The Debate Over Millennials
If you haven’t been on the internet in the last week, a new popular video has surfaced. This isn’t some new craze or funny vine, this is a video about millennials and how we are a terrible generation. Recently, millennial Alexis Bloomer recorded and released a video in which she ripped into the millennials who are running around “messing things up”. Her video makes good talking points, however it is very opinionated. The entire video opens up a question, “Why do millennials get so much hate?”
Alexis opens the video with her first grievance about how we do not have manners. We don’t hold doors open for people, our music is obscene, etc. It’s the standard argument that has been hashed out before. My rebuttal to this is the fact that manners are a taught trait. I was taught from a young age to always hold the door open for people, and that every adult gets a yes sir/mam or no sir/mam. If I didn’t do that it was over for me when I got home. What I am getting at is the previous generation had to teach us this, and it has to take. Some people were taught to do that, other people weren’t. It’s one of those things where you cannot be angry if everyone doesn’t do it.
The point about the music being too obscene and glorifying terrible things (drugs, degradation of women, etc) has been an argument that I have been on both sides of. A lot of songs do glorify a bad culture, however, a lot more are the same hyped up pop song. There is a big spectrum of music out here and the catalog that we have is amazing. In regards to previous generations not liking the music or it being “obscene”, this is an age old argument. Ever generation will have a criticism of the art and music that the current generation listens too. Remember there was a time when Elvis (you know the crowned King of Rock n’ Roll) was seen as too risqué. That’s right people, Elvis was once seen as risqué because he moved his hips and his lyrics were a little too much for the ears of the old. What I am getting at is the fact that different generations always disagree with how culture (in this case, music) evolves or changes.
Alexis's next big comment is how we want free education but we don’t want to work. This was actually pretty dumb. According to the National Center for Education Statistics and their fast facts page, it was noted that between 1992 and 2002 enrollment in a school that granted a degree increased by 15 percent, and between 2002 to 2012 it increased by 24 percent. I mean, it may seem like millennials are lazy, however, between 1992 and 2002 there was a 39 percent increase in enrollment at 4 year universities. Now this small fact tells you that we aren’t as lazy as people would think; it seems like more and more of us are trying to get an education and work hard.
The last thing I want to touch on is the fact that she bashes social media and how we are all divided. This is the part that I actually take offense too. Yes, some people care a little bit too much about social media, you cannot argue that. You can also not argue the usefulness of social media as a tool. This is something that millennials have used so effectively. Our world has been brought so much closer through the use of social media as we use it as a tool to market and get our ideas out. Our generation literally has created a thing known as an internet start up company. Mark Zuckerberg, who is on the tale end of the millennials time frame, created Facebook: a huge conglomerate that has launched careers and changed the world. I do not know how you can disagree with that.
Millennials get a lot of flak, from inside and outside sources. I can not figure out why. Sometimes it has a solid basis, other times it is because the millennial way of doing things is a counter culture. We created our own standards and follow our own rules. The way we do things isn’t standard and well its okay. Our generation evolved and well we keep dominating and changing the world. Those who do not like it and can’t handle it can just go sit in the corner.
