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I'm a millennial, as many have probably guessed from my zany, irony-laden, attention-seeking attitude*, and one of the few "proud millennials" I've ever met. Obviously, the age group only tells you so much about someone, but I've always liked to watch the trends.
Take the millennials' contempt for their own generation—we're a very self-effacing age group, probably because we're so Independent and Self-Centered and we hate being lumped in with groups. We're more connected with the world than ever before, but we've grown up in a world that enthusiastically facilitates echo chambers. We grew up with Gore vs. Bush, and many of us started voting (or not voting) around this most recent election. The overall generation tends to be very hostile towards the idea of "party loyalty", for better or worse, and we're more progressive than ever—unless we're young dudes talking about feminism, in which case we're actually less progressive than the older guys. Go figure.
So, what's your generation? Do you feel any particular identification with it? Feel free to reference general political affiliation, but try to steer clear of stating actual beliefs, since the political moratorium is still active.
*I mean, granted, all of that could indicate GenX, too, but I'm not Disaffected enough. ;P
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I had to look mine up, so that tells you much I identify with it. Apparently I missed the Baby Boomer cutoff so I fall into Generation X. I have no idea what that means, though. As both a teacher and a parent I spend most of my time with younger people, so I suspect my sensibilities are probably a bit multi-generational.
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I was born at the very end of the post WWII Baby Boom (1963). I'm 53 years old and the older I get the more to the left I lean, which is just the opposite of most of the people I personally know in my age group. Maybe it's having been born in Kennedy's shadow or something.
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This whole concept is stupid.
Ever since the "baby boomers" got lumped into a one big monolithic social and political group, people have stumbling over themselves to define other generations as such.
It's a flawed concept from the beginning because the "boomer" generation doesn't vote as one block nor do they have the same social morals, viewpoints, tastes, abilities, or preferences.
If it were true, there would be no liberal and conservative sides. There wouldn't be people that are 65 that are brilliant computer engineers and 65-year olds that can't operate a smart phone.
The Lost Generation, The Greatest Generation, The Baby Boomers, The Disco Generation, Generation X, Gen Y, Millennials, etc. are just arbitrary labels that tell you as much about a person as their horoscope. There's not even a set definition of what a generation is.
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I don't quite agree with that, and I think you're looking at it in a somewhat overly "all-or-nothing" way. Sure, lots of Baby Boomers were far-left, but the far-left is not exactly the most enduring faction to come out of the Baby Boomer generation. This is pretty solidly indicated by countless surveys and polls.
It's not about the monolithic groups. It's about the trends within those groups. Like saying that a lot of Western Oregonians are progressive, or a lot of rural Texans are conservative.
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Feh. Kids today with their generations and their pants...
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I am of course, Gen X.
I don't really care what you think about that.
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In my day, we didn't have any of these new-fangled "pants"...
In my day we didn't even have days, the rectangle having just been invented but not yet stacked together to make calendars. And we only had a game called "&" because there was no letter D. We'd roll ice and yell "ammit!" when they came up 1. Because that was the only number we had, 1. It was all critical fails.
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Oh lucky me, being born in the early 1980´s. Seems that I could both be a Millennial and a Gen X´er.
But I personally see myself as more of a Gen X´er, as I've be a cynical bastard, as long as I can remember. But a more clear indicator, for me at least, is how different I am and feel compared to my brother who´s 7 years younger.
To explain how we are different would almost be a sociological study in it self, but the simplest way to explain it would be the following (as I hinted at, this is a extreme simplification).
My generation was promised a better future, coming out of the Cold War, democracy had won and we would be a better world, with better people and more responsible governments. And it all turned out to be quite the let down...
Watching my brother generation it seems they where better prepared or equipped, to deal with the harsh let-down, of seeing how s%%% the world really was when they are no long children.
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I feel like millennials are just as cynical as GenXers, in a way. Our predecessors just made it feel more normal and easy to be a cynic. We don't see cynicism as any major statement anymore. It's just how we think the world works. It is a minuscule handful of young people I've met who don't see themselves as cynical.
I also think it's really interesting to contrast millennial reactions to the Great Recession to the Silent Generation's reaction to the Great Depression. I feel like the latter's lesson was much more, "Save every penny and play it close to the chest," while ours was more, "Your college degree won't save you, your 401k won't save you, it's all decided by some corrupt higher-up and we're never safe—just live a more fluid lifestyle and try not to go on too many road trips." We don't buy houses, we get roommates. We don't get married, we share apartments.
