They have only ever known instant gratification in a digital age and the concept of an apprenticeship, of grafting in the background waiting for an opportunity is alien.
Most young players come into Super Rugby expecting they will play sooner rather than later and they won't hang around for long if they don't.
So the worrying thing for coaches, most of whom are Generation X, is that it is not terribly difficult to be branded old school because most of what they know and are naturally inclined towards doing, would instantly be rejected by their players.
Things such as a good old-fashioned bollocking are off the menu. It's not okay either for a coach to make public, critical assessments of the team after they play poorly.
And an emerging youngster can't be told to be patient to keep training the house down and just wait as long as needs be, for their chance to play, because there are senior players ahead of them in the pecking order.
Kara Pryor of the Blues looks on during the side's defeat to the Jaguares. Photosport
Given the results New Zealand's teams have enjoyed in Super Rugby, there is plenty to be said for the modern culture however much it may feel like pandering and however much it may feel counter intuitive to coaching teams who endured a different world in their formative years.
But last weekend, there was a contrasting tale of two dressing rooms, where 'old school' triumphed and showed that there is still a place in the game for direct, unflattering tell-it-like-it-is honesty and to hell with anyone's feelings.
This much became apparent when there was loud music booming out of the Jaguares dressing room after their historic victory against the Blues at Eden Park.
There was plenty of singing and whooping too and the mood was quite obviously celebratory.
Their coach, Mario Ledesma, a supremely rugged and tough hooker who played almost 20 years in the French top league and who is now in his mid-40s, made reference to his discomfort at what was going on in there.
It was okay tonight he said because they had won, but the fact the players were doing it all the time, regardless of outcome, was going to have to end he said.
Losers shouldn't be singing and dancing was the message. He also talked about his concern that during the first half he felt his players were scared to win. That they lacked the belief they were good enough.
At what point in the game did that change he was asked. "When I abused them at half-time," he replied. The proverbial rocket was fired during the break and it hit the target.
Nicolas Sanchez of the Jaguares celebrates the victory. Photo / Photosport
There is much about the current way of doing things in New Zealand which is to be admired and celebrated and no one should be thinking that turning back the clock to introduce wholesale 'old school' practices would be helpful.
But there should still be license for coaches of an older generation to bring the odd bit of yester-year into the dressing room.
There should still be a time and a place for the stick to be used instead of the carrot.
And maybe most important of all is for young players to reconsider what they term 'old school'.
At the moment it is a catch-all euphemism applied to any coach who thinks hard work, patience and discipline are the bedrocks of any good team and who gets a little grumpy when these qualities aren't on view.
Perhaps it needs to be amended to include only those who don't have Netflix, use a phone to speak to people, or think that Facebook isn't brilliant but instead a tedious point-scoring forum where people can make out they are having a better time than they really are to impress their supposed group of friends.
That would at least open the door to some coaches feeling they could be a little more 'old school' and inject greater honesty and integrity into the environment.
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