I was born in 1995, which makes me part of “Generation Y,” also known as the “Millennials.” Millennials is used to describe the people born from 1980 up until the early 2000s. Millennials have been negatively described as selfish, lazy, and narcissistic, along with having unrealistic work expectations. As part of this “Millennials” generation, I agree. I believe as a society we are too focused on “us” and pleasing ourselves. We are selfish and do not understand what it means to suffer. I also believe it is not entirely our fault.
If you compare Millennials with previous generations you will discover that we do not know what war on our own soil feels like as the Silent Generation (1923-1940s) has or how post-war optimism inspired the Baby Boomers (1946-1964.) Even Generation X (1965-1980) grew up with encouraging parents who influenced them to work hard because that was the only way to reach their goals. As most of the Millennials are the children of Baby Boomers, we grew up with the mindset “you can be anything you want to be.” Now as young adults we still grip tight to this mindse...
Girod, Gary. "Are The Millennials The Screwed Generation." Mag.newsweek.com. Joel Kotkin, 16 July 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
It is very hard to tell from the article whether or not Matchar truly believes what is written in support of millennials. Perhaps it is a parody of the earlier generations to say “Be selfish, Gen Y! Be entitled!” (235), but she seems to contradict her earlier statements. The constant repetition that millennials are lazy, unwilling to work, etc paints a bleak picture of their futures for the whole world. Millennials are often portrayed as spoiled rich people who still rely heavily on their parents for everything. This makes them seem childish, and Matchar’s questionable usage of these terms nonetheless is an obvious jab at the poster minority. Millennials overall are hard working and put under more stress than their predecessors, and the ridicule they endure for their work is uncalled for. Therefore, the thesis’s major flaw almost entirely overshadows its main
The 21st century has brought great change and advancement in all aspect of life for mankind across the world. From the creation of high-tech gadgets to innovative ways of basic living, millennials have had a huge engagement in the works of creating such things. They have brought change and advancement through ways in which mankind has never seen before. On the contrary, past generations believe that Millennials are bringing negativity and corruption into the world. The article "The Beat-Up Generation" by Abby Ellin says that " Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them.
Not So Much”, explains how Generation Y is not necessarily lazy, but rather conforming to fit changing times and a changing system. Her degree in journalism from Princeton, and experience in writing about economics, politics and data-driven journalism, more than qualifies her for writing about such a topic. I was one of those people who believed that today’s generation is too dependent on their parents, always looking for a hand-out and have a sense of entitlement. After reading this, I now have a slightly different opinion about Millennials. Of course, there will always be slackers in every generation whether past, present or future, but there is always more than what meets the eye. Just because someone may not spend their forty-hour work week all in the office, does not mean that they are working any less, but that because of today’s technology they can work from almost anywhere. As for the amount of graduated college students that return to live at home with their parents, it is not necessarily because they are too apathetic to go out and support themselves, but rather the reason being the high unemployment rate among sixteen to twenty-four year olds. After the Great Recession in 2009, many Millennials either lost their jobs, or were simply unable to find one after graduation. While I was raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked for it, I truly hope that today’s generation is still
The Millennial’s values heavily contrast the values of prior generations. Their values reflect the world that we live in today. “Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them.” (Ellin) This quote gives
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
These generations of young people are the future, not only of the United States of America but also of the world. Young people will bring change and will hopefully make the world a better place. However, they cannot make the future a brighter place if they are disheartened at a young age from trying to achieve the impossible. It is society’s responsibilities to make the future better and for humanity to move forward and this cannot happen if all the millennials and those belonging to Generation Z are pessimistic because they were not able to achieve their own dream due to the circumstances in America. In order for everyone to have a bright future to look forward to the youth of today needs to have the opportunities to achieve their
I first applied to the Brock Haywood scholarship in 2014. This was the first year I competed in reining or any other kind of horse show. I was encouraged by my trainer at the time, Sharon Davis, to apply to the scholarship and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The requirements pushed me past my “comfort zone” of being a bystander and allowed me to enter the reining community. I did gates for some classes and was able to put some names to familiar faces and come to understand and concur the nerves of the warm up pen. The last volunteering, I did was to assistant scribe. I loved it. I was able to see what the judge was seeing understand what components were most important to them. After the 2014 show season was over I continued to volunteer with the organization. Over next two years I graduated to a scribe and helped out in multiple areas of the horse show like announcing warm-ups and setting up for cook outs. Brock’s story inspired me to be supportive and more active with other youth members whether that was congratulated them for a nice ride or wishing them luck for next one. Through this I have made some lifelong friends and I am forever grateful for that.
Blaising, Craig A., Kenneth L. Gentry, and Robert B. Strimple. Three Views On the Millennial and Beyond. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.
It is a dominant stereotype that the Millennial Generation possesses a great sense of entitlement. When one is entitled, they feel as if they should be more privileged and seem to behave as if they are more deserving than others. Most readers are in agreeance with those who argue that Generation Y, otherwise referred to as the Millennial generation, is an entitled group of people, but not everyone is in agreeance with who is responsible for the sense of entitlement that these Millennials possess.
That is understandable because in the early years becoming an adult meant turning of age, 18, getting a job, moving out and starting your own family, but now turning 18 doesn’t mean you automatically are an adult and can move out and start your own life, I have friends that went to college, have a job but still are not able to move out on their own even in their twenties. Parents of the individuals in Generation Y are, according to Rosie Evans (n.d.), “subconsciously trying to cover up their guilt over the state of the economy by lifting their children’s financial burdens.” Our social lives in some ways are very positive and many of us can balance a good social life. On the other hand, some of us don’t have a very good balance and our social lives can come from our families, education, and finances. The Millennial generation is very dependent on social media, and what society says is “in,” this is because that’s mostly all we know, growing up in a time where technology is a main part of society.
(Sub-Point #1) To start off, Millennials are starved for money, jobs, and status in society. You may ask, “What does that mean?” Well, don 't worry, because I 'll tell you. Because the average age of retirement and average lifespan has increased, adults are working at older ages than ever before. This puts extra stress on the Millennial generation to get a well-paying job, in a society where a bachelor 's degree just doesn 't cut it anymore.
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their
As time ticks on and the world changes, some generational values are left behind and new ones emerge as circumstances change and technologies evolve. With more generations working together than ever before, it can be a challenge to understand one another and work out differences. Each generation lasts about twenty years before a new one is created, through generational lines are imprecise and culture driven. There are four primary generations today: Traditionalists (born from 1925-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation Xers (1965-1980), and Millennials (1981-2000). The next generation has started but has not yet been named. Each generation brings unique values, ideals, expectations, attitudes, and perspectives into the ever-changing world that need to be shared and the differences addressed in order for the generations to reach an understanding.
To conclude, while our supposedly static society generates a longstanding apathy in millennials, there are reasons and ways to boost enthusiasm. Our society, since the earlier gens of generation X, the baby boomers, and even the silent generation, has dedicated itself to building a better America. Some feel recent years have precluded human achievement. Still, there is hope to restore the former glory our ancestors established for us, for we can delete apathy from our systems -- we can restore