Over the last few weeks the media have been bizarrely
obsessing over the concept of millennials. A ‘millennial’ is generally someone
born between 1982 and 2000- so someone who either came of age or was born at
the new millennium. As a millennial, it’s been kind of cringey to watch (after
writing ‘cringey’, I’ve never been more acutely aware of how stereotypically
millennial I am) article after article generalise millions of people. Their
coverage has been both confusing and slightly irritating- I have never liked
pitting generations against each other, especially in a way that alienates one
from the other; we all want the same things, people! So I’ve been compelled to
write whatever this is in response to the media’s sudden concern about us
‘millennials’, and maybe dispel some myths as I go along.
1.
“Millennials
are spoilt”
My generation happened to grow up in a period of huge
technological advancements, occurring either in our childhood or our teenage
years, changes which have continued into adulthood. While children growing up
today may well take their mobiles and laptops for granted, we definitely don’t;
we’ve lived both with and without them. With such luxuries has also come huge
pressures. Older generations never had to deal with cyber bullying, in which
bullies can follow you into your home in the form of facebook, twitter,
snapchat etc. And they never had to deal with the pressure of having a new
iphone every year. It’s getting even worse too; what I had to deal with when I
was 16, kids are going through when they’re 10. We appreciate technology, but
we know its dangers too.
2.
“Millennials
don’t work hard/are lazy”
If by ‘lazy’ you mean ‘paralysed by fear’ then yes, millennials
are lazy. My generation has so much
to be anxious about I am constantly in awe of our ability to get out of bed
each day. My parents bought a house when they were 26, but house prices are so
high these days, and only increasing, we can barely afford our rent. Wages are
stagnant, and many millennials entered the jobs market at the worst possible
time. Unpaid internships are now a routine part of most professions, meaning if
mummy and daddy can’t sustain you for a few months, it’s hard to even get started.
It’s no wonder some millennials are having to live with their poor parents
until their late twenties. It’s thought we’ll be the first generation not to be
better off than our parents, no matter how hard we work.
3.
“Millennials
are narcissistic”
If we are, this is literally everyone’s fault but ours. As
a generation, we were promised more than any other. My earliest memory of
politics is John Prescott promising to have 40% of young people attend
University. Shortly after this I remember being visited in school by the ‘aim
higher’ campaign, who introduced the idea of University to kids who would be
the first in their families to attend. So we were kind of made the centre of
attention from the beginning. It’s like New Labour were obsessed with us and
then kind of forgot what would happen to job prospects if 40% of us had a
bloody degree. They had good intentions.
I don’t mean to hold a pity party, but a little
acknowledgement that the characteristics that define ‘millennials’ are a result
of real and legitimate factors would be nice. 9/11, the Iraq War, 7/7, the
global financial crisis- to name a few- are some of our earliest and most
prominent memories. So before you dismiss my generation as useless, remember
that in the face of the tumultuous world, we millennials are hopeful,
innovative and relentlessly engaged in our future. And I think we rock.
