I thought of several possible titles for this topic - The Generation Gap (real or perceived), Generations in the Media, etc. The topic I want to discuss is how the media portrays the differences between generations (millenials/gen x/boomers/what have you), and how that lines up with your own experiences and perceptions.

 

In my perception, as a "millenial" (though I'm nearly 30), the media has been consistently portrayed millenials negatively, and at conflict with other generations. Time Magazine has been rather egregious about this, having published negative articles about the current generation going back decades. Before millenials were narcissistic and entitled, gen x was portrayed the same way: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/me-generation-time/315151/

 

Lastly, if you have some time to spare, the Citations Needed podcast episode on "the media's bogus generation obsession" is very good (like most all of their work).

Their thesis is that the media uses generational tension as a palatable substitute for race and class conflict, topics that might upset the viewer or media higher-ups. Young people criticize old people, old people criticize young people, but the power/money/media presence is concentrated mostly in the older generations, and they can wield generational differences as a cudgel to push through their policies and influence public opinion.

 

So that's what the media says - what is reality? In my opinion, the defining event for millenials was the financial crisis. As I was graduating college, jobs were scarce, the stock market was trashed (and gaining, but not like most young people could participate), and housing was unaffordable. Millenials work longer hours for lower wages, and have fewer guaranteed future benefits. Pensions, what are those? I also see a lot of hesitancy to investing in the stock market or real estate, because the perception is that the market could crash again at any time. Also, less money to play with.

 

How much do these sort of cultural gaps matter? Not as much as the media seems to think, but they do matter somewhat. I think it's important for older generations to understand the circumstances that are causing millenials to marry later, live with their parents longer, and approach financial issues differently, because that can influence policy decisions.

 

I'm posting this here because this is one of my few social media outlets that has members from a variety of ages and backgrounds and wanted to get opinions on this subject.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.  They could use some honest perspective on what they've done to the world. 

 

As an X person, the only complaint I have against millennials isn't really their fault.  At some point around 2000, media consolidation and internet proliferation resulted in kids getting a lot less exposure to older material.  When I was growing up, half the stuff I watched was ancient by modern standards, including a good helping from the WWII era and earlier.  Now you have to seek that stuff out, and why bother when there's an endless supply of Blippy and Fortnite available? 

 

Perspective is important for everyone.  Millennials and post-millennials also need to understand what boomers have done to the world-- and what technology has done to the world-- and that's hard to do when you can only see a couple blocks down the road of time.  We need to maintain our collective memory of world wars, depressions, racism, sexism, etc, so that we can see the cycles from above and we don't repeat the same mistakes.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

With the Boomers, it was the hippies making all the noise in the '60s and '70s while the flattops stayed quiet. Today the flattops make all the noise.

With the Boomers, it was the hippies making all the noise in the '60s and '70s while the flattops stayed quiet. Today the flattops make all the noise.

 

Some of the hippies have become flat tops too.  They've accumulated some wealth and are willing to do anything (including embracing authoritarianism) to protect it.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents. 

I think the point about power is an important one. I was at a conference this weekend where the daughter of a very famous (very dead) architect commented something to the effect of, "young designers today just aren't producing buildings that are as good as they used to be [i.e. when her dad was practicing]. To which about 40% of the audience clapped enthusiastically, I sat on my hands. I turned 28 yesterday and its going to be another 12 years or so before most designers my age are the ones leading the discussion about what should be built. So the comment, from the boomer, should either be applied to other boomers who are still practicing, or the Gen-Xers who are leading design agencies.

If we're talking global generations, that's a whole different set of ballgames.  China's millennials are immeasurably better off than China's boomer-equivalents. 

 

America's boomer generation has a strange way of showing gratitude politically.  They're rolling up the sidewalks as fast as they can.  America's current era of economic conservatism is radical by 20th century standards.  That's one of those historical perspectives I'd like to keep visible.  We already know what unfettered capitalism and nationalism can lead to.  We already know what unions and usury laws are good for-- though some would prefer we forgot.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents.

