I agree. Also the teen culture about which I'be been bitching today is a product of the exact same force. What gets on nerves, though, is the enthusiasm with which the hordes of teens I seen in the malls ambrace this crap as their own. It is one thing to go to a crappy job and do as ordered because you have no other choices, but quite a different thing to tell your boss and others that you love it.
BTW, as a parent I never used any strict punitive measures or control. My kid used to use "controlled substances" at home in my presence on the theory that he would try them anyway so it was better to do that at home than elsewhere. I always defended him against crytpo-fascist discipline freaks at school (with whom he hed constant problems) and never spied on him. But he was generally a good kid - he did not hang out at malls but instead went to demos, clinic defence, Cuba, or simply to do some tags, and he hated burbs passionately. As a good urban kid, he did not even have a driver licence (he got one after he was 18). OTOH, his tee-vee watching habit and obnoxious music pissed my off royally, so he had to use headphones when I was at home.
yet another reason why mall teenage hordes get on my nerves....
wojtek