We go by many names: the "selfie" generation, the "we" generation, generation y, and the generation who will leave our children worse off than we were. Many Millennials prefer not to identify with their generation because of the negative stigma that is attached to being a younger adult in this day and age. So what exactly is wrong with this generation? Where did we go wrong?
The self-entitlement that many Millennials carry around with them is exceedingly strong. Maybe it is because some of their parents (Generation X) spoon fed them as teens, and gave them things to keep them from whining as children. Maybe it is because of technology around today, and the more recent phenomenon that technology brings being instant gratification. Maybe it is the media. I see this on an everyday basis. It is pitiful. For example, on my floor, in the dorm I live in, we have a laundry room. We also have a group message in which this afternoon someone said "why would someone flip the trash can upside down in the laundry room?" Many girls proceeded to comment joking about who it was. A few hours later, I walked into the laundry room to throw something away and the trashcan was still upside down. After flipping it right side up, I realized just how lazy my generation was. I knew the thought process in their minds exactly. They just assumed that one of the janitors would come by and pick it up, as if they were too good to flip the trashcan right side up. It is pitiful, and honestly disgusting. For a generation who preaches about how everyone is equal, and nobody should be treated differently because of their race, occupation, or social status, it sure seems that their beliefs and actions don't align parallel with each other.
If I could sum up the millennial generation's hobbies, it would include: social media, Netflix and chillin', and the blame game. What is the blame game? "I didn't do it." "It wasn't my fault." "It is not my problem." This generation just cannot seem to own up, or take responsibility for anything that goes wrong on their clock. Part of me believes that this is one of the reasons that we are known as the generation who is going to leave our children worse off than we were. The lack of moral values is leading us down a road that is going to take a lot of willpower to bring the nation back from.
Political correctness. It needs to go. This generation is known for its overwhelmingly liberal ideology, and its lack of traditional values set in stone by our grandparents, and the ones before them. I am so sick of having to be careful of what I say in public because it might "hurt someone's feelings." How do these people think they are going to survive in the world without a tough shell for things to roll off of their backs? Americans have been known for winning. That isnt the case recently. Why? We aren't worried about the major issues such as children's education as a whole American population, but instead concerned with things like whether "black" or "African American" is the right terminology. Who cares? Stop taking petty things to heart, and start focusing on more important issues in the world. The overwhelmingly soft backbones of this generation is never going to allow us to make any more breakthroughs than what has already been done for us.
This article did a lot of generalizing. I am not saying that every single Millennial is horrible, or that every single person from this generation needs to dramatically change. But I do think that we can all take a look in the mirror and realize that we are the fresh adults of the world. We have the power and tools to do such good in the world. Stand with me to change the generation's selfishness into a drive to change the world. If you see someone giving us a bad name, say something. If you see something negative, change it. We can not let our generation be known as the one who let this country go to hell in a hand basket.
Nothing is free in life, and life isn't fair. Learn to live with it. Let's go from being "the selfie generation" to "the generation who made the greatest comeback".
Cheers.