 

Western Boomers and Gen Xers have it easy too. Don't get me wrong.

 

This being said:

 

-- Have you had to leave your family in your home country at a young age because it offers no educational opportunities or employment?

-- Have you travelled through countries illegally on foot and in disguise to get to a country with opportunities?

-- When in this country do you work knowing at any moment you may be removed because you're not a permanent resident based on the idiotic actions of the host or your home government?

-- Do you know your birthday and who your parents are?

 

I work with a lot people who have truly called through global sh*t to get clean on the other side. So I am a little jaded to complaints of Western Millennials being dealt the worst hand of humanity ever. Just my wrong opinion, I guess.  ;D

 

If we're talking global generations, that's a whole different set of ballgames.  China's millennials are immeasurably better off than China's boomer-equivalents. 

 

America's boomer generation has a strange way of showing gratitude politically.  They're rolling up the sidewalks as fast as they can.  America's current era of economic conservatism is radical by 20th century standards.  That's one of those historical perspectives I'd like to keep visible.  We already know what unfettered capitalism and nationalism can lead to.  We already know what unions and usury laws are good for-- though some would prefer we forgot.

 

The Chinese are only "better" because GenXer activists were slaughtered en masse at Tiananmen Square and there now seems to be global amnesia of this event due to China mining all the important things for a smartphone to work. Now a Ponzi scheme is in place to keep everyone "happy".

 

Their Boomers were under the thumb Chairman Mao. So that's an astoundingly low standard to start from as an example, IMHO.

 

Why would we not be talking about global generations? We're human first, everything else second.

 

 

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents. 

 

Just like every generation, there are good and bad. Millennial got a bad rap because they were seen as entitled and spoiled. They grew up in an era where they were late to mature. As they have reached their 30s most millennial pretty much fall in line as previous generations have. The key difference is that Boomers were independent at 18. Gen X essentially became fully independent at 22 (while many were still independent at 18) Turning 18 and graduating from HS was a right of passage. WIth the Millennial generation, it seems it takes until 25-28 for the independence to set in and same adult constraints that previous generations had.

 

There is nothing wrong with it either. Part of the reasons for this are that people are staying in school longer. More and more people have a bachelors and then they also have advance degrees. This keeps them from settling down at an earlier age as they establish their career. People get married later. Part of it is establishing themselves, other parts involve more birth control so fewer shotgun marriages, the rise of couples living together, etc. Regardless, part of the knock on the spoiled millennial manta surrounds the fact that the millennial generation has not has to deal with some of the same issues as their predecessors and can have more freedom at a younger age.

 

Also, keep in mind Boomers and Gen X had children at younger ages. So, by the time many were in their mid-40's they were becoming empty nesters and could begin to travel, live and spend their money they have accumulated. Millennials are having children in their mid 30s and not becoming empty nesters until their late 50s.

 

All in all, many of the stereotypes on Millenials are overblown and they are behaving a lot like prior generations as time goes by.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents. 

 

Just like every generation, there are good and bad. Millennial got a bad rap because they were seen as entitled and spoiled. They grew up in an era where they were late to mature. As they have reached their 30s most millennial pretty much fall in line as previous generations have. The key difference is that Boomers were independent at 18. Gen X essentially became fully independent at 22 (while many were still independent at 18) Turning 18 and graduating from HS was a right of passage. WIth the Millennial generation, it seems it takes until 25-28 for the independence to set in and same adult constraints that previous generations had.

 

There is nothing wrong with it either. Part of the reasons for this are that people are staying in school longer. More and more people have a bachelors and then they also have advance degrees. This keeps them from settling down at an earlier age as they establish their career. People get married later. Part of it is establishing themselves, other parts involve more birth control so fewer shotgun marriages, the rise of couples living together, etc. Regardless, part of the knock on the spoiled millennial manta surrounds the fact that the millennial generation has not has to deal with some of the same issues as their predecessors and can have more freedom at a younger age.

