It's all got to do with parental upbringing
My theory is that for the first time in history seniors out populate teens. With the economy as it is seniors are still holding on to their jobs for much longer and avoiding retirement. This put teens at a disadvantage when looking for jobs. No wonder older people are not getting respect in this dog eat dog world.
Are they really? As a paid-up, card-carrying geezer, I can't say that I've noticed.
Good manners are, unfortunately, out of vogue just at present and may never come back; so when people of different generations interact their expectations may be different. The world has changed vastly during my 78 years.
Of course, kids are far more independent now than they were when I was growing up during the 1940s. The rule then was, "Little boys (and girls) should be seen but not heard." That is no longer condoned. We recognise kids as individuals and welcome their input while making allowances for their lack of knowledge and experience.
But if old folk assume that they can command respect from kids merely because they're old, they're going to be disappointed. Respect has to be earned. If they try imposing their (often imaginary) authority on young people, they're likely to elicit a very blunt response.
One possible theory for why children are rude to elderly people these days is society and culture has shifted.
A lot of the values and ethics that kids would have inherited through quality time spent at home, with their family, is now being replaced by TV, the internet, social media... There's no controlling what kind of material and ideas young people are exposed to these days, which means their impression of the world and how they behave with others is up for grabs.
Even when a kid is from a good home, that doesn't guarantee he or she won't be turned by the material available out there.
And just look out what kind of "culture" the internet promotes. Wealth by any means, celebrity status, consumer culture, a culture of want...
This makes youngsters feel entitled, makes them feel like they deserve to be famous and wealthy, even before they have earned it.
What this internet culture doesn't teach is respect, respect for parents, for grandparents, for neighbors.
If you ask my opinion, this is why children are becoming ruder and ruder to their elders.
It's because of deminishing values on a global social level. We are a generation of indulgence and unrealistic self entitlement . It is definitely not a good trend.