Would you prefer they ask how long it would take at the Link before they could move somewhere else to get a command?????
Maybe, just maybe, there are some (not all) of these new FOs who are planning a long career at the Link and would like to know. Captaincy not only comes with additional responsibility etc, but also carries a financial gain that may be important to an FO considering a family or other lifestyle decisions. After all, an FO wage at the Link is hardly good money.
Of course there will be Gen Y'ers, and anyone else you care to call impatient, "me me me", "I want it now", "I'm too good to be a FO", "I have the minimums so I should have my upgrade by now", type of people but don't paint them all with the same brush.