Although the younger generations face issues like mental health problems and identity crisis, I argue that they will still have a significant impact on society that will be viewed as positive overall.
One thing millennials affect is politics. Millennials have the power to control the votes if they take the time to. By having the most knowledge about using social media, they have control of what is talked about and because of this they can direct the conversation towards the candidates they prefer. Without even voting,millennials still influence the votes of other people just by talking about it online. Older generations still use social networks but they are more likely to read and respond to information/ opinions they see then share their own. Millennials also exist in large numbers. They have now all reached the legal age to vote and so there are a lot of millennial voters. This is why candidates spend so much time trying to appeal to millennials like promising free college or posting on snapchat. If most millennials were to agree on a candidate and actually go out and vote, they could control the results of the election.
Another positive contribution that younger generations have on society is technology. The newer generations have a proficiency in technology that older generations will never have. The advancements that have come with technology have already improved the lives of many people. Since the newer generations understand this technology, they will continue to update it. While generations after us will likely create things we cannot even imagine right now, the current generations will always be remembered as the ones who introduced technology to the world.
Although millennials are already having and will continue to have positive impacts on society, there are factors that are making this more difficult for them. Mental health is getting in the way of the success of the younger generations. There has been an increase in mental health problems. Things like depression, anxiety and suicide have not only become more common but have also started occurring in people younger than before. The new generations are just going along with the updates in society and it may be leading them to go through mental problems that older generations never had to deal with. Mental health can be debilitating, therefore stopping these young people from achieving what they could if they were not facing things like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc.
In addition to mental health problems younger generations are suffering from an identity crisis. In today’s world we spend most of our time branding ourselves. It is very important that we present ourselves in a specific way all over social media. We must seem happy, professional, put together, like we have a lot of friends, etc. This can lead to an identity crisis because younger generations live a double life. One on social media and another in the real world. They spend so much time trying to portray this perfect person or perfect life on social media that they often forget who they really are.
Younger generations have the potential to be remembered as “heroes”. They will update technology, affect politics and should overall influence society to change for the better. Mental health issues and struggling to figure themselves out make it harder to be millennials will positively impact society.
