I'm sitting patiently, reading a book, minding my own business. I get a snapchat notification from a close friend, out of curiosity I open it. It's a video of them lip-syncing with a dog filter. Over my shoulder, a colleague walks by and makes a snide remark. It wouldn't have been so bothersome if she hadn't said the words "I hate your generation." Now that was the straw that broke the camel's back. An adult about ten years older than me finds it okay to assume who I am because of the world we live in today. Now when did that become okay?
All right let's just be clear on saying my generation isn't perfect, but neither is yours. Throughout the years, inventions and applications have been made by those older than the millennial generation, but the millennial generation is still blamed for it. Yes, citizens my age have been labeled as being media obsessed and lazy. But we are far from lazy. We have to fight for jobs for those more experienced than us since it's so difficult to gain experience in the first place! We are a young generation of twenty-somethings and below; we are still growing. Since when was it okay to kick someone down when they were still trying to stand up? Learning will always be a part of life, no matter what age you are.
I have almost every form of social media that is popular today -- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat -- and I will probably download whatever new and exciting app is created and praised by people my age. Why? Because it's modern day. We don't talk to each other constantly, we aren't on our phones constantly. Before you judge a twenty-year-old girl reading off her phone, just think she could be doing anything. She could be reading her resume to get it right, she could be reading an article on climate change, or yes maybe she's reading a tweet that she had a push notification on for. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we stay realistic about the world and keep growing while we live in it. We want to thrive and move forward, not back! I am not going to turn back time just to gain an older generation's approval.
A flower can't be shoved into a dark room and expected to live, so why should I be expected to turn off my phone when I am trying to contact a friend who's in a dark place or send a snap to my boyfriend to make him laugh? You may say we are media obsessed, but I am not criticizing you for having a low profile with social media. I don't want to be criticized for sharing my memories, my thoughts, my dreams and who I am. Yes, you may have been raised in a time where texting started while you just graduated high school, but keep in mind, weren't you excited when you bought your first flip phone?
