We think we’re so freakin’ special. Here we are with our individuality, our technology, our repetitive stress injuries. Not only do we feel different from other generations, we feel the need to point out how different from everyone we really are.
We have absolutely no doubt that we, as a group, are entitled to a unique voice that will change the way the world works for the future. And we believe that it will be new and interesting and clever and deserving of respect. We’re changing the way people interact with brands. We’re changing the face of television (and of fashion, sense of self, interactivity, literature, music, consumption, sex, and many many other things). When we’re done with the world, it will be completely different than the world we were born into, and it will largely be our doing.
Thing is, that doesn’t make us special. It makes us young.
Long story short, we are not unique. We are doing the exact same thing every generation before us has done when they were young. Look at the 60s. Those of us who have Baby Boomers for parents can watch thousands of people just like Mom and Dad doing drugs, having sex, protesting the Vietnam War. They flipped societal norms on their collective head. And Gen X had Grunge, Reality Bites, the triumph of the portable video camera, drugs (redux) and the beginnings of the Internet.
They all thought they were entitled to do what they did. They looked at the way the world was evolving, and they said, “We need to make our mark.” And so they did. It was arrogant. It was brash. It was presumptuous, and it didn’t pull any punches. It was the archetype of youth baring its teeth and biting full-bore into the world. And now, the work of previous generations is in place, and we have new sets of norms to contend with. It’s only fair that we get our shot, but it’s nothing new. It’s only our time because we’re young now. Just like it was the Boomers’ time, or Gen X’s time.
Up to this point, for those of us keeping score at home, the Millennial Generation hasn’t done anything truly remarkable. Yes, we’ve changed the way we communicate, the way we connect on a fundamental level. But that’s micromanaging. That’s infrastructure. And it’s the tool we’ll have to use to do something that makes us worthy of being called a Great Generation. One of our biggest problems is we act like we’ve already changed the world. We’re patting ourselves on the back for a job well done, but we’ve barely broken ground. If we keep thinking like that, our time will pass us by and we’ll have nothing to show for it. If we keep thinking like that, we’ll never be Great.
Image: Erin MC Hammer
You're confusing optimism with naivete, and repetition with failure.
Millennial are still so young that its youngest members are still in middle school, and we've already changed so much of how the world works. Where were you when the Iranian revolts was underway, and the social media networks that our generation pioneered were keeping an intellectually oppressive regime from censoring the struggles of millions of people? Our generation is championing the Gay Rights Movement, and without our support the promise of nationwide gay marriage would be an impossibility. We're the hardest-hit by the economic crisis (our unemployment numbers are higher than even 65 year-olds) and we will be the most affected by it in decades to come, but we're still a generation of positive-attitude, can-do-it optimists. That's how fucking awesome we are. And what–you think we're just going to sit on our asses and play World of Warcraft until we die? That just because other generations have set out to change the world, we can't? I don't even understand what you're arguing. Every generation changes its world–we're just dead-certain that we're making the world more accessible, more tolerant, and WAY more awesome than it's ever been before.
I don't want to be harsh, but I find the tone of this article to be totally unhelpful. You're shutting us down, unnecessarily and with really no substantial argument (other than basically calling us 'whippersnappers'). Maybe YOU haven't “broken ground” but I know I have, and I have faith that my generation has no intention of stopping–even if it means leaving naysayers like you in the dust.
Lauren – I'll try to go point-by-point, here.
First of all, clearly the middle schoolers among us are not the subject of this piece. There is a nod toward the future, yes, but I am in no way discussing how an eighth grader hasn't changed the world yet.
Regarding Iran: If I'm not mistaken, the government suppressed the revolts and has since become more careful regarding their (still repulsive) censorship of their people. Regarding Twitter – it's hard to say our generation pioneered it when the average age of Twitter users falls far outside our generational lines. Not only that, but the founders of Twitter are all members of Generation X.
Regarding Gay Rights: Yes, we are championing the Gay Rights Movement, and that's great. That said, as long as Gen Y doesn't overthrow South Carolina, Texas, Utah and many other states, universal gay marriage is still a virtual impossibility. Also, I don't view championing a cause as something that makes a generation great. It's championing a cause that succeeds. I'm not naysaying. I actually think we're doing good things.
Let me add that I acknowledge the importance of both of those points, and consider them part of the infrastructure I referred to in the piece.
I agree that we are optimistic and never once suggested that we are naive. I also don't believe I said we have failed. What I do believe is that we are, by and large, already too self-congratulatory even though the job isn't done.
Regarding other generations: Of course I think we should go out and try to change the world. My point there was that other generations have done the same thing, and we should stop thinking that we're the first one to believe we can do it. I want us to have a sense of history, not just a sense of present, and I don't believe our sense of history is as developed as it should be.
And now to the end part: I think we ARE whippersnappers. Because we're young, and that's what young people are. And I think it's great that you feel as though you've broken ground, and you strike me as someone who will strive to continue to break ground. That said, I think a large part of Gen-Y is too self-satisfied and complacent to realize there's still work to do.
This isn't naysaying. It's tough love.
I generally agree with Sam's point – each generation sets out to make its mark. Where they inevitably succeed is in creating a culturally distinct space for themselves that reflects unique values. Where many fail is in solidifying that into real social change that will last even after their cultural primacy has washed out. Sam is correct in saying that we've achieved the former. The danger is in being like other youth movements historically that become content with the culture they've created and rest on their laurels. We can't be satisfied with just being cool and comfortable, and we definitely can't be satisfied with social consciousness as a trend that doesn't lead to serious activism.
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Killer piece, Sam (I particularly liked the line about the repetitive stress injuries). I'm totally on board with you. Instead of talking about how great we are, Gen Y needs to put up or shut up. I'd love to see our generation embrace a common cause and really make it a reality. Then, maybe, we could create a Great Generation.
Could we be the generation that changed the way we interact with our planet and stopped global warming?
Could we be the generation that ended world hunger?
Could we be the generation that brought world peace?
Or will we be the generation that made Facebook the biggest corporation in the world?