A lot of the millennial attitude seems to be rooted in a fear of solid commitments, and I think that's because we've lost faith in what those commitments are supposed to guarantee us.
In case it's not clear, I find this stuff really interesting. :P
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A lot of the millennial attitude seems to be rooted in a fear of solid commitments, and I think that's because we've lost faith in what those commitments are supposed to guarantee us.
This is exactly what they said about Generation X back in the 90s. Douglas Coupland was writing things like "We're the first generation in history to have it worse off than our parents."
And then, of course, there's this ditty from a member of the so-called "Lost Generation" (a term he held no fondness for):
"The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.
The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.
The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.
And in the end the age was handed
The sort of s**t that it demanded."
--Ernest Hemingway
(Except that he never wrote "s**t." He wouldn't.)
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In my day, we didn't have any of these new-fangled "pants"...In my day we didn't even have days, the rectangle having just been invented but not yet stacked together to make calendars. And we only had a game called "&" because there was no letter D. We'd roll ice and yell "ammit!" when they came up 1. Because that was the only number we had, 1. It was all critical fails.
You had rectangles and the number 1? Luxury!
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You had rectangles and the number 1? Luxury!In my day, we didn't have any of these new-fangled "pants"...In my day we didn't even have days, the rectangle having just been invented but not yet stacked together to make calendars. And we only had a game called "&" because there was no letter D. We'd roll ice and yell "ammit!" when they came up 1. Because that was the only number we had, 1. It was all critical fails.
When I say "had" of course, what I mean is we could look at those up the hill over the crevasse where we lived, who possessed such grandiose material things and wistfully sigh that we did not, as we played with our miniatures made of dung. Every encounter, a dung golem. And it always won. Because all we had to fight it with was more dung.
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Oh, we used to dream of havin' dung to fight with. All we got was our crusted vomit, an' we had to fight a dozen dragons to get it.
And we used to dream of having YouTube videos to link to. All we had was text files. And you had to hack the DoD to get at them, on account of all electronic Monty Python bits being considered DARPA projects. I once did 20 years hard time for looking up the Dead Parrot Sketch on a clamshell terminal in Dusseldorf...
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Well, from my experience, that sounds Millennial. "Fear of selling out" was more a GenX thing. Millennials grew up with "ennui-afflicted dad" 90s movies, but most people my age seem more preoccupied with being able to get by.
That said, it's also very important to have "fulfilling work" for this generation, so...
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I wanted to get some perspective, so I consulted my Millennial Friends.
One said "yes" without question. Like me, security and ease of living are his primary concerns.
One said "no", for reasons relating to mental illness, but they think their high school friends would go for it.
One said "yes", emphasizing a need to survive. She believes that the increased security would make her more able to fight for her political agenda.
One said "no", saying that the boredom and unhappiness wouldn't be worth it. He's currently looking to get into movies.
One said, "that's not enough". Damn entitled millennials!
So the vote in this Highly Scientific Survey is more-or-less split within my circle. Maybe it's not millennial. Or maybe the real tendencies are more based on class, or political belief—my more conservative friends seemed much more dubious towards the prospect than my more left-leaning friends.
Oh, and I contacted my parents (who are both on the cusp of BB/GenX). Their responses:
"Yeah, I pretty much took whatever came along when I was young."
"No, I had a degree and I was worth more than that."
Again, not scientific, but I'm getting the sense this is more linked to background. Which probably means that millennials, who tend to be poorer and jobless in spite of their advanced educations, would tend to say "yes".
EDIT: As an update, three more of my friends said "no". One said he could tolerate 8-hour shifts, but their consensus was that it was too monotonous. "It might be a living, but it's not living." Notably, all three of them already have jobs, a fact one of them helpfully called attention to for me.
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You silly naive millennials and your caring about stuff.
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Can we just please get past the whole "Bush beat Gore and ignored the Iraq protests so clearly being politically active is pointless" thing? I'm really hoping that's something we'll take out of 2016. Because seriously, the "politics are a waste of effort" shtick is getting old fast.
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I just hate getting old...
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Can we just please get past the whole "Bush beat Gore and ignored the Iraq protests so clearly being politically active is pointless" thing? I'm really hoping that's something we'll take out of 2016. Because seriously, the "politics are a waste of effort" shtick is getting old fast.
