I’m sure most of you have stumbled across social media posts where various generations clash. One snarky comment after the other, a statistic or two, a couple of likes later, and you start to wonder whose claims have validity.
Are the Baby Boomers right when they say that my generation is lazy, entitled, and obsessed with technology? Are the Millennials exaggerating when they suggest that Baby Boomers damaged not only the economy but the environment as well?
Sure, some Millennials may seem constantly captivated by their phones, but other Millennials utilize technology for greater purposes than to like photos on Instagram. We take the tools we have and use them to our advantage. Does this make us a bad generation, though? I see my generation as one who, for the most part, is conscious of racism, sexism, and other social issues.
We are unafraid to point out that the Baby Boomer generation took advantage of the economy and is still reaping its benefits, while other generations can only dream of such luxury. We have no problem reminding Baby Boomers that they lived in a time of racism and sexism. Millennials are also unafraid to point out the carelessness with which Baby Boomers treated the environment, and how our generation is scrambling to fix their mistakes.
If this socially conscious behavior is written off as “lazy” or “entitled,” then so be it. I can only speak for myself when I say that the Millennials are a generation that makes do with what they have.
In the grand scheme of things, every generation will have a problem with other generations. Social norms change with time, and this inevitably shapes who people are. How different generations choose to react to shifts in norms is up to them.