Why The Hate?: Millennials Are Basically No Different From Any Other Generation

[Chancey289]

Browsing on the book of the face I saw my friend make a post showing off over a dozen articles complaining about Millennials, and it made me think about why exactly do we have a problem with this new generation. But if you actually do some research, you come to understand something; how millennials are really no different from any other generation.

This is the post btw:

God is dead. Millennials killed him.

Anyway, let's look at some general topics now shall we?

A lot of times people will usually bring up our current economic state and how it's particularly more difficult for millennials. While this newer generation does struggle with significant problems concerning school, and how diplomas are basically just becoming pretty looking receipts, economic insecurity is nothing new.

Each generation dealt with their own recession. From Black Monday in 1987, all the way back to the Great Depression, recessions are a part of life that every generation will experience.

"But Chancey, what about Millennials and their excessive use of smart phones, social media, and what not?"

Oh, you mean how every generation adapts and embraces new technology that comes in to our lives? We've been using tech to disrupt society ever since the goddamn wheel was invented. Millenials may be riding the technical wave of smart phones and crazy awesome internet, but don't act like you people didn't do the same. Remember when washing machines and microwaves showed up and changed housewive's lives forever? And what about that TV you watch nearly all damn day old people?

I rest my case. It's just what we do as people.

"Millenials wanna work to live, not live to work"

Ah, typical young idealism. Ye old manifestos by the hippies. Or what the Jazz-age people said. The specifics of it all depends on the generation, but it boils down to just wanting to life and not spend all of life working. Life is too short for that nonsense.

But then those people grow up, find a career, and just live out their day to day lives eventually moaning about the kids who don't understand the meaning of work.

Every previous generation says that about the newer one. This even dates back to ancient Greeks. Hesiod had a mouthful to say about all the young kids who wouldn't get off his lawn.

Millennial is often synonymous with narcissist. Their obsession with selfies and instagram obviously must mean that right? Their facebook feed is filled with stupid duckface pictures of themselves! They're so self obsessed!

But, narcissism has been around for like, forever. The Borgias would make my cousin's 200 Instagram selfies look rather tame for example. Plus, couldn't those painted portraits of people be considered like, ye old selfie. Mona Lisa pioneered the duckface with her weird not-smiling smile in a way. This is stupid, but you get my point.

Every generation also pretty redefines sex and dating as well. I dare you to tell me people back in the day wouldn't have used the 50s equivalent to Tinder if they had the chance. (I don't recommend Tinder though. It's like Pokemon Go for STDs.)

Is there anything I missed here? When you get right down to it, there's not much that separates our generational gaps besides what kind of pop culture we have. Maybe we should stop thinking this mythical construct is somehow special? I don't know, what do you think?

Plus, just saying, Donald Trump has less than 9% of the vote of people under the age of 30. Everyone is hereby banned from complaining about millennials.

 

[EllDawn]

Going by the list of things in the screenshot, you forgot how Millenials are ruining golf.

As I said on facebook, good post. I'm just not going to repeat everything else I said.

 

[V's patron]

You and I are a year apart so wouldn't that make us millenials?

I think it's hard to judge the actions of my generation mostly because I'm apart of it so I'm biased. But we don't always make good decisions and tend to focus more on the good life in the here and now rather than the good life down the road.

Part of it is a generation struggle between the parents and kids because they have different ideas on what to focus on how to live and how to live.

just something to leave in our defense

 

[berto]

I'm pretty sure that except for a few exceptions everyone in this forum is a millennial since most agree that those born on the 1980 forward to around the early 2000's late 90's is a millennial yet not everyone fits the criteria all these staples. Are there walking stereotypes of millennials? All over the place. Does every generation bitch and moan about the next generation's general behavior and attitudes and how they will be the end of us all? Since the beginning of recorded history. People who are no longer young complaining about people are is what they do. Case and point:

" The world must be coming to an end. Children no longer obey their parents and every man wants to write a book."​

That was written in Babylon in 2800 B.C.. Color me shocked. If this guy's right the end is taking it's sweet time, what with it been damn near 5,000 years ago that this was uttered. Adults will complain and screw their kids' lives with their stubborn insistence that they know best, children will be a'holes who think their mom and dad are to blame for everything wrong with their lives, and the cycle continues. All is right with the world.

 

[Teal]

There's a Cracked article on the matter and which I enjoy: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-complaints-about-modern-teens-that-are-statistically-bs_p2/

The reason why older people complain about us is because we live in a world with better opportunities, where as they lived during a time of ceaseless fighting where technology and economy didn't get a chance to boom properly. If we're gonna go point fingers and choose a worst generation in our top list, we better go with the Baby Boomers, which are ironically the people who are calling us names today. When they were off unprotected sex, they were either on drugs or protesting about something. Or both.

 

[Angel]

Depending on where the boundaries are drawn, I am either generation x or generation y (millenials)

To be honest I identify closer with x

Either way, every new generation is told they will be the ones to change everything. It's nothing new. I think we simply adapt to the opportunities provided as the years go by. When I was a little kid, the closest thing to Facebook was something called Bulletin Board, computers cost thousands and there were only 4 TV channels unless you were rich and could afford a satellite dish to get this magical new fangled thing called Sky TV.

My own kids only know internet, digital TV, smartphone, i-everything and 24 hour access to almost anything you want from all over the world.

Are they better off? Maybe. I'm not sure. But each generation gets to play with new stuff and irritate everyone else about it. My grandchildren could well end up living in a world where cloning is a normal part of life and teleportation is only 20 years away from being a reality. Who knows? But as things advance, you're going to get morons who waste the opportunities and take selfies on top of moving jets or whatever. Doesn't matter what the generation is called.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

There's something that someone I watch preaches up and down: You can't stop stupid. It doesn't matter how much technology advances or how smart we as a species get, there is always going to be that one person who f*cks it up for the rest of us.

 

[DDutchguy]

The only times I see this type of behavior it's strangely enough from people that themselves are millenials. I feel like this 'my generation is awful' kind of behavior is often done to promote oneself, that you are somehow better than another. Perhaps not the best example, but often times in the Youtube comment section of a relatively old song, you have people that post something like "This generation doesn't know true music like this". The subtext here is "At least I'm not like them", so basically better than the rest.

As for how older generations look at this one (I'm 18 myself so this perspective is probably biased), I think it also has to do with being a bit out of touch with what being young is like. "Back in my day we did these things that actually contributed" is something I honestly doubt. When I'm looking at my peers, everyone acts very similarly, often just carefree and enjoying their freedom. We don't yet have as many responsibilities as older generations do. Once that happens, we'll probably behave exactly like the older generations. I'd bet money that once all the millenials have children, they themselves will have a case of 'this new generation is lazy' etc.