I hate the word "millennial." According to Pew Research, millennials are age 18-35, but unfortunately, Pew Research doesn’t explain the connotations attached to the label. When other generations and even some of the ‘millennial generation’ talks about us, we are lazy, complacent, social media obsessed, entitled, egotistical, and a slew of other negative adjectives. I am not those things, and neither are the people I know.
Each generation faces a different and complex set of obstacles and circumstances that the generation before did not. It’s how the world works, there may be similarities and comparisons drawn but no generation lives the same life. While each generation works to make the next more affluent and to create a better standard of living than the last that does not diminish or invalidate what young people today are experiencing. Yes, generations before us have fought through the Great Depression, World War One and World War Two, The Cold War, The Civil Rights Movement, and so much more. Those lives, and that history defined the people who lived through it. They are things we look to now for guidance and advice.
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Just because my generation is not going through the same thing and are living through huge technological advancement does not mean we are lesser people than our parents and grandparents. Just because the world and it’s obstacles are not identical to the world you grew up in, does not mean we have it easy, or that everything has been handed to us. We are the largest and most diverse generation America has ever seen, making it practically impossible for the older generation to make accurate generalizations about how ‘millennials’ experience life. While we are the first generation to have grown up with direct and relatively easy access to the internet, and a huge increase in access to technological advancements there are still large amounts of people in the United States who have none of that access. In fact, when describing ‘millennials’ it seems that older generations are making a large assumption about upper middle class white people in their early 20’s. When, in fact. only 51.5-55.8% of millennials are white. That leaves about half of the population a minority of some kind.
Yes, I do believe that in certain aspects that the highlighted white upper middle class population are given more things easily. Yes, we use our phones, laptops and technology with ease and more than we should at times. But, does not every generation work hard to make things easier for their children, and now all people seem to do is complain about the ease in which we use the things we are given? So it becomes apparent that when people talk about millennials in vague overarching terms they are not only contradicting their life's work to provide for their children and grandchildren but they are ignoring about half of the generation they think is a waste of space.
The generation you think has it so easy is living in a completely unique time in history. We are told that in order to be successful we need a high paying job, that has health benefits and is meaningful and has an impact on the world around us. However in order to get that job you need at least a four year degree. But now education has never been more expensive and the average student debt for a graduate is about $33,000. We watched the 2008 economic crisis and as a result we are more reluctant than any other generation to buy cars, homes, and other luxuries. We are the most health conscious and anti-smoking generation there has ever been. (Goldman Sachs) News and politics are being revolutionized by the rise of social media. We have been at the forefront of huge social and political movements. We have watched the Obama Administration, we have seen a huge rise in mass shootings, intense social conversations like the Black Lives Matter movement, and even a rise in international terrorism. Most recently, we have seen America elect a President who has degraded people of all walks of life. He has belittled and dehumanized a majority of this ‘millennial’ population that people don’t take seriously.
We are making change and using our voices, yet all the older generations see is an iPhone in our pocket. We are the largest and most diverse generation in American history. So yes I am a 'millennial' but I am not who you think I am.This article was greatly inspired by this VlogBrothers Video. It's an amazing argument and deserves to be credited for motivating me to write this piece.
