Millennials are a generation of people who are reaching young adulthood by the early 2000s meaning they were born between the years of 1980s and 2000s. Majority of millennials are children of Generation X, also known as Baby Boombers, who were born between the years of 1960s and 1980s. Millennials are also known as Generation Y because they come after Generation X. The topic of millennials sparks the interest of many including myself because I am myself a millennial.
It is difficult to generalize the people who have opinions on the millennials because millennials have been the hot topic of discussion for the past decade or so. Commonly society picks a positive or negative view on millennials. A negative view that copious amounts of people have on millennials is that we are lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow. Another views are that is relatively positive is that we are just confident, self-expressive, liberal and upbeat. There is a bountiful amount of data to defend either side of this issue. The population usually chooses between these two perspectives or they just remaining neutral with no opinion. However, I believe that millennials are important because they are the one’s who hold the content of future.
Society tends to negatively stereotype the 80 millions Americans born between the years 1980 and 2000. According data found by Lauren Hansen and Ryu Spaeth in the article “Ways to Describe the Millennial Generation”, many people like to believe that millennials are narcissistic and that we only care about ourselves and less about what is going on in the world. By narcissistic they mean that we only care about materialistic things like money, image, self-acceptance, fame and affiliation (Hansen). They also assert that millennia...
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...e Internet using technology; they are becoming more and more technologically savvy. Stein is surely right when he claims we are go-getters and big thinkers because as he might not be aware, studies have shown that millennials are the most adaptable and creative generation. Some millennials just need to learn how to better utilize the source they have.
Therefore, millennials spark the interest many different people with countless distinct opinions. Lauren Hansen had bountiful data to back up her perspective that millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists in society. Joel Stein had the opposing optimistic argument that millennials are the start of something great and positive change and will continue to be advantageous to society and revolution. I personally believe that millennials should not be taken granted, for they have so much to offer to us and to our future.
The new greatest generation was written by Joel Stein, and is critical analysis of the new generation in this article Stein states that people that are in the new millennial generation are considered narcissistic, lazy, and highly unmotivated. He is a writer for the world famous time magazine. The author thinks the only thing the new generation cares about is themselves. The author ran some tests on a huge amount of college students to see if they were narcissistic or not, according to those statistics he found that about fifty percent in 2009 are al considered to be narcissistic. The author shows that technology
It is very hard to tell from the article whether or not Matchar truly believes what is written in support of millennials. Perhaps it is a parody of the earlier generations to say “Be selfish, Gen Y! Be entitled!” (235), but she seems to contradict her earlier statements. The constant repetition that millennials are lazy, unwilling to work, etc paints a bleak picture of their futures for the whole world. Millennials are often portrayed as spoiled rich people who still rely heavily on their parents for everything. This makes them seem childish, and Matchar’s questionable usage of these terms nonetheless is an obvious jab at the poster minority. Millennials overall are hard working and put under more stress than their predecessors, and the ridicule they endure for their work is uncalled for. Therefore, the thesis’s major flaw almost entirely overshadows its main
The 21st century has brought great change and advancement in all aspect of life for mankind across the world. From the creation of high-tech gadgets to innovative ways of basic living, millennials have had a huge engagement in the works of creating such things. They have brought change and advancement through ways in which mankind has never seen before. On the contrary, past generations believe that Millennials are bringing negativity and corruption into the world. The article "The Beat-Up Generation" by Abby Ellin says that " Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them.
The Millennial’s values heavily contrast the values of prior generations. Their values reflect the world that we live in today. “Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them.” (Ellin) This quote gives
Millennials: What do 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, by 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:
In the 2013 TIME magazine, Joel Stein has conducted an article on the Millennial generation entitled, “The New Greatest Generation.” In this article, Stein examines the perception that older generations hold to millennials. In the first couple pages of his article, his scrutinizing comments on this generation are extremely off putting to anyone who identifies with being a millennial. Stein leads the reader to think he agrees with the old get-off-my-lawn generation. That is until the last two pages of the article. Stein uses rhetorical devices like Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to re-evaluate the perceptions on the younger generations, and to say that “millennials could be a great force for positive change.” (Stein 11,)
The times have changed, and with them, the customs. Generations of Americans, each with unique cultural influences and identities, have risen and aged over the course of America’s history. The latest generation, in particular, is the product of the past generation’s reforms in civil and individual rights. The Millennials are vastly different from past generations and they are also markedly unalike each other. The conduct of the 21st century contrasts sharply with the lifestyles of the 80s and the 90s, never mind the decades before those. This conduct is the product of innovations in technology that have also led to a heightened sense of both security and insecurity, and therefore have led to a new mentality that is set to the tune of control and regulation.
