The Class of 2018

Each August since 1998, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones and experiences that have shaped the worldview of students entering colleges and universities in the fall. Here are some of the insights about the Class of 2018:

Students heading into their first year of college this year generally were born in 1996. For students entering college this fall, in the Class of 2018…

* During their initial weeks of kindergarten, they were upset by endlessly repeated images of planes blasting into the World Trade Center.

* When they see wire-rimmed glasses, they think Harry Potter, not John Lennon.

* Celebrity selfies are far cooler than autographs.

* “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” always has been the only news program that really “gets it right.”

* The water cooler is no longer the workplace social center; it’s the place to fill your water bottle.

* FOX News and MSNBC always have been duking it out for the hearts and minds of American viewers.

* Hong Kong always has been part of China.

* Courts always have been overturning bans on same-sex marriages.

* Joe Camel never has introduced one of them to smoking.

* Hello Dolly…cloning always has been a fact, not science fiction.

* Parents always have been able to rely on a ratings system to judge violence on TV.

* There always has been TV designed to be watched exclusively on the Web.

* Female referees always have officiated NBA games.

* Bill Gates always has been the richest man in the United States.

* Attending schools outside their neighborhoods, they gather with friends on Skype, not in their local park.

* Two-term presidents are routine, but none of them ever won in a landslide.

* They probably never have used Netscape as their Web browser.

* Everybody always has loved Raymond.

* “Good feedback” means getting 30 likes on your most recent Facebook post in a single afternoon.