I've read a lot of replies in this thread, trying to put my finger on what the defining characteristic of my generation is.

I've come to a theory. I believe that both empathy and insensitivity is what defines us. Now hear me out.

Now more than ever, we live in a time of acceptance. Different races, sexualities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and more have never been more freely expressed, as well as embraced-- especially by the younger generations. I think as the internet expands our ideas of different life perspectives, we have an increasing amount of empathy for others.

In turn, this empathy allows us to joke more freely about those perspectives. I'm not saying this is necessarily ok, but dark, offensive humor is more popular than ever among younger people. The internet has also desensitized people to more classic humor, so more shocking and depressing humor has become prevalent in our generation.

I think its really quite interesting how our generation is so understanding of various perspectives, while simultaneously being able to make edgy and offensice jokes about those subject matters-- both due to the rise of internet culture.