Hi, my name is Kristen and I dislike being called a millennial. Now before all you other millennials start creating a hashtag for hate against me, please listen to what I have to say.

Yes, we millennials get a bad rep. People are constantly saying that we expect to be handed things, we don't work hard for what we want, and that we are the ruination of this world. While some of that is completely false and generalizes our entire generation, some of it is also very true. The main criticism that bugs me is the idea of social media and millennials.

We grew up in a world full of social media; there is absolutely nothing we can change about that. However, we can change how older generations view us and our social media habits. When someone from a different generation tries to criticize us and our social media usage, most millennials try to defend themselves against them by saying that it's not our fault because it's all we've known. Others try to defend themselves by saying that social media is the best thing that has happened to this world. I would like to address both of these answers.

First, I completely agree that we grew up with social media but, to my fellow millennials, saying that social media is "all we know" is humiliating. I'd like to think I know how to separate my social media world from everything else in my life. I know how to put my phone away when I am sitting behind my desk at work, or when I am in a classroom learning. I am 21-years old, my life did not always revolve around social media.

Second, social media has its pros and cons. Yes, it creates many new jobs for our generation but it's also the reason why our generation loses a lot of jobs. However, there are some people our age don't know how to act on social media. Although these people would have certain characteristics with or without social media, they wouldn't have a place to share their thoughts if it wasn't for social media.

We are the generation that overuses and misuses these platforms. We are the generation that, instead of breaking up a fight, will film it and post it online to see if it will become viral. We are the generation that makes up social media challenges roasting people who are supposedly our friends. We are the generation who created apps to anonymously criticize others, just to see how many people will agree with us. So can you really blame some people for judging us based on our generation's hobbies?

I know it's ironic that a millennial is writing about how she doesn't like being called a millennial on a platform that was created specifically for millennials. This article is not to say that I am better than the other millennials in the world, but it is to say that I understand where other generations are coming from when they judge our generation. We aren't perfect. It's time we stopped acting like we were.