 

Also, keep in mind Boomers and Gen X had children at younger ages. So, by the time many were in their mid-40's they were becoming empty nesters and could begin to travel, live and spend their money they have accumulated. Millennials are having children in their mid 30s and not becoming empty nesters until their late 50s.

 

All in all, many of the stereotypes on Millenials are overblown and they are behaving a lot like prior generations as time goes by.

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

I am a younger Gen X'er and I fell more at home with millenials than with Boomes.  Boomers are my parents while millenials are cool younger siblings.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents.

 

Western Boomers and Gen Xers have it easy too. Don't get me wrong.

 

This being said:

 

-- Have you had to leave your family in your home country at a young age because it offers no educational opportunities or employment?

-- Have you travelled through countries illegally on foot and in disguise to get to a country with opportunities?

-- When in this country do you work knowing at any moment you may be removed because you're not a permanent resident based on the idiotic actions of the host or your home government?

-- Do you know your birthday and who your parents are?

 

I work with a lot people who have truly called through global sh*t to get clean on the other side. So I am a little jaded to complaints of Western Millennials being dealt the worst hand of humanity ever. Just my wrong opinion, I guess.  ;D

 

Maybe I misunderstood your first post, but I feel like your second one is talking about something completely different. Yes, Millennials and Gen Z have it bad by modern American standards, and certainly worse than their parents and grandparents. Are there places in the world where their life would be immeasurably worse? Of course! I would never deny that. But the actions of Boomers have made the lives of their progeny worse.

 

Also, to your points. I have not had to leave my home country at a young age, but I did have to leave my region because of a lack of educational and employment opportunities. Appalachian Ohio is worse off today than at any point in the second half of the 20th Century and living conditions mirror those in many developing countries. So I had to move 500 miles from my parents to find opportunity. Luckily, I'm now back in Ohio and closer to family--but there is still zero economic or educational opportunity for many kids in Appalachia.

 

Similarly, I have not ever had to worry about being removed from this country but I know many Millennials who worry about that every day. Our government is intent on punishing these people for trying to come here and make a better life for themselves, even though many of them came as small children. I also know my birthday and who my parents are, but again, there are many, many children in this country that do not.

 

I get your point, that life in this country is better than in many countries around the world. But our quality of life used to be near the top, and now we are painfully middling.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents.

 

Western Boomers and Gen Xers have it easy too. Don't get me wrong.

 

This being said:

 

-- Have you had to leave your family in your home country at a young age because it offers no educational opportunities or employment?

-- Have you travelled through countries illegally on foot and in disguise to get to a country with opportunities?

-- When in this country do you work knowing at any moment you may be removed because you're not a permanent resident based on the idiotic actions of the host or your home government?

-- Do you know your birthday and who your parents are?

 

I work with a lot people who have truly called through global sh*t to get clean on the other side. So I am a little jaded to complaints of Western Millennials being dealt the worst hand of humanity ever. Just my wrong opinion, I guess.  ;D

 

Maybe I misunderstood your first post, but I feel like your second one is talking about something completely different. Yes, Millennials and Gen Z have it bad by modern American standards, and certainly worse than their parents and grandparents. Are there places in the world where their life would be immeasurably worse? Of course! I would never deny that. But the actions of Boomers have made the lives of their progeny worse.

 

Also, to your points. I have not had to leave my home country at a young age, but I did have to leave my region because of a lack of educational and employment opportunities. Appalachian Ohio is worse off today than at any point in the second half of the 20th Century and living conditions mirror those in many developing countries. So I had to move 500 miles from my parents to find opportunity. Luckily, I'm now back in Ohio and closer to family--but there is still zero economic or educational opportunity for many kids in Appalachia.

 

Similarly, I have not ever had to worry about being removed from this country but I know many Millennials who worry about that every day. Our government is intent on punishing these people for trying to come here and make a better life for themselves, even though many of them came as small children. I also know my birthday and who my parents are, but again, there are many, many children in this country that do not.

 

I get your point, that life in this country is better than in many countries around the world. But our quality of life used to be near the top, and now we are painfully middling.

