The Millennials

Dubbed the millennials, people born anywhere from 1980 to 2000, are being characterized as the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media. Described by the generation before them as sociable, optimistic, talented, well-educated, collaborative, open-minded, influential, and achievement-oriented, millennials are considered to be as different as their parents as they can get. Maury Safer's segment on 60 Minutes showed a generation of young adults who are being thrusted into the corporate world with a new insight on how things should be done.

Being a part of the generation of the millennials, I feel as though we are somewhat misrepresented. While I feel that we are more resourceful and are able to accomplish tasks in a more efficient way than our parents’ generation, there are qualities about us that contradict the general opinion. We are more resourceful because we’ve had those resources handed to us since we we’re children. We’ve grown up with a computer, been reliant on cell phones since we were in high school, and have adapted to the newest forms of technology almost as soon as it was invented. We can multi task because we’ve been forced to acclimate ourselves to a world where efficiency is a top priority. We are described as a generation of children who are too dependent on emotional support from their parents. We need to be told that we’re doing a good job, be encouraged through positive reinforcement and that we are incapable of handling our own affairs without the intervention of our parents.

The fact that many of these assumptions are true is no fault of our own. It is not our fault our parents tend to baby us, or that we’ve become dependent on moral support for success. It is not our fault that we’ve been handed the advantages we need to prevail in our society. We simply know how to use what we have to our benefit.

Another distinction between the millennials and baby boomer generation is that we are more exposed to ethnic and cultural diversity. We are surrounded by a diverse population more so than our parents were, and are more open to interracial interaction. We have been taught to be more inclusive of other races, and to be more tolerant. Thus we have learned the life skill of being able to work with different types of people faster than our parents would have. We are also more politically active than our parent’s generation. Politics are discussed more frequently and with more passion than before partly because the millennials feel as though they can do more to change the world than our parents felt they could.

We’ve learned to be interdependent on those around us, on our friends, family and our technologies. We are more attached to our computers than our TV’s. We tend to Instant Message and text instead of calling or talking face to face. We’ve learned to be team players, and how to work for the greater good.

I do not believe that the millennials are ignorant to the reality of the corporate world. Many of us have had jobs since we’ve been in high school. We work full time over the summer; take on internships and a full time class schedule at the same time. I believe that we are a generation of determined individuals who know that they are living in a dog eat dog world, where if you don’t strive to do your best, you will be left in the dust. We are a generation that knows what it takes to get to the top, and won’t stop until we get there. We are a generation that believes they can do whatever they want to do as long as they work hard. Our generation is full of determination, perseverance and resilience. We are a group that knows how to use the resources given to them in an effective and efficient way. We are the generation who knows how to get exactly what it wants.