I voted for Nader.
I voted for Death.
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This whole concept is stupid.
Ever since the "baby boomers" got lumped into a one big monolithic social and political group, people have stumbling over themselves to define other generations as such.
It's a flawed concept from the beginning because the "boomer" generation doesn't vote as one block nor do they have the same social morals, viewpoints, tastes, abilities, or preferences.
If it were true, there would be no liberal and conservative sides. There wouldn't be people that are 65 that are brilliant computer engineers and 65-year olds that can't operate a smart phone.
The Lost Generation, The Greatest Generation, The Baby Boomers, The Disco Generation, Generation X, Gen Y, Millennials, etc. are just arbitrary labels that tell you as much about a person as their horoscope. There's not even a set definition of what a generation is.
I was just gonna say f+!~ age groups but this was so much more articulate that I reposted it :-) thanks darth.
I made a point somewhere around here on the boards about why I can't stand this age group crap just need to find and link it... but I won't because I am a directionless Gen X-er and why should I lead you all somewhere when I don't know where I want to go?
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I was born at the very end of the post WWII Baby Boom (1963). I'm 53 years old and the older I get the more to the left I lean, which is just the opposite of most of the people I personally know in my age group. Maybe it's having been born in Kennedy's shadow or something.
I am right there too (1964). And although most of the people I have kept up with haven't gotten more conservative over time, this is probably an effect of a combination of intentional selection as well as whoever tended to be inclined to stick around anywhere that I have stuck around (and I have moved around a LOT).
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Old enough to know better, but too young to care... is what I would have said ten years ago.
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A great deal of people I hear that complain about millenials are actually millenials themselves (after the 1982 cutoff) and just use it to critique liberal attitudes or dismiss someone's opinion because it is 'juvenile' or 'unrealistic'. They also fail to account for the generation after millenials as well.
Generations are fun to talk about (like any huge generalization) because they simplify very complex demographics into bite-sized pieces. In reality, theyre not based on any rigorous social statistics and lack an approved-upon definition as to when they end and begin. Therefore, always take them with a grain of salt.
(Written by your typical millenial who hates being categorized)
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I voted for Death.
Death The whole band or any members in particular?
I think I voted for Nader as well I think having a hard time remembering if I bothered to vote that year. After all...
In all the primaries and elections I ever voted in I have never once voted for the Presidential candidate that ended up being the eventual winner :-)
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I voted for Death.Death The whole band or any members in particular?
Sean Reinert. That guy is a wizard on drums.
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I just hate getting old...
It beats the only available alternative.
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I just hate getting old...It beats the only available alternative.
So you claim, I bet Death would disagree!
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A lot of the millennial attitude seems to be rooted in a fear of solid commitments, and I think that's because we've lost faith in what those commitments are supposed to guarantee us.
This is also how I felt as a gen xer. Though I wasnt quite as bleak about my future and afraid of commitment. I did my homework and kept my head down and now things are looking up. This hipster is looking forward to entering his twilight crypster stage.
In case it's not clear, I find this stuff really interesting. :P
It's truly interesting indeed. While as lot of folks like to say they "dont believe in this age group crap" by the time they are done eating a cookie some corporation has nailed down the shopping habits of their entire generation. They know what products those folks look for and what is of value to them. I know labels and generalizations are bad and all, but they can provide a lot of information that isnt completely useless.
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I too find this stuff very fascinating.
I was born in '75, yet feel that I am of a (slightly) different generation then my bother who is just three years older then me.
I would say that things that define my youth include the fallout from Watergate, and the Viet Nam war, but not the actual events themselves. (I have heard that seeing footage of war on nightly TV news influenced people). I think Regan was a rejection of the reality of the world in favor of pretending, Leave it to Beaver Cleaver, was real and never ended. The Gulf War of '91 was a fairly major shift in how the culture viewed war. It shifted from Platoon, or Full Metal Jacket, to Call of Duty. From war is hell, to war is hella fun! Despite Somalia '93, Afghanistan '01, Iraq '03 I think there is a cultural separation between how war is presented and the reality. The difference is probably wider then at any point since WWI (except among the armed forces of course!).
