I’ve been saying for quite some time that the whole Millenials are lazy and whiny thing is completely overblown and the result of selective memory and nostalgia among other things. Seems I might have some statistics backing me up…
I agree, but I am also biased. However, I agree - the statistics usually seem to back up the idea that millennials are not really much worse than any other generation before them.
I wouldn’t even say that millennials like to broadcast our angst more than other generations. We just have more outlets through which to do it publicly. A 25-year-old Baby Boomer in 1980 or a 25-year-old Generation Xer in 2000 didn’t have the Internet on a large scale, so their angst may have been confined to writing in a journal or whining to their friends. The unfortunate reality of millennial life is that for the younger ones in our generation, we could live out our embarrassing teenage years online!
Depression is like other disorders, for example ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are better at diagnosing them, getting better at treating them, and there is less stigma associated with having these disorders. These factors do not equate with prevalence, but because people are more open about them, you hear about them more, are more likely to know someone who has one of them, and it seems more prevalent. I agree that social media, and media in general has a way of supporting the myth that millenials are not faring well.
Many mental disorders first manifest during your 20s, so it’s not much of a surprise that millennials are more likely to experience them when comparing cross-sectional data.
And cross sectional data shows that it’s really the baby boomers who are having a resilience problem. They’re far more likely than millennials to experience cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, and bone necrosis.
every generation thinks the one after it is less worthy…oooo these kids today…blah blah.
I think it is too early to judge…bouncing back is a trait you exhibit in your late 20s and on…when the first disappointments, layoffs, etc start.
Yes, it is underrated, More millennial in my observation seem much more willing to take risks in being politically active and openly give voice to that activism regardless of possible negative career consequences compared with my Generation(Gen X a.k.a. “Slacker generation”) or earlier well past 21.
One illustration of this was how many more millenials participated in the last 2 presidential elections compared with my generation in the 2000 and 2004 election. In one of those elections, older poll workers expressed a mix of outraged concern and admiration at how I was one of only a tiny handful of voters under the age of 50 who showed up to vote by 6-7 pm in a neighborhood mostly populated by college/grad students and young 20-30 something professionals in the Boston area. Vast majority of voters in that polling place up to that time were 50+.
Doesn’t seem to be an issue in my current neighborhood or friends still living in my old Boston area neighborhood in 2008 and 2012 as they reported seeing a flood of college-aged and 20-40 something voters lining up patiently in droves to vote. .
This isn’t a millenial thing. Young people have always been more likely to protest since they have less to lose. If they go to jail or lose their jobs they don’t have to worry about supporting kids.
My point was back when I was 18, 21, or even 25 as a tail-end Gen Xer…my generation had the lowest political participation rate up to that point. And this was underscored by the fact my polling place only saw a handful of voters under the age of 50 by 7 pm during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections despite the fact my Boston area neighborhood then was mostly populated by folks under 40. And most of them likely had much more flexibility timewise as they were mostly undergrad/grad students whereas I was one of the folks with a 50+ hour jobs which started at 7-9:30 am sharp.
The word I would use to describe the millennials is ‘different’. A specific example. A couple years ago, I worked for a company that had a huge age gap. Lots of folk 55-65, and lots 20-30. Not much in between. Significant tension. Old guys thought the young ones were a bunch of slackers because they did not adhere to the work until the work is done ethic of their generation. Turns out, the young guns were leaving work at 5ish, but would often end up getting together with coworkers in the evening and essentially kept working, albeit a little informally. Point is, they were getting everything done. Growing up in the age of connected all the time, they did not have any rigid boundaries about work/play/etc. it just kinda mushed altogether. So, once everyone recognized we did not have a group of young slackers and old tyrants, it worked out pretty well.