An Analysis Of Millennials

Millennials: What others think of them?

“Lazy, narcissistic, tech obsessed” are some of the most common terms used to describe the Millennial generation; but are these too stereotypical, are people misinterpreting Millennials? The main question this essay will seek to answer is, what do others think about the Millennial generation, and to what extent are these opinions correct? To answer this question, three views, of three different people/entities will be taken. The first, of Joel Stein (Generation X), a prominent writer working with Time magazine, suggests that Millennials are lazy, narcissistic, fame-obsessed and very influenced by peers, through his article “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation”. The second is Generation Like, a PBS Frontline

Firstly, Joel Stein backs his claims of Millennials being narcissistic by quoting a study conducted by the National Institute of Health, that states “58% of more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982” (Stein 1). The National Institute of Health is a health research facility of the United States Department of Health and Human services. In the study quoted by Joel Stein, the study suggests that Millennials are more narcissistic, or in other words selfish and self-obsessed than Generation X, the generation during the 1980’s. The second point made by Stein is that Millennials are fame-obsessed. He backs his claims of Millennials being fame-obsessed in the form of a 2007 study in which “3 times as many middle-school girls want to grow up to be a personal assistant to a famous person, than want to be a Senator; 4 times as many would pick the assistant job over CEO of a major corporation”1 (Stein 1). Even though Stein, in his article describes this study to show Millennials as fame obsessed; this may not necessarily be true. A Senator is more famous, considering the fact a Senator is elected by the mandate of the people. On the other hand, very few people know the secretaries of famous people. This piece of evidence suggests the bias that Joel Stein has against Millennials. This is clear backed from the fact that Joel Stein uses a study to suggest something opposite of what the study suggests. The next point that Stein makes is that Millennials are lazy. This is backed by data from the nonprofit, Families and Work Institute, to show that “in 1992, 80% of people under the age 23 wanted to, one day, have a job with greater responsibility; 10 years later, only 60%