I would like to take a second to just rant about being a millennial, and the “effect” my birth year has on people of other birth years.It drives me crazy that people think they know how we are, just like any other generation, there is a lot to know. Stereotypes help us fit everything into our brains but often they are not true, so I get the compulsive need to label a group of people but is not something you should make a steadfast judgement on.
If you live in the Philadelphia area and have listened to KYW 1060, you may have heard a commercial for First Colonial Community Bank. I would like to state for the record that these commercials are what is setting me off. The CEO, Gerard Banmiller, thought it would be a good idea to make an advertising campaign that essentially alienates millennials. Listening to the commercials actually makes my skin crawl, and on a side note I have come to learn that Gerry Banmiller (see for yourself, that link is to his personal website) is just not a nice person; he is just another close minded, outspoken, corporate loon. But I digress, millennials are not the first generation to have a giant stereotype hanging over their head, yes I'm pointing to you baby boomers and generation X.
Stereotypes of generations evolve as the generation ages. Baby boomers, you are said to not care about younger generations. I know for a fact that this is not true, my grandparents and many other people grandparents paraded their grandchildren around. Singing their praises to anyone who would listen. Another stereotype is that baby boomers can’t do and don’t like technology. WHAT?!? Baby boomers were the people that paved the way for most of the tech we have now! They grew up and were adults through the boom of telecommunications and computerization. They were witness to computers being developed and they were the people using them!
Generation X you are said to be cynics and skeptics, this is also not true. Some of the most positive people I know are from generation X. Also, you are the original targets of the scam emails from the prince of Jipip asking you to send him money so he can reclaim his throne. You guys weren’t skeptical enough to see through that one? Stereotype number two is that you guys didn’t want to fly the coop, meaning you wanted to live with your parents even when you were 30. Both of my parents moved out of their families homes when they were in their very early 20’s, and never looked back, many of my friend's parents did the same.
As for us millennials, we are said to expect praise and rewards for everything. As I know from personal experience, I have never expected to be rewarded for doing something menial. Those participation awards that people go on about, I knew it was an award for just showing up, and I didn’t feel accomplished or even happy while getting a “participation” award. Not to mention people from generation X were the ones giving us these awards, and now we are getting criticized for being a confused five years old holding a fake trophy for running the wrong way on the soccer field? Another stereotype is that we are job hoppers when in fact, statistics for young 20 somethings in the workforce are almost identical to what they were in the 80’s. Is there something wrong with leaving a job you hate?
The simple fact is that generational stereotypes are often wrong. It is worth noting that we are a product of the generations before us. So baby boomers you taught generation X that working isn’t the end all and be all of life. So generation X sought out a work-life balance. Generation X taught us millennials that in addition to having a work-life balance, you should also try and find something you are happy doing. We also passed down our love for technology. What I am saying is, that having a strong belief in stereotypes is a detriment to our society. We have to live, work, and have fun with every generation around us. Carrying around these prejudices about other generations is just getting in the way.
