We’ve seen the ads. We’ve seen the books. We’ve heard our elders. The ‘youth’ of today doing odd things, having odd opinions. We, as a generation, are self-absorbed, constantly on our phones, lazy, dependent, entitled; the list goes on. I for one had no idea that I could be so many adjectives. So congratulations to us team; we did it. As a generation, we have given nothing to the world but the duck face and incredible selfies warranting insta-fame. We are now happily a group of children living it up in the American dream our forefathers imagined. So long as we forget about the crippling debt most of us will have until our early 50’s (See: When we are the old, mad at the youth) and the inconvenience of a crippled, recovering economy (See: What the old, mad at the youth, have done).
Pictured in most movies as ready to whip out a selfie stick, we as a generation should be proud of our ability to always be prepared for a picture. We have perfected making things famous for at least six seconds because of six seconds. We took the handles off the Segway and rode our ‘Hover Boards’ into the sunset. We have perfected speech and can break down any amount of words into a handle full of letters.
The truth of the matter is, we are evolving. There was a time when our elders didn't talk to each other. There was a time our elders made mistakes. There was a time our elders were self-absorbed. So while older generations may look at you and say, "When I was your age, I was living up my golden years, meeting new people, I wish your generation would get off those phones," kindly remind them that your 20's don't get to be your fun years. They are your working years, and in a society of advancing technology not being involved online is nearly impossible. Also, remind them that you don't want their Candy Crush notifications to show up your Facebook, but we don't all get what we want. As a generation, we are finding ways to do things more efficiently. With crowd funding websites and ride sharing apps, this generation has the ability to be more connected than any before it. Just because we don't go outside and scrape our knees to make a friend doesn't mean we don't connect with people.
Realistically, there are people our age that are just as described above, self-absorbed in technology. And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. There are people who are the exact opposite of what was described and 'go against the mainstream' -- this just in -- that’s okay, too. We are a unique generation filled with creativity, passion, and self-awareness. So yes, we are the youth who will one day replace our elders. Let’s celebrate being youngsters with our smartphones and 'Segways without a handle' while we still can and without shame. Because we are self-aware, not self-absorbed.
