Complaining about the younger generation seems a bit off topic, but as long as we're here, I might as well address the issue of student loans.
I've seen a lot of people in this thread suggest it is solely the poor decision making abilities of young people to choose a career path that lands them in a large amount of debt without a means to pay said debt, and while I agree that in the end it is the decision of the individual, there also doesn't seem to be an understanding of the lack of education regarding, ironically enough, education.
Having been out of the secondary educational system for only a few years now, I can say that it's not made clear to students the options they have, at least in my area. From elementary school students are groomed in preparation for college, not for life in the professional world. From a very young age it is pounded into the minds of young people that the only two options that exist are to go to college or to essentially squalor in poverty with the only option for work being low-level service industry jobs. Nothing is ever mentioned of the trades, and the mere implication that you're not going to college earns you dirty looks and lectures about your future. Very little is explained about the intricacies of the job market, and market over saturation of fields is never brought up as even a consideration, let alone a critical factor in your potential for future success. What I'm trying to say here is that many young people aren't being taught to think of college as a means to an end in terms of a professional goal, but rather are (as much as I loath to use the term) indoctrinated to believe that college is -the- goal.
Some people (like myself) are lucky enough to escape the "system" and find other avenues for education and employment. Others, however, never think to ask if college is the right choice for them, and instead end up in debt for a useless degree simply because they were never informed that there are other options.
Touching on one of the previous points I made, over saturation of employment fields is a subject that is rarely brought up, rather graphs are regularly shown essentially saying "look how much more you could make with THIS degree!" while simultaneously ignoring the difficulty in entering said field due to the critical overabundance of applicants and interns.
I'm not saying all of this intending to make you weep for those who are in debt due to education, but rather in hopes that it can be made clear that it's not just poor decision making or laziness that causes people to be unable to be successful. While I'm all for individual responsibility for one's decision, ignoring the background to the problems inherent in the educational system while plugging my ears and yelling about how it's their fault they're in debt does nothing to help the problem.
To touch on entitlement, I would say it's hardly a problem that just exists with the younger generation. In my personal experience, entitlement is a mindset that transcends the boundaries of age. Perhaps it's just the people I've met, or perhaps it's bias on those whose social circle is made up of people who have similar political views, but it doesn't seem to me that the issues with entitlement aren't something that is solely isolated to a certain group.
On the subject of the generational gap and spending money being spent on different interests, I would hazzard a (unsubstantiated, admittedly) guess and say it's due to far-reaching sociological factors, especially concerning the amount of time the average young person spend in the public eye via social media. I won't go too much more into that in order to avoid going too far off topic (and also to avoid putting too much baseless speculation out there.) Of course, nobody is going to spend their money on a hobby they've never had exposure to. Which bring me to my next point...
I believe that introducing people to shooting is a great idea. Besides helping to destroy the negative connotations surrounding being a firearms enthusiast by showing people how much fun guns are, it can introduce other potential hobbiests who can glean an appreciation of the RKBA through the shooting sports.
While I don't believe much will be accomplished by giving away guns willy-nilly, as the OP's suggestion would imply, I would wholeheartedly support the gifting (or selling at prices lower than market value) of firearms to people who are interested enough to want to purchase their own. As much as you can say "well they should do what I did and buy it themselves," it's an ascinine assumption that everyone is in the same place as you were x amount of years ago (not to mention quite possibly in a completely different part of the country.) Is someone deserving of the gift of a firearm? Only you're able to make that decision.
I think the critical factor in whether the gifting of a firearm will be appreciated is the decision of the receiving party to purchase their own. If it's not wanted, it won't make hat much of a difference, IMO. But if it's something that the individual is planning on making a purchase of, or would if they had the resources to do so, I would imagine that it would be a valued object, whether sold or given.