 

You're thinking nationally, I'm thinking globally. I think it's our disconnect. I wasn't going to respond until you said my post was the worst ever!  ;)

 

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

 

This is a point of confusion that annoys me. Recent conversation:

 

Guy: This "juuling" thing has really taken off with kids. I saw an article that said it's all over high schools.

 

Me: Yea, it's a shame because those things were invented to help people stop smoking.

 

Guy: Leave it to millennials to ruin a good thing!

 

I guess this guy just thought millennials meant anyone younger than him.

 

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents.

 

Western Boomers and Gen Xers have it easy too. Don't get me wrong.

 

This being said:

 

-- Have you had to leave your family in your home country at a young age because it offers no educational opportunities or employment?

-- Have you travelled through countries illegally on foot and in disguise to get to a country with opportunities?

-- When in this country do you work knowing at any moment you may be removed because you're not a permanent resident based on the idiotic actions of the host or your home government?

-- Do you know your birthday and who your parents are?

 

I work with a lot people who have truly called through global sh*t to get clean on the other side. So I am a little jaded to complaints of Western Millennials being dealt the worst hand of humanity ever. Just my wrong opinion, I guess.  ;D

 

Maybe I misunderstood your first post, but I feel like your second one is talking about something completely different. Yes, Millennials and Gen Z have it bad by modern American standards, and certainly worse than their parents and grandparents. Are there places in the world where their life would be immeasurably worse? Of course! I would never deny that. But the actions of Boomers have made the lives of their progeny worse.

 

Also, to your points. I have not had to leave my home country at a young age, but I did have to leave my region because of a lack of educational and employment opportunities. Appalachian Ohio is worse off today than at any point in the second half of the 20th Century and living conditions mirror those in many developing countries. So I had to move 500 miles from my parents to find opportunity. Luckily, I'm now back in Ohio and closer to family--but there is still zero economic or educational opportunity for many kids in Appalachia.

 

Similarly, I have not ever had to worry about being removed from this country but I know many Millennials who worry about that every day. Our government is intent on punishing these people for trying to come here and make a better life for themselves, even though many of them came as small children. I also know my birthday and who my parents are, but again, there are many, many children in this country that do not.

 

I get your point, that life in this country is better than in many countries around the world. But our quality of life used to be near the top, and now we are painfully middling.

 

You're thinking nationally, I'm thinking globally. I think it's our disconnect. I wasn't going to respond until you said my post was the worst ever!  ;)

 

I apologize for calling it the worst post ever. The added context helps, though I think the focus of this thread is supposed to be about comparing generations to each other, not to their contemporary counterparts around the world.

I agree that the generation in charge now, the boomers, doesn't realize how many freebies they got compared to those who came after.

 

Not a Boomer but I disagree about them not being aware of freebies. Their parents were the WWII/Depression generation. Their grandparents made the difficult transitions into a modern society or were part of the massive immigrant wave into this country. I'm sure stories were told to them of how good they have it. I know my grandparents had fascinating stories of difficulty.

 

Western Millennials, OTOH, haven't really had a difficult road. Non-first world Millennials are a very different story.

 

This is the most-wrong post I've ever seen on Urban Ohio and that says a lot. Boomers, both those on the national stage and those I know personally, are always going on and on about how easy millennials have it (see your second paragraph) and how hard they had it. "I worked my way through college and bought a house at 22" is such a common refrain it's become a cultural meme. Boomers don't put a second thought to the fact that college costs have inflated to the moon, and the minimum wage is lower now than it was in the 1960s. At the same time, they've left us crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, a warming planet---the list goes on and on. Because of the actions of the Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z will have a far worse life than their parents and grandparents. 

 

Just like every generation, there are good and bad. Millennial got a bad rap because they were seen as entitled and spoiled. They grew up in an era where they were late to mature. As they have reached their 30s most millennial pretty much fall in line as previous generations have. The key difference is that Boomers were independent at 18. Gen X essentially became fully independent at 22 (while many were still independent at 18) Turning 18 and graduating from HS was a right of passage. WIth the Millennial generation, it seems it takes until 25-28 for the independence to set in and same adult constraints that previous generations had.

