When people use the word "millennial", they are very rarely mean that as a compliment. Baby Boomers and Gen-X individuals see a young adult wearing flannel and checking their phone, and the word just seems to slip out. Society looks down on millennials, but for what exactly? Typically, the brunt of the hate is centered around three things: technology, age, and work ethic.

We live in the age of technology. Everywhere you go, you see people staring at their phones, millennial or not. People get so caught up talking about how technology makes people more "anti-social" that they seem to forget all that technology has brought us. People actually use Facebook and Twitter to go on hate-filled rants about the dangers of millennials relying on technology and social media, and yet they refuse to see the irony there.

Besides, it's not like millennials are the only ones using recent technology. I have yet to see anyone over 40 who still relies exclusively on rotary phones and colorless TV. The difference between millennials and others is that they've grown up around technology, and it has been a part of their entire life. They have an almost ingrained knowledge of how to operate it. Technology created and utilized by millennials is the way of the future, so maybe criticizing them for their expertise in this matter is not such a great idea.

This also plays into the conversation about work ethic. The thing about living in the age of technology is that the more technological our society becomes, the less need there is for hard labor. Older generations look down their noses at millennials for being "lazy" or "lacking work ethic." I tend to believe that this is just a symptom of an evolving society that doesn't require back-breaking labor anymore.

The problem of age in this conversation, however, is perhaps the one thing not unique to millennials. Every older generation ends up resenting those who come after them, forgetting that they were once in the younger people's shoes. Everyone thinks they'll be the cool, young generation forever, and they can't stand to think of what might happen once they're replaced.

This is completely understandable, and I tend to sympathize here. Still, the fact remains that time doesn't stop for anyone. Dwelling on the past is entirely counterproductive. In order to move forward, different generations should be working together to make positive changes in the world. That's the only way we can evolve as a society.