I honestly think it is not worse than ever before -mostly because of reading centuries of younger people thinking older ones were idiots and vice versa. I don't think it is harder than being married off at 14 to be a breeding mare for example, or being in a trench at Flanders, or indentured to a ship or other trade, or being put in a workhouse and so on. Every generation has had to deal with something including modernization, changing rules and so on. I think they are continually being told it is harder and they are believing it. Small children in other countries successfully do a lot of things and in this country people become unhinged if an 8 yr old is playing alone in its own backyard.

Somewhat surprisingly - I do have a small reputation for being terrifying. It amuses me because, in reality, as long as one of them is not being an active idiot, I am a giant softie in action if not demeanor.
Completely surprising is more that I always have at least one or two gaggles of them who pad around after me like baby ducks. About 1/3 think I am funny, 1/3 are confused about when I am serious and when I am not -made up equally between those who think I am well meaning but demented and the others who think I am mean, and 1/3 who are just there for no good reason and don't pay any attention to me one way or the other.

I will say that whenever we have visiting faculty from Europe or Asia -they are horrified at the grade inflation, lack of true rigor, and over-solicitiveness towards students by u.s. universities. One poor guy used to come to my office, flop in a chair, and just put his head in his hands when some new bs would come out about more coddling from the university or when some student would ask him to change their grade.