 

There is nothing wrong with it either. Part of the reasons for this are that people are staying in school longer. More and more people have a bachelors and then they also have advance degrees. This keeps them from settling down at an earlier age as they establish their career. People get married later. Part of it is establishing themselves, other parts involve more birth control so fewer shotgun marriages, the rise of couples living together, etc. Regardless, part of the knock on the spoiled millennial manta surrounds the fact that the millennial generation has not has to deal with some of the same issues as their predecessors and can have more freedom at a younger age.

 

Also, keep in mind Boomers and Gen X had children at younger ages. So, by the time many were in their mid-40's they were becoming empty nesters and could begin to travel, live and spend their money they have accumulated. Millennials are having children in their mid 30s and not becoming empty nesters until their late 50s.

 

All in all, many of the stereotypes on Millenials are overblown and they are behaving a lot like prior generations as time goes by.

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

I am a younger Gen X'er and I fell more at home with millenials than with Boomes.  Boomers are my parents while millenials are cool younger siblings.

 

It was funny, the Today show had a segment on how younger people are taking voting seriously now and how for the first time Millennials will play a big role in the election and that is a sign that the efforts to get college kids to vote are paying off.  ----- They seem to have forgotten that the average Millennial is in their early 30s now and that is the typical age where most adults become politically engaged to vote and there is a lot less lethargy about voting. 

 

For a show that hires a lot of younger producers, you would think they would be able to make the distinction between the generations.

 

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

 

This is a point of confusion that annoys me. Recent conversation:

 

Guy: This "juuling" thing has really taken off with kids. I saw an article that said it's all over high schools.

 

Me: Yea, it's a shame because those things were invented to help people stop smoking.

 

Guy: Leave it to millennials to ruin a good thing!

 

I guess this guy just thought millennials meant anyone younger than him.

 

Maybe he called them "millenials" because there isn't consensus yet on what to call the younger generation. Gen Z seems to be the most popular label. But with my generation, we were called Gen Y for a while (corresponding with coming of age around Y2K and a continuation of X, I guess) before "millenials" became more popular.

 

Although I am a bit hesitant to promote the use of these labels in the first place, since they seem to do more harm than good.

Gen Z is such a crappy name. Boomers, Gen X, Millennial all fit. Gen Z is just a name because it is 2 generations removed from Gen X. It was never about the alphabet in naming generations. Gen X is Gen X not because it preceded Gen W but because it conveyed a specific name. People need to come up with something much better than Gen Z

Gen Z is such a crappy name. Boomers, Gen X, Millennial all fit. Gen Z is just a name because it is 2 generations removed from Gen X. It was never about the alphabet in naming generations. Gen X is Gen X not because it preceded Gen W but because it conveyed a specific name. People need to come up with something much better than Gen Z

 

It's like when people at "gate" to the end of the name of a controversy. Watergate was the name of the hotel - the word gate has no literal application to scandal.

 

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

 

This is a point of confusion that annoys me. Recent conversation:

 

Guy: This "juuling" thing has really taken off with kids. I saw an article that said it's all over high schools.

 

Me: Yea, it's a shame because those things were invented to help people stop smoking.

 

Guy: Leave it to millennials to ruin a good thing!

 

I guess this guy just thought millennials meant anyone younger than him.

 

 

Smoking is like socialism - it's been neutralized for a generation so younger people don't realize how awful it is.

 

 

I think I agree with you about 90% which is probably the most we'd agree on most things.  I do find it funny how millenial is used to describe teenagers now.  Millenials are mostly all adults now. 

 

 

This is a point of confusion that annoys me. Recent conversation:

 

Guy: This "juuling" thing has really taken off with kids. I saw an article that said it's all over high schools.

 

Me: Yea, it's a shame because those things were invented to help people stop smoking.

 

Guy: Leave it to millennials to ruin a good thing!

 

I guess this guy just thought millennials meant anyone younger than him.

