The Millennials and Looking Towards the Future Millennials have come into a negative light in the eyes of many being blamed for problems in the world today. In Joel Stein’s article entitled The New Greatest Generation he believes they will instead of causing problems bring solutions to them and I agree with him. The millennials are a generation possessing much more resources and technology than any other generation before them by a long shot.
The technological advances made from the 1980s to the early 2000 have opened a world of possibilities that millennials will and are taking advantage of to get further in life. Stein states at the beginning of his article that the millennials are narcissists, self-entitled, and indulgent. The argument is that compared the previous generations the millennials are comparatively worse by a long shot having technology do most of the work for them which makes them lazy. They also give into the obsession of fame and those that are famous by watching reality T. V. shows to keep informed on their lives.
It is stated in Stein’s article that the ways the parents of the millennials has raised them has caused an issue where they have so much selfesteem that they expect they’ll get more than they actually will in terms of the workforce and greatly increased narcissism (Stein 28). It reached a point to where during the graduation of Wellesley High School the English teacher their named David McCullough Jr. gave a speech titled “YouAreNotSpecial” to give the students some examples of how real life works (Stein 28). The article then starts to change tone in that Stein begins speaking about the affect technology has on life.
The research and findings of ark Bauerlein, an English professor at Emery, have discovered that millennials grow up dealing with peer pressure more than past generations have (Stein 29). Bauerlein states “Never before in history have people been able to grow up and reach age 23 so dominated by peers. ” (Stein 29). The lack of face-to-face contact that is present in the millennials has also caused a lack of empathy towards other due to increasing narcissism according to Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University at Dominguez Hills (Stein 29).
What they do understand is how to turn themselves into brands, with “friend” and “follower” tallies that serve as sales figures. ” states Stein (29). The fact that millennials grew up watching reality T. V. changed how they define their personality. “Most people never define who they are as a personality type until their 30s. ” stated casting Director Ofir (Stein 30). The effect of the people staring in the reality T. V. shows have on millennials and how they grow is apparent causing them to develop a personality type at the age of 14 which is a huge jump according to Ofir (Stein 30).
Stein then begins to talk about himself in the article getting to his opinions of the millennials. He starts by saying he had been complaining the whole time about the narcissism that millennials display when he himself also displays a great deal by starting his article with I. Stein continues to list of a number of things that he complained about that the millennials do that he is also guilty of including being in the final round of the reality show Real World: London in 1995 (30).
Then he explains how the traits that millennials display are not new to their generation and he been around since the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation. The article begins winding down with Stein explaining how the behavior that people complain about has been prevalent for a substantial amount of time but the millennials have a different way of approaching them. The amount of connection and choice available to people have made them more cautious in how they do things. The phrase, emerging adulthood, created by Jeffrey
Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University, explains why millennials don’t try working their way up in a company because they have a ton of options available to them (Stein 31). The knowledge that they can obtain can help them greatly in the workforce and they also display great amounts of positivity. Millennials have experienced many major events in history and are more accepting than generations of the past which provides a greater chance of success in the world.
Stein ends the article with the quote “I choose to believe in the children God knows they do. (Stein 34) Stein’s article really drove home the idea that every generation is really just an improvement upon the last one and I agree with him. The millennials were born after the time of major racial division in America which prevented them from being biased towards a race and letting them decide on their own how to feel rather than propagandized towards a certain opinion. This lack of racial bias has created a stronger sense of community in the world and provided the future a stronger push towards equality for everyone.
Jeffrey Arnett’s points of the choices that are available to millennials does open them up to be a more cautious generation preferring instead of starting at the bottom of a company and trying to work their way up they have so many unique options available now that weren’t in the past (30). The choices make it so millennials aren’t stressed looking for jobs or rushing into things and have the ability to postpone big decisions create more opportunities to be successful. Tagree with the fact of millennials not respecting authority but also not resenting to be a very important prospect to them.
The fact that they are not afraid by the idea of authority but they acknowledge it existence creates many opportunities of negotiation. In Stein’s article the example is given at DreamWorks that an employee told the human-relations department head, Dan Satterthwaithe, that there is a difference between karate and jiu-jitsu he was shocked by the boldness (32). The positivism of millennials and the fact that they are more accepting also helps advance them in the future and help future generations to be even better.
I think that Joel Stein’s article contained an enormous amount of truth that sheds light on the millennials and I agree with him. The millennials are generation of great change they were raised in a much different way than all previous generations. The prevalence of technology in everyday life has created a more connected accepting world for them. I think that due to the pure amount of opportunities that are present for millennials that they will usher in a more prosperous time for the future.
