A term for someone who thinks they are unique and special, but they really are not. Gained popularity after the movie Fight Club from the quote, "you are not special. You are not a unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic material as everything else."

A malady affecting a significant portion of the world's population wherein the afflicted will demand special treatment, conduct themselves with a ludicrous, unfounded sense of entitlement, and generally make the lives of everyone around them that much more miserable.

The danger of this disease is that the sufferers rarely, if ever, know that they have contracted it, and continue about their merry way under the assumption that EVERYONE ELSE is the problem.

This condition, if left untreated, can radically alter the carrier's demeanor, to include any of the following: a complete devolution to child-like behavior, temper tantrums, and/or fits of narcissistic rage.

When confronted with an individual suspected of harboring Special Snowflake Syndrome, one's best course of action is to run away. Further attempts at educating the carrier on the reality of their condition (e.g., quoting Tyler Durden: "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.") will likely prove futile, and potentially hazardous to the informer.

The term "Generation Snowflake" or "Snowflake Generation" was popularized following a 2015 student/faculty confrontation at Yale University, which was later discussed in I Find That Offensive!, Claire Fox's 2016 book. The confrontation arose between university students and faculty Head of College, Nicholas Christakis. The confrontation, which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, shows university students arguing with Christakis over a disagreement regarding Halloween costumes and the degree to which Yale University should intervene regarding student costumes which may be perceived as cultural appropriation. Fox described the video as showing a: "screaming, almost
hysterical mob of students" and that the backlash to the viral video led to the disparaging moniker "generation snowflake" for the students.