 

 

Smoking is like socialism - it's been neutralized for a generation so younger people don't realize how awful it is.

 

Oh boy.

 

You're thinking nationally, I'm thinking globally. I think it's our disconnect. I wasn't going to respond until you said my post was the worst ever!  ;)

 

Actually I think this could be an interesting topic as well.  Are labels like Millennial or Baby Boomer even applicable to China or Europe or Africa?  I would imagine that generations are really social constructs, so different countries would have different ways of marking out their passage from older to younger people.  Maybe the internet and social media are closing that gap, though, and we will end up with truly global generations- I would imagine Gen Z is the first growing up with the possibility of talking casually to someone in a completely different part of the globe as a given part of life.

"Boomer" would be not applicable in any country that didn't see an outsize increase in births after WWII.

As an X person, the only complaint I have against millennials isn't really their fault.  At some point around 2000, media consolidation and internet proliferation resulted in kids getting a lot less exposure to older material.  When I was growing up, half the stuff I watched was ancient by modern standards, including a good helping from the WWII era and earlier.  Now you have to seek that stuff out, and why bother when there's an endless supply of Blippy and Fortnite available? 

 

Yeah, tonight Liz Phair is playing the Madison Theater.  Her first record, released around 1994, was a female response to The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St, which was 22-23 years old at that point.  I am around a lot of young musicians now at work (aside from the fact that I let people practice in my basement) and they simply *do not know* about so much basic stuff.  Just this past weekend I played Dave Brubeck's Take Five and nobody had heard it.  It's like the best-selling jazz record of all-time. 

 

There is simply no way someone can convince me that the way people are being exposed to recorded music now is better than it was for the previous 50 years.  It's all free, but there are no gatekeepers.  Radio is worse than ever and MTV is long-gone. 

 

I know a guy who is about 30 who is a professional music critic for a website that shall not be mentioned.  We talked one day and he had never listened to a Rolling Stones record.  It's like...what?  It's like an architecture critic being unfamiliar with Frank Lloyd Wright. 

 

 

 

Every generation after mine is spoiled and naive. And the music sucks. gen-x

As an X person, the only complaint I have against millennials isn't really their fault.  At some point around 2000, media consolidation and internet proliferation resulted in kids getting a lot less exposure to older material.  When I was growing up, half the stuff I watched was ancient by modern standards, including a good helping from the WWII era and earlier.  Now you have to seek that stuff out, and why bother when there's an endless supply of Blippy and Fortnite available? 

 

Yeah, tonight Liz Phair is playing the Madison Theater.  Her first record, released around 1994, was a female response to The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St, which was 22-23 years old at that point.  I am around a lot of young musicians now at work (aside from the fact that I let people practice in my basement) and they simply *do not know* about so much basic stuff.  Just this past weekend I played Dave Brubeck's Take Five and nobody had heard it.  It's like the best-selling jazz record of all-time. 

 

There is simply no way someone can convince me that the way people are being exposed to recorded music now is better than it was for the previous 50 years.  It's all free, but there are no gatekeepers.  Radio is worse than ever and MTV is long-gone. 

 

I know a guy who is about 30 who is a professional music critic for a website that shall not be mentioned.  We talked one day and he had never listened to a Rolling Stones record.  It's like...what?  It's like an architecture critic being unfamiliar with Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

One could also argue that an obdurate inability to enjoy anything at all ever that is new also leads to a confounding ignorance!

Atleast one thing good about this whole millenial thing is the memes.

 

This is about Millenials killing the Fabric Softener industry.

 

 

I'm 20 born in 1998 so I guess that makes me a Z? I have no idea, because most sources on the internet are misconstrued on when the generations end. MULTIPLE sources state multiple ending years, so i'm kind of reasonably confused between Millenial and Gen Z.

 

I even made a name for Gen Z. I call us Ints, as we are born on the internet and so comfortable with social media.

