It was the end of the world, at
least that’s what I thought as a mere nine year old child. Predictions of
massive blackouts, solar flares, and social decay had been harbored by my ears
for months leading up to the turn of the century. I of course was left
rightfully concerned to face Y2K. The new millennium came and went though, and
since then I’ve lived through more predicted apocalypses than the dinosaurs. As
a Millennial, I have been tasked with bringing on the destruction of the
planet. I’m told that my generation has been doing a good job thus far. The
world has been falling apart before I could even drive, so I suppose I came out
of the womb ready to play Godzilla. In fact, it appears that I have
successfully dismantled every form of progress gained throughout the 20th
century before even completing my college degree, getting married, having
kids, or working a real job. I am a Millennial, and thus I am a God of Carnage.
I’ve spent my morning shuffling
through podcasts, YouTube videos, and radio listening to the news and hot
button issues of the day. Of course, the usual controversy was floating through
the airwaves regarding gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and abortion but I
was surprised by a strong underlying tone. I was continually being prompted by reporters
and talk show hosts to hate myself as a Millennial. Apparently I spend 99% of
my time smoking pot while thumbing through social media, fornicating during YouTube
advertisements, texting with the hand that isn’t holding the joint, burning
books, compromising my beliefs, instigating street wars in Chicago, and all the
while sleeping my day away. I guess I could at least argue I’m a multi-tasker?
I’ve been left stewing at my desk
for the last few hours processing what I have heard. While the ammunition is
there, I refuse to hurl petty insults at the older generation in this blog. To
do so would be hypocritical. The reason for this is (1) that it would be
misplaced anger at a few media faces prompting me to ignorantly speak in
generalizations as they do, and (2) to accuse the overwhelming majority of
talented and good people in the baby boomers of being educated derelicts would
make me the Bill O’Reilly of the Millennials. Instead, I have comprised a list
of things Millenials have accomplished, do better, and should be recognized by
their elders.
We Created a
Language-
Language is one of the most important creations of the human race and is a key
factor separating man from animal. Thousands of languages have graced the world
helping to pass information and contribute to the growth of the human mind. In
the span of a decade, Millennials have created a language that is so effective
in distributing information in a succinct manner, that the older generation has
struggled and worked vigilantly to learn it. With the early cell phones came
the invention of texting. I often laugh at how I’ll have to explain to my
children that LOL, BTW, and ROFL were an invention created purely out of frustration.
Texting on an old flip phone was a nightmare. Let me put it into perspective:
To type “How are you doing” on an old flip phone, you would have to press a
numerical keypad’s different buttons 33 times. Don’t understand what I’m
talking about? Pull up your phone’s dial pad. Until the QWERTY keyboard was
added to cell phones, texting was a beyond tedious experience. The result was a
language created from acronyms and abbreviations. Soon the language evolved to
be much more however. These acronyms began to take on different undertones
rather than their spelled out meanings. For instance, LOL became a form of
empathy and emotion displayed through writing in an unprecedented way. I’d rather
leave it up to you to figure out what I mean as you text today. You most
certainly are not laughing out loud
each time you write this acronym.
The Skimming
Accusation-
A big criticism of the older generation in regards to our incompetency is the Skimming Accusation. Some like to say we
have become so illiterate that we cannot even read a complete article. In fact,
many of you reading this blog skimmed through the second half of the last
paragraph getting to this next point. Rather than this being a weakness, the
older generation must understand it is imperative in the modern era. With the
internet came vast amounts of information huddled into one medium. As a result,
when seeking to learn via the internet, one must filter through articles and
writing quickly and with purpose. Skimming has become a means of deciphering
whether or not an article is credible, useful, and worth taking a closer look
at. Often times I find myself skimming through an article up until something
strikes me as important. At which point, I will return to the top and begin a
thorough read. As a student who has finished his bachelors in History, I have
written more in depth research papers than the majority of you Baby Boomers. Nothing
was more useful than using this skimming technique to pick and choose credible
and important material. Reading in this way helps aid in sorting through the
mass amounts of information you sadly never had at your disposal. I promise it’s
not that we can’t read-- it’s that we
have so much more to read.
Tolerance- Globally, America
is famous for its racism and past sins regarding slavery. For many of us it is
a denied aspect of our past. It’s important to keep in perspective that the
civil rights movement was a mere stepping stone to tolerance. Racism after this
movement was still prevalent and strong, though no longer legally backed. To be
a racist in many ways just became a closet affair. It was socially unacceptable
to display such intolerance, though the feeling was and is still there for many.
It wasn’t and isn’t just a black and white issue. Social crimes against women,
immigrants, and people of a different sexual orientation were always present,
and still are. Millenials are simply
more tolerant. Of course there will always be bigots, but Millennials seem to have
helped make the country less discriminatory. I don’t even like to call it
tolerance. For many it’s beyond just accepting people’s differences. They embrace
and celebrate these different perspectives and heritages. A beautiful new
blindness is sweeping throughout the country. Millenials have friends that
would make their forefathers ashamed, and that’s awesome. Lots of work left,
but Millenials are striving for equality.
Embracing New
Things-
Smart businesses have learned that technology grows exponentially. That is to
say, each technological breakthrough will yield a substantially more advanced
product than the one previous. Consumers must be able to adapt and accept these
new changes or risk falling behind. Millennials have perfected the art of
change. Throughout the course of our lives we have watched game consoles, cell
phones, televisions, and computers evolve at a rapid pace. Every time a new
product hits the market, Millennials embrace it and immediately apply it to
their lives. Millennials have grown up in a world of change, and they embrace
it in a way that is unprecedented historically. Rather than hold on to the old
way of doing things, they anticipate and get excited for the next big thing.
They find themselves thinking about how to improve what they have, and let the
market know what they want. For instance, I’m waiting for a cell phone that is
completely water and shatterproof. I don’t find myself hoping for this phone,
rather I find myself waiting for it to come out. I’m not hoping for a touch
screen television that performs similarly to an IPAD, still has a remote
control but can be voice activated, syncs to my computer, and has my music
library downloaded… I’m just waiting. Think about how long the older generation
held out on getting a smartphone or the internet… That reluctance to change
will not be found in the majority of Millennials.
To
be continued in Part II of Why
Millennials Don’t Suck.
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