Millennials, also known as Generation Y (usually born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s) are recently being bashed around everywhere.
You must have come across a lot of blogs and videos going viral on social media calling the millennials a lot of things. They are being referred to as entitled, lazy, burnout generation and many others.
No other generation has been hated, publicly criticized and reviled as the millennials, which suggests to us that it requires deeper insight. An estimate states that by 2025, most of the workforce will comprise the millennials. Millennials are poised to reshape the economy. However, a question arises – why so much hate so much when they are considered to change the way everything functions?
Factors why millennials are considered as entitled:
Here are some of the factors why millennials are considered as entitled by everyone else:
Parenting
Almost all things start with parenting. The parents teach the millennials that they are special and that they are can get everything in their life without having to work for it. The parents usually think they should provide their kids with whatever they couldn’t have while growing up. This is a noble parenting style that is common but is it going a bit overboard? Because providing them with everything makes them not value the things that much. In-person relationships are getting rare these days as they prefer sitting on a couch on weekends to going out with friends. And the best part is that most of the parents still follow the same parenting style.
Technology
Technology has been with the millennials right from the time they were born. Engagement with technology releases dopamine. It feels good for the short-term. They have Facebook, Instagram and almost all of them have access to social media without restrictions. The media feeds the millennials lies about everything and the worst part is they think its the truth. They act all tough but in reality, they lack self-esteem and start numbing out. The temporary relief that technology provides cannot be a replacement for real-life relationships.
Impatience
Millennials are born and brought up in a world of instant gratification. If you want something like food or things, you can get it delivered in a matter of minutes. This makes them think that whatever they want, they can have it just like that without putting in the necessary efforts. Millennials need to learn the value of patience and how it is essential in everyday life. Anything obtained without putting in hard work and learn the lesson along the way will crumble at some point. The journey is sometimes the best part of getting to a destination.
Environment
Millennials can personalize everything they come across on the internet. To customize everything to their liking is impossible. Short term focus can never get them to reach where they want to in their career. They reject traditional career paths and normal work practices thinking that they deserve more and go after entrepreneurship. When reality hits them hard, they find it hard to cope up with it and turn to these instant gratification measures to find temporary pleasure. They can do a better job if we teach them about the values and the qualities to survive and ask for help when needed without hesitation.
How are Millennials different?
To call a whole generation as entitled is easy. But there are other facts to consider from their standpoint as well. They are the most diverse generation after Generation Z as a result of interracial marriages, fertility patterns and other factors.
While there are many things about the priorities and expectations of millennials, these are some things that the millennials do differently than the previous generations:
Make a Better financial decision.
Millennials learn about financial management out of their interest after seeing their parents do it over the years. It helps them to make a better decision than the previous generation who found it difficult to manage everything without much intervention of technology. They find renting as a cheaper and better option compared to buying a house. It certainly allowed them to go debt-free, even if renting isn’t a good option all the time. This opened doors for them to explore more places and get more diversity in their careers.
Choose more diverse careers.
With the boom in technology, it paved the way for the millennials to explore the vast ocean of opportunities. There are a lot of travelers, bloggers, YouTubers, musicians, artists who took their interest from other inspiring personalities from all over the world. Their ability to adapt to this change is something to be appreciative of. This would have been a bit harder for the previous generation to cope up with as they would find it harder to take in all the changes happening around them.
They are Tech-savvy.
According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center and NPR, 39 percent of millennials possess a bachelor’s degree or higher. They can adapt to these technological changes and come up with better solutions to modern-day problems.
Putting off marriage and parenthood.
Since the 1960s, the millennials have started to stay with their parents more. Millennials also wait to get into parenthood as they prefer to explore life as much as possible to settle down. While they do delay, they still want to get married and have children at some point.
Go after assets, not liabilities.
Millennials have found it better to buy assets rather than liabilities that loses its value over time. They no longer prefer things such as cars, luxury goods. Instead, they opt for carpooling to save money, rent goods if they don’t plan on having it for long. And they consider investments in stock markets to multiply their assets.
Choose value over a brand.
People no longer buy clothes just for the sake of a brand. Millennials go for the best brand only if they offer more value than their competitors. With product reviews, comparison and deals sites at the reach of their hands, they have changed the way of shopping for the better. Now the retail stores must take into consideration to offer good products at reasonable prices.
Taking care of their well-being.
With fitness influencers and blogs promoting well-being, the millennials are committing to regular exercise and good habits. They spend time taking care of themselves and staying fit. They are more fitness-focused and this can improve them mentally as well.
Bottomline
The Millennials are reaching their prime working and spending years. Their decisions will sculpt the economy and will play a major role in deciding the future. I think Millennials deserve a chance to stand out and prove what they can do to make things better. From what we’ve seen, they have the capability and possess the right tools to make it happen.
What do you think? Are the Millennials entitled or are they the next generation of empowered and best workers we have ever seen?