 

Is it fair to say that Ints and Millenials are sort of the same grouping? We have a larger Cohort than both Millenials and Boomers, but yet we have parents of both X and Millenials, yet Ints tend to be more conservative than Millenials. When Millenials take over i'm sure Ints will do anything in their power to fix the Millenial mess.

 

I'm not proud of our American demographic today, as media is growing more biased against Millenials, the Ints are slowly growing up with no problems at all. Our parents are paying for our college, helping start out our lives, and teaching us how to be quality moderate people.

I'm not speaking for everyone in the Int population, but with the peers and friends growing up there is little talk of P.C., rather we joke about things like oppression and tragedy. We are a generation of stone, and we keep one hell of a poker face out of this war between Allies X and Boomers vs the Axis Millenials. But yet the cycle continues.

 

Back in colonial times, only the rich and famous could go to school leaving only them in control, in the 1800's education was constructed a human right, universities and public schools popped up everywhere, 1900's come along with Daddy Warbucks and segregation, only whites could have education, Jim Crowe laws ended and so enacted civil rights where other demographics were allowed quality education, college costed a dime in the 70's-80's-early 90's, and nowadays college is only for risky oppressed Millenials. The cycle continues.

 

Having only gone through one year of college, I don't want to put a financial burden on my parents, but they're helping me get my life together. However I dropped out, seeking FREE TUITION in the Air Force.

People think there's only one way to live life. I say you're wrong, because there are an infinite stream of possibilities you can do.

The modern peer pressure is to not do drugs, to finish high school, and go to college. It's not that we're choosing this path, we're more forced into an instant path of debt, both by our peers, our parents, and our schools.

 

As an Int I definitely feel some struggles of Millenials, but i'm no entitled PC POS. Big money has started an internal conflict with older / younger Americans. I'm not saying College should be free, but rather open new government opportunities to subsidize higher education.

Minimum wage is too low, but there's nothing you can do about it, as you raise Min, inflation goes up, and so does everyone else's wage, so there's no impact on the system.

Another Problem is that companies demand that you have a degree to hire. But before the 90's there was no such requirement as there is plenty on the job training. But nowadays you are just thrown into your workspace and are expected to know everything right off the bat. You ought to be out of your minds.

 

Sidenote/Footer:

I'd like to keep this forum clean, because there are alot of chain replies, if you have something to discuss from my view by an even younger standpoint, please use a small snippet.

I thought iGeneration was catching on?

Too many syllables, it doesn't ring.

The pop media (magazines and crap TV like Dateline) focuses on what changes or what appears to change from generation to generation, not the 95% that remains the same. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 20186 yr by jmecklenborg

well, okay then...?

 

 

On 10/2/2018 at 4:49 PM, jmecklenborg said:

 

 

There is simply no way someone can convince me that the way people are being exposed to recorded music now is better than it was for the previous 50 years.  It's all free, but there are no gatekeepers.  Radio is worse than ever and MTV is long-gone. 

 

I know a guy who is about 30 who is a professional music critic for a website that shall not be mentioned.  We talked one day and he had never listened to a Rolling Stones record.  It's like...what?  It's like an architecture critic being unfamiliar with Frank Lloyd Wright. 

 

 

 

 

Gatekeepers are not always necessary.  They reduce choices, stifle creativity, and drag things down.  They place schmoozing and politics (in the generic sense) ahead of talent. Unless they add value. Some do (WMMS did, and John Gorman's current oWow internet station does), most do not.

 

Great music still exists, both old and new.  Great rock and roll is still being made and getting heard, listen to The Struts.  Once again, it is mostly coming from the UK. But not all.        Sometimes you have to put some effort into finding it.     What that does is branches off tighter genres and their fans. The common denominator gets worse. 

 

A  lot more bands are successful, but not *as* successful as the winners of the past.

 

The same is true, to a less profound degree, with pop culture in general. It's fragmenting, becoming more a matter of individual taste than finding common ground.

 

This is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

 

17 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

well, okay then...?

 

 

 

Can you refill a lantern with whale blubber? 

Edited December 20, 20186 yr by YABO713

2 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

 

Can you refill a lantern with whale blubber? 

