Please help me welcome the newest addition to the YAM team, Kristi!
The word “millennial” is often met with eye rolls and the typical “kids these days” commentary.
Every other week it seems, another major news network highlights the many reasons that millennials are technology obsessed, egotistical, and lazy. According to their arbitrary polls, we are self-absorbed brats who care nothing about others.
Apparently, we want what we want, when we want it, and we don’t want to do the necessary footwork to achieve it. We are self-entitled jerks who want to push our way to success before we have paid our dues.
Why do baby boomers, Generation X, and the media have this false perception of an entire generation of people?
If the same media outlet were to make sweeping generalizations about the work ethic of an entire race or gender, they would be vilified by both their viewers and social media alike. So why does our society allow the constant slander of an entire generation?
Here are 3 misconceptions of millennials that our generation needs to take by the horns and dispose of once and for all.
Misconception 1: We have an unhealthy obsession with social media
Older generations seem to believe that the millennial attachment to technology is a nuisance at best and at worst indicative of an unhealthy addiction.
For some reason they believe that our use of social media reflects poorly on our work ethic. It’s confounding that people actually believe that being tech savvy and a hard worker are mutually exclusive.
Truth: We value technology and social media as powerful business tools
As the first generation to be raised with the internet and mobile information technology, Generation Y workers are keen users of social media as a business tool. In a fast-paced world of technology and information sharing, you have to respond almost immediately to a job posting or a business inquiry if you want to have even a chance at scoring a new business deal. We understand how to connect and promote our businesses via social media channels.
Our technology obsession, which all the baby boomers and generation Xers gripe about, actually creates a strong business environment. Our attachment to our phones and iPads mean that we are more likely to answer business related emails, text messages, and phone calls, even when we are officially off of business hours.
In short, we are workaholics. Any company would be wise to encourage the “technology obsession” of their millennial employees.
Misconception 2: We are lazy and feel entitled to what we haven’t earned
I truly believe that the baby boomer and Generation X perceptions of millennials as a lazy and unmotivated group stems from a difference in upbringing. As young adults, they didn’t have the technology available to them that is now at out fingertips. We don’t have to endlessly scour a library’s archives to find relevant sources.
We can instantaneously and efficiently find and utilize a vast network of information with which to accomplish our tasks. They resent millennial workers for accomplishing a task with less foot work that they had to at that time of their lives.
To them, we are lazy because we don’t have to do things the old fashioned way. They then project negative stereotypes as a result of these false perceptions.
Truth: We are self-starters with the confidence and ambition necessary to be entrepreneurs
Millennials are the