of the pool a bit Sir.
I agree 100% about the youth of today and the similarities, but the level of frequency and intensity is growing at an alarming rate and at much younger ages than the past.
Whenever the keys to self-esteem are seemingly out of reach for a large percentage of the people, as in twentieth-century America, then widespread 'mental illness,' neuroticism, hatred, alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, and social disorder will certainly occur. Personal worth is not something human beings are free to take or leave. We must have it, and when it is unattainable, everybody suffers. A size-able proportion of all human activity is devoted to the task of shielding us from the inner pain of inferiority.
I believe this is to be one of, if not, the most dominant force in life.
Peace
Asmallvoice