 

Thank you.  I thought the skit was funny, but it really isn't fair to make out like Millennials are incompetent just because they can't use a can opener.

7 minutes ago, bfwissel said:

 

Thank you.  I thought the skit was funny, but it really isn't fair to make out like Millennials are incompetent just because they can't use a can opener.

 

It could just mean that people aren't eating canned goods as much.  A lot of canned goods now have pull open lids too.  

Kimmel needs to do a follow-up called "can Boomers log into a Gmail account?"

Sure, just send the instructions to their AOL account and hope it cuts through the chain letters. Best to include FW: fw: fw: fw: fw: fw: in the title

36 minutes ago, bfwissel said:

 

Thank you.  I thought the skit was funny, but it really isn't fair to make out like Millennials are incompetent just because they can't use a can opener.

 

I think this may apply only to a certain subset of wealthy coastal millennials.  Plenty of people the same age as her know all about can openers.

3 minutes ago, 327 said:

 

I think this may apply only to a certain subset of wealthy coastal millennials.  Plenty of people the same age as her know all about can openers.

 

Oh I agree, I'm sure many Millennials are able to use a can opener.  I just don't think it's fair to paint them all as incompetent just because some don't know how to use one because they realistically don't have to anymore.

 

P.S.  Even I struggle to use the really old, tiny can openers that we used in scouts to save on space/weight.  Those things sucked.

My mom had a mechanical can opener for as long as I can remember, and I was born in the early '80s.  I'm sure people born a decade later were even more likely to have parents that, if they used canned food at all, had a mechanical can opener.

 

There's a decent chance that the top students in Stanford's computer science classes in the class of 2018 also can't program on punch cards the way my mom used to in college, either.

We showed Millennials a DOS prompt and YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!

5 hours ago, YABO713 said:

 

Can you refill a lantern with whale blubber? 

 

unlike whale blubber lanterns, can openers are still in widespread use. I suspect your parents even have one. Maybe they can do a lecture/demonstration for you 

10 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

 

unlike whale blubber lanterns, can openers are still in widespread use. I suspect your parents even have one. Maybe they can do a lecture/demonstration for you 

 

Yeah I mean I can use one. But all tuna I've purchased in the last 3 years has been either raw or in a vacuumed bag. 

2 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

 

Yeah I mean I can use one. But all tuna I've purchased in the last 3 years has been either raw or in a vacuumed bag. 

 

oh well, excuuuse me. Only the "little people" eat canned tuna. I do like Italian tuna in olive oil the best though. It can be a little too salty, but superior to the well known American brands. 

^ Hey look at this guy over here with his fancy imported canned tuna. 

Maybe millennials aren't eating tuna because they actually like eating higher quality fresh fish. Or maybe they've never forgiven Bumble Bee for pressure cooking one of its employees.

I also suspect that many milliennials, like people of all ages, cannot afford fresh tuna, and regularly eat tuna salad sandwiches from delis or fast food outlets. Well, except YABO, of course. ? 

17 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

I also suspect that many milliennials, like people of all ages, cannot afford fresh tuna, and regularly eat tuna salad sandwiches from delis or fast food outlets. Well, except YABO, of course. ? 

 

No, most people my generation are willing to spend more on sustainably sourced, fresh, sometime organic, GMO-free, etc. foods than the generations before us. Seems to be a smart, long-term move considering most of us won't have social security or medicaid to rely on by the time we're 60

7 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

 

No, most people my generation are willing to spend more on sustainably sourced, fresh, sometime organic, GMO-free, etc. foods than the generations before us. Seems to be a smart, long-term move considering most of us won't have social security or medicaid to rely on by the time we're 60

 

well, yes, there is a trend in that direction, but it's being followed by segments of people in all age groups, not just millennials, but it doesn't appear to be the majority, if this story is accurate. Overall health of the American population is on a downward spiral 

 

https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/tale-of-the-tape-average-american-is-borderline-obese-cdc-says#gs.gPyaKP8

Edited December 20, 20186 yr by eastvillagedon