In our society we often are looking for someone on whom to pin the blame. It is far easier if we can find one person or demographic to hold responsible but maybe we are all to blame. Maybe we aren't all always good, maybe we all have some dark faults within us. A lot of the generational spatter is flung at the "millennials" and as easy as it would be to say that they [millennials] are the sole problem in our society, we are often misinformed.
This past week I saw a post on a Facebook feed that spoke about how millennials have an authentic attraction for certain church and worship styles. All of what is in the article is true, and very well presented. Too often though, millennials are scrutinized and falsely accused of our society's problems. This is truly not the case.
I think first defining who millennials are is helpful. Millennials are the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000 roughly. I say roughly because there are a few different sources that say millennials begin in 1977 and end in 1995. Whatever the case the generation of "millennials" tapers off before the actual millennia.
Millennials are the largest demographic in the united states which serves as a logical reason that they often take more flack than any other group of people.
Among millennials there is a lack of relationality. Through technology we are able to be constantly connected, we have 842 "friends" and 1500 followers but we don't have intimate relationships. We have been taught by our parents through no fault of their own, that we are Americans and we can do anything if we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. This American ideology of independence has become our downfall. We live in a society where we "friend" or "ignore" depending on how we feel.
Millennials don't cause societal problems because we are unable to vote or detach ourselves from our technology, but because we are unable to recognize the importance of intimate relationships. Our society teaches that intimacy requires sex but this is a distortion of what intimacy should be. Men and women need intimate relationships with people to help them navigate the intricacies of daily life. Men need other men to encourage them in their life just as women need other women.
Many men fail to recognize the fact that they need other men close to them to live life well. Be it pride or programmed independence, Americans, especially "millennials" and those younger have a distorted understanding of relationships. We don't need 500 friends we just need a few good people around us, for we as humans were designed to need other people. We were made to have relationships and need for one another.