As Andres Tapia mentioned, “ To be young is to be experienced”. Millennials have a different perspective about how to success in life. Since millennials are born during this current era, they have an advantage over people that were born before. With the inclusion of technology, it is easier to learn and apply new knowledge than before. A good example is the “Apps”. It is only necessary to create an app that attracts the interest of many consumers to start making money. Finally, Millenials have the ability to adapt and evolve. Millenials are the representation of
This generation is in need instant gratification from all sources. What used to be the norm like going to the store to shop compare prices is now done on line form the house. The attention span of the average millennial is short. At any given time a person has roughly 3 seconds to capture the attention of a person before they are on to the next subject.
Critics of this generation have some pretty negative things to say about the Millennials, which are being interpreted in a way that is casting a shadow on their future in politics. Joel Stein, writer for Time magazine, calls them “lazy, entitled, selfish, and shallow” and defends that claim with “the incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that’s now 65 or older” (Stein 28). Those critics then take that idea and assume that they will not get up and vote. They then take it even further and...
Blaising, Craig A., Kenneth L. Gentry, and Robert B. Strimple. Three Views On the Millennial and Beyond. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.
Most of the millennials today are known to be born about after the 1980 through 1995. Today this generation is currently in the emerging adulthood phase, probably facing issues concerning instability in love and work, exploring their identities, and the feeling of being in-between an adolescent and an adult. In the media, millennials are depicted negatively, the most common portrayal I’ve heard is lazy millennials also many consider millennials impatient and know-it-alls. Due to their instability in love they are also considered the hook-up culture known for sleeping around and having sexual encounters. Emerging adults are faced with difficult events in their lives that are constantly portrayed negatively on the media and further shapes the
In his May 2013 editorial for Time Magazine, “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation,” Joel Stein explains his viewpoint on millennials, defined as people born 1980 through 2000. Using an occasionally humorous tone, Stein summarizes the typical bleak view that older people have for the younger generation, before offering what he believes is closer to the truth. In the end, he decides that while millennials are not without their flaws and vices, a lot of the fears that older people are mostly due to the advanced technology that we are now dealing with. By the end of the article, it is my opinion that Stein makes a very fair summarization and is correct in his idea that to write off the entire generation is unfair towards younger people.
They struggle with low self-esteem. They struggle with making independent decisions. They struggle with succeeding in the workforce. However, none of these struggles are their fault. They are the millennials. According to Simon Sinek, millennials are a group of young, ambitious and hardworking individuals currently entering the workforce. Nonetheless, they are encountering hurdles that have been unheard of until now due to several external factors. As there are constant changes in societal expectations as well as personal expectations, millennials often have difficulty finding where they truly belong. Over the course of his discussion, Sinek targets several different factors and how they contribute to the downfall and characteristics of millennials. Therefore, I believe that there is no doubt that Sinek’s depiction of millennials as low self-esteemed and narcissistic
As the largest generation on the planet (Jenkins), the Millennials (otherwise known as generation Y) have faced plenty of scrutiny from the previous generations. A Millennial is the demographic group made up of anyone who was born between the years 1980 and 2000. This group of young people has proved to be a great contribution to society and also to the advancement of technology. They do things in their own ways and on their own terms, always approaching a problem in the most efficient way possible for everyone. Millennials have settled numerous issues in our society and they are expected to change our world exponentially. Millennials adapt to new technologies very quickly, however, while Millennials see themselves in generally positive terms such as ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘up to date’, many people from the older generations see them as ‘spoiled’ and ‘lazy’. The new technologies do make living everyday life easier and more functional, however, Millennials are not at all ‘lazy’ for taking advantage of them. Millennials use these new tools in incredibly innovative ways and they see the world in a completely different light.