You may not be surprised to learn that experts are now recommending training for parents as an alternative to Ritalin, the drug routinely used to calm hyperactive children. Uh-oh. Loving care and attention works better than pills: it’s official. This is very bad news for the generation whose priorities are self-fulfilment and making money - both of which take a lot of time and energy. Because it’s not only the kids who are crying out for attention from Generation Care Less; it’s everyone in our lives who requires more than a hurried phone call, a cash injection or an appointment with a professional problem-solver: elderly relatives, friends in crisis, even pets.

It used to be accepted that you can’t cut corners with this lot: they all need hands-on, one-on-one, personal attention. But for a long time now we’ve been pretending that, actually, with cunning management, anything is possible. You can do quality caring at the weekend, providing you haven’t got a hangover. You can get other people to do it for you. You can buy it, rent it, borrow it from friends. Whatever, taking care of dependants doesn’t have to mean the end of a full and selfish life.

Every day you see something that reminds you just how far the Care Less generation has taken its “Me first” philosophy: a little girl sitting on a bench in the park with her Filipina nanny on a Sunday afternoon; a dog-walker juggling the leads of 12 confused-looking animals; a father attacking his BlackBerry over lunch while his son plays on his Game Boy.

But there are far sadder sights on the horizon. In Japan, they have just unveiled a new solution to the problem of elderly people with nobody to rely on – a human air bag, which inflates when sensors detect a stumble on an uneven pavement, or a trip on a stair. The people queuing up to buy this handy, pensioner-saving device are not doddery oldies, but their guilt-ridden children, who know they will never be there to catch them. (Other gadgets that have been developed to fill the gap are dolls that tell their owners they love them, and kettles that alert a relative by text if left unused.) The idea is that enough of these devices will make it possible to leave your ageing parents for months on end, and get on with the business of living your life.

Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? All those lonely old people; all those children whose dental appointments and homework and birthday parties are presided over by Lenka (who has just replaced Magda). It’s a world none of us wants to be a part of – but then, when did you last ring your mum in the day for an idle chat? Or cook cakes with your kids? Or offer to drive a girlfriend to a hospital check-up? Or hang out with your grandfather, looking at old photos? We’re all too busy, right?

Times recommends

• Live fashion advice: how to dress for party season
• The A-Z of winter style rules
• Could safe havens prevent teenage stabbings?