Entitled. Narcissistic. Lazy.
Generation Y knows how much work it takes to ‘get to the top’ - to get to the ‘good life’. We’ve been surrounded by the generation that has shown us how rewarding it is to work hard and succeed. The average American millennial is taught to go to school, college and pursue a stable career - that is the definition of ‘success’ in most middle-class cases. But as time goes on, standards are increasing, and the bar is continuously raised.
This article was inspired by Hank Green’s video, which you should definitely watch.
We value ourselves as computer literate and smart. For the most part, we are. We understand the importance of keeping up with media, we understand current issues in society, we understand society’s expectations of us.
Parents are teaching their children at a young age to develop more skills, to be smarter, to beat the competition. This generation and the kids growing up in the 2010’s are realizing what’s to be expected, and what obstacles to expect along the way. It’s the way of life. It’s normal. But thinking that, also allows young people to forget how truly important they are to change society, for the better - and we can’t do that by running with the herd.
The older generation stereotypes the younger generation by calling them millennials - initially make judgements about a young person’s character by grouping them in with other individuals within this digital age.
Are millennials overconfident? Is there a reason why we shouldn’t be?
It’s a tug and pull with overestimating and underestimating. There’s always some sort of condescending tone to it all. We all know the difference between millennials and the older generation - as technology and society advances, that cultural gap will continue to widen.
Our work ethic is also questioned. The older generation values hard work - glorifies it, really. It’s not bad to admire hard work and see success come out of it. Nowadays, millennials are climbing the ladder as far as they want to. If they see potential growth in a certain area of expertise, they go for it. Seeing meaning or finding purpose is the big goal here for most young people. A company’s reputation in the area of work and ethical morals are incredibly important. Some jobs or positions might not suffice for the ambitious millennial - and some of the older generation won’t understand that.
Millennials are associative primarily to technology and the digital age. Businesses are always trying to target millennials by incorporating the latest trends and fads into their campaigns. Most adults or those of the older generation keep thinking of ways to connect with that main target audience - almost as if there needs to be some sort of translation involved. Questions often tossed around are: “What are the millennials up to?”, “How can we relate to this younger group of people?” or "How do we even communicate with them?"
It’s almost as if us millennials are just an enigma to adults - and sometimes, instead of trying to understand the rising generation, they observe and judge from a distance. Which is just fine - to a certain extent. It causes a misunderstanding of character of each individual of a group.
So what’s the problem with the term? The generalization of a group of people, and using it as a judgement of character.
The word itself is a social construct, and like Hank Green had mentioned, it was thought of by a group of (older) people that to be frank, might not understand this generation of human beings at all.
“The word “millennial,” as a descriptor of a demographic group, was coined by two men born just after World War II. Generation X named themselves Generation X. Millennials were named by Baby Boomers,” John Green stated in a related article.
The Green brothers have been making Youtube videos since 2007, and their biggest audience has consisted of young people. If anything, the internet is allowing young people to access, read and analyze information from all around the world through different lens.
John Green also mentions, “At its best, the Internet still provides those gifts to young people — it’s a place where they can be participants in public discourse. When we listen to young people, and when we acknowledge them as fully human, they respond in kind —by listening and acknowledging us in return. The challenges and opportunities before humans right now — from climate change to the global refugee crisis to expanding access to technology and education — demand the whole world’s attention. In my work, I have seen again and again that young people want to contribute. We just need to let them.”
So what are we going to name the generation after millennials? It’s still in the early stages - we’ll just have to see.
Although we can only tread with cautious optimism, this generation is able to progress faster than any other generation. Advancements in almost every industry - especially tech - has let us gain access to knowledge never available before.
Let's start giving millennials some credit. Even though every human being has a flaw - whether impacted by the digital age or the luxurious way of life - one has to admit how dynamic the rising generation is.
Sharp. Updated. Connected.
There's a lot of potential here. Being a millennial isn't a character flaw - and young people shouldn't be judged based on their own way of life, future goals or modern mannerisms. Reliance on technology can be a problem, but as time goes on, it becomes necessary. Having traditional values such as working hard to achieve success or something as simple as showing respect to elders is incredibly important as well, but we also shouldn't push out developing characteristics that have to be adapted as our environment gets more competitive.
