The myth of Millennials

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.