If I hear one more Baby Boomer or Gen X-er say something like, "This new generation doesn't know how to interact with each other" or "Young people only care about their phones" I might actually scream.
If there's one thing bitter older people love to do, it's trying to make people who were born in the 90's or early 2000's feel guilty about being born right around the same time the Internet took off. "You know, back when I was a kid, we played outside. We didn't just stare at a computer screen all day long." How interesting! So did I! I have plenty of memories playing in a sandbox, riding my bicycle and scooter, playing on the playground at recess, and going for walks with my friends. That's not to say I never watched TV or used the computer, because I did my fair share of that, too. But who's to say that people who were born before me wouldn't have done the same had they had the same technology available?
Then there's the annoying tendency to make oneself sound superior over others simply because of one's knowledge of the past. How many times have you been to a party or family gathering and an older friend or relative has said something along the lines of, "You know, back when I was in college, we had to do all of our research with books and encyclopedias. I typed all of my papers on my old typewriter. I bet you've never even seen a typewriter in real life before!" How is anyone supposed to respond to something like that? 'Why no, wise elder! What is a...type-writer?' No way.
And don't even get me started on the claim that "millennials don't know how to do anything."
Articles like this are a dime a dozen on the Internet, and most of them aren't even true. Changing a tire and cleaning a pistol are, admittedly, skills I don't have. But saying I can't sharpen a pencil, intelligently read a food label, or use a can opener is a real insult to my intelligence. Just because I was born in the late 90's doesn't mean I'm completely inept at everything that doesn't require technology. And really, making a water filter out of charcoal and sand? Purifying water using a plastic bottle and sunlight? This isn't Hatchet.
Older people are so concerned with our complete lack of "real world" skills, but who do they have to blame? Who cut all the funding for our life skills classes? Who decided to stop teaching cursive in elementary schools? Who ruined the economy so that members of my generation can't even live on minimum wage, let alone do things like buy a house or pay off student loans, and then proceeded to pin it all on us? It certainly wasn't our decision.
If we keep our mouths closed and our heads down, older people say we don't care. If we stand up and speak out, then we're entitled and disrespectful. Parents give their children tablets and phones to distract them, and then turn around and complain about how technology is ruining society. Apparently young people don't have the skills or the desire to socialize, even though plenty of us do (not to mention that there have always been shy or introverted people). We're accused of being "too sensitive" when we're literally just experiencing human emotions. If we're going to be criticized no matter what we do, then why bother?
So yeah, I'm a filthy millennial. I spend a lot of time on my phone, and I'm not great at socializing. I try my best to be politically correct so that I don't offend anyone, because I care about the feelings of others. I'm not interested in getting married or raising children. I don't want to work my life away because I think there's more to life than that. I don't think any of that makes me lazy, or entitled, or narcissistic, or any one of the numerous disparaging terms that have been used to describe members of my generation over the past several years. Our world is changing, so that means future generations are going to change, as well. I know that there will always be people who are opposed to such change. However, I also maintain that it really isn't that big of a deal. I think older people should, for lack of a better term, chill out and let us be who we are.
