Whether we look to ridiculous reality TV, the age of social media, or helicopter parents, the consensus is that Millennials "just like, can't even deal" with the harsh realities of "adulting".

I was born in 1996 and am on the cusp of being a Millennial and a Gen Z. I was neither awarded participation trophies as a child nor do I know exactly what a "Tik-Toker" does, so I guess that makes me a reluctant Millennial (besides that, people born in 2000 are now 20 F***ing years old which gives me actual anxiety). So in 2020, what does it mean to be a Millennial and why does the internet give us license to behave like sophomoric, tweeting, offended, anxious, and entitled (fake) social justice warriors? I reject the use of the word snowflake but like, I get the sentiment.

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If social media is how you formed your impression of Millennials, you'll assume our collective experience is traumas and hardships like (gasp) when your boyfriend likes another girl's photo on Instagram, or that time you were left out of the group chat (sob), or when you didn't get promoted to management after 6 months at your first job (fail), or that one time (oh god, its hard to even talk about) when you went to the bar and could only afford ONE White Claw because you spent all your money on a Coachella ticket.

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Millennials have grown up in an age of overwhelming technological advancement, low unemployment, and economic growth, but most of us formed our relationship with debt, social mobility, and distrust of the political institution during the 2008 financial crash. While FOMO and other prevalent sociocultural pressures are anxiety inducing, many Millennials cite the source of their anxiety as being rooted in social expectations; we are over-educated, in debt, and largely unable to secure a job with potential for upward mobility. The social pressures of what we should be doing at our age coupled with an over-educated workforce, a competitive job market, and the pressure to look like you have your shit together on social media can be emotionally debilitating.

We are branded "entitled". Do we deserve it? Maybe sometimes. Many in my generation expect to live in homes their parents couldn't afford until they were close to 40, but social media shows show us that quartz countertops and two bathrooms is simply successful adulting. To be fair, preceding generations didn't have the constant social media bombardment pushing us to fit in or be left behind. Previous generations compared themselves with their neighbors, not the influencers who live in NYC or LA. Our own society, that is, our on-line peers, have changed our expectations of what our lives should be and even though we know a lot of it isn't real, it feels real to us. And we're already falling behind. STRESS.

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I am loathe to accept the "entitled" part of the label of Millennial , although to be fair, like all generations we need to own all aspects of ourselves. So while Millennials often act entitled and overly dramatic, I am also proud to be part of a generation that expresses emotion, talks about mental health, fights for the future of our earth, condemns discrimination, values education, rejects the institution, and "just like, can't even deal" with the mess previous generations left us. I know we stand on the shoulders of civil rights and climate warriors that came before us, but I wonder if the majority of previous generations felt under siege - the urgency to fix it immediately - like we do?

So where does this leave us? Well, my advice for fellow Millennials/GenZ is get yourself to an actual therapist to deal with negative emotions (not on Twitter), remind yourself that you deserve what you earn and aren't owed anything else, don't buy anything on a credit card that you can't pay off that same day, fight for what you believe, and don't "Ok Boomer" anyone who doesn't understand the nuance of our generation. Be the generation we wish came before us.