Millennials are known for keeping up with technological trends, such as keeping up with the latest Macbook or iPhone releases. However, this interest is translated to some as arrogance or self-absorption.
By Alison Caracciolo | Staff Columnist
Do you ever get tired of the stigma people place upon the so-called lazy and egotistical millennial generation? In today’s society, the baby boomers have begun to enter retirement, and millennials have started to enter the workforce with those from Generation X.
Since I am a millennial, I’ve noticed that we tend to get a bad reputation from the generations before us.
The baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, went through presidential assassinations, space travel, Vietnam and the Cold War. This generation is known for being team players in the workforce, working to live and having a strong sense of optimism.
Generation X consists of those who were born between 1965 and 1980, where they witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, women’s liberation, the internet and terrorist attacks. People from this generation are often thought of as being self-reliant, fiscally conservative and skeptical, according to a Johns Hopkins Pathology study.
Generation X remains the “middle child,” as the millennial generation has overtaken the baby boomers as the largest living generation, according to the Pew Research Center.
Those born between 1980 and 2000 are considered to be millennials. According to Johns Hopkins Pathology, there are over 80 million people that were born in this era with characteristics of realism, confidence and diversity. This generation has undergone school shootings, technology advancements, the identification of the AIDS virus and the Gulf and Iraq wars.
Each generation has experienced historic events that shape the way they live and how they perceive life. No one generation, or human, is the same. We all have our own values we place on life, work and our work ethic.
As millennials start college and begin to take over the current workforce, it is as if the baby boomers and Generation X have negatively stereotyped the youth of today’s world. Perhaps this thought comes from the major difference between each generation, which is how we communicate with one another.
Obviously, younger Americans have a strong hold on technology compared to others, but this is largely due to the fact that we were born into a technological environment.
Each generation comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, and these are mainly based on the economic outlook and general environment that said generations were born into.
Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals, said millennials excel in the field of technology but fall short in their commitment to holding down jobs.
According to Information Strategies, Inc., millennials are considered to be 63 percent technology-savvy, while 29 percent are considered to lack commitment. 27 percent of millennials are believed to have an over-inflated sense of self.
As a millennial, I find that many people immediately deem our personal sense of confidence as a self-entitled ego problem. In today’s harsh society, many people lack confidence and have fear of speaking against their peers. But millennials, who are themselves in every sense of the word and show no fear in what they say or do, are labeled as egotistical.
According to Johns Hopkins Pathology, Generation X and millennials are similar in a sense that they both lack commitment to one job and fall a little short when trying to communicate with other people or listen actively. Baby boomers are known to be set in their ways, and it is hard for them to adapt to the new technologically-savvy environment they are now living in.
Millennials are not content with staying tied down to one job their whole lives. They change frequently to continue improving their knowledge and creativity in the vastly-growing economy.
People see one headline about how millennials are the most diva-stricken youth, dominating our nation with self-absorbed personalities, and instantly we are all deemed the generation too stuck-up to survive in adult society.
If anything, millennials have to work harder than ever with the push for everyone to attend college, which means more student debt. With a lower starting salary, it makes it more difficult for us to make a name for ourselves.
The millennial generation is changing the way people live and how businesses reach new levels of success. The millennial generation is refocusing the lens with which society views the world and its workplace. Our nation struggles to adapt to change, but not all millennials are stuck-up divas; rather, we are changing with society in the ways we live, work and perceive the economic society we live in.
This country keeps its economy going by innovation, and millennials keep everyone on their toes.