The other major shift during my lifetime is in media. When I was very young, there were only a handful of TV channels, and about a dozen radio stations. If you wanted music on the go, you better bring a pile of fairly expensive and heavy batteries. There was no recording or rewatching of TV, and the only movies outside a theater were reel-to-reel on a projector. Computers were difficult to use, and graphics consisted of ASCII characters on a single color (green!) 9" monitor. I don't think there were ever more then one or two computers in a given classroom, until I hit middle or high school.
There is also a subtle shift in the acceptable amount of danger faced in life, that I have noticed as I got older. BB guns, fireworks, and just downright sketchy-as-hell products used to be common. No one wore a helmet for anything, cars were death traps, dogs and children roamed free, and you had to watch your ass - because it was at risk!. Now, things seem very nerfed for better or worse.
Oh, one last thing. Everything used to be made in the USA. Appliances, electronics, cars, clothes, furniture, etc. (although some of the good stuff was Japanese or European). But you could walk into most stores, and 90% of stuff was made in the USA. When I was very young the only things from China were cheep plastic junk, now it is 100% of most stores merchandise.
I always knew I would end up sounding like an old man talking about the huge Hershey bar you could buy for pocket change, I just figured it would take about twice as long as it did.
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It's hard to identify with a generation that is basically just defined as "Scapegoat for all the things people don't like" and "Dumping ground for out of touch complaints" coupled with a smattering of superficial trends.
Oh no, Millenials are killing the diamond industry, damn them all. Stupid entitled kids, don't they know they should work 16 hour shifts in the factory like I did and be happy for the privilege? You can buy a house and a car and send your kids to college on that $9 an hour, I did it for half that! And they're all drunkards, the wine sotted narcissists always hanging out on the Bookface and posting their Weeds on the internet.
Maybe in 30 years when the next generation has grown up and we're all complaining about them and the next one there can be a proper analysis of what the "Millenial generation" actually represents but in the meantime it's all b!&%+&+*.
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Being born in 1967, I don't exist. The "Baby Boomers" are generally accepted as being up until 1964 or 1965, while "Gen X" starts around 1970.
Not having a generation to call my own, I steal other people's.
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And while I know we're supposed to stay away from political stances, I'll at least say this much:
Living through the 1980's of "Greed is Good!", aggressive corporate takeovers, massive layoffs, the constant specter of Reagan leading us into WW III while we were all of draftable age, Reagan's Cabinet of Evil, and assurances that Social Security and Medicare would be long gone by the time we were anywhere near retirement age makes me much more circumspect about Trump's New Cabinet of Eviler Evil.
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I was born in late 1981- not quite a so-called "Millennial," but also a little late to the "Generation X" party.
Which should tell you what I think of the haste to find labels for generational cohorts before they've safely moved into the rear-view mirror.
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Being born in 1967, I don't exist. The "Baby Boomers" are generally accepted as being up until 1964 or 1965, while "Gen X" starts around 1970.
Not having a generation to call my own, I steal other people's.
You should call it Generation Who. :-)
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I like my flannels, I am entrenched in GenX, and I too hate getting old. Living in the rust belt, the let down of college does NOT mean a good job was pretty harsh, though I personally was not surprised,
Though I could have saved a bunch of money and gone to trade school, THEN taken classes to get a bachelors and maybe a masters degree.
My BA in English with minors in philosophy, history, and anthropology just make me a well spoken poor 37 YO, and who is good at debates and Jeopardy :)
I should not smile at that, but hey, whatcha gonna do?
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In the Army, I always answered that question with "I can laugh or I can cry, and I choose to laugh". Thankfully, veteran's benefits have prevented me from accruing student loan debt. Sadly, married life and life in general have hit me up with other debt. At least I'm not doubled up, however!
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I'm millennial but don't really think about it.
My peeves about our generation: Artisanal everything and streaming as a career (what are you gonna do after that?)
Some of my peers are sick of baby boomers running the world, but know that as the wheel continues to turn, their time will come.
Unless phylacteries are figured out before then.
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I think This Modern World had a joke that baby boomers learned to hook us up to machines to use our blood to live forever. ;D
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Pretty sure that was a central plot of American Horror Story Hotel as well.
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I'm seeing at least three different groups of "Millenials." Let's look at some people who might currently be in their mid '20s.
1.
2.
3.
Trying to lump those three into a homogeneous "generational" group is an exercise in futility.
EDIT: I myself am an early Gen X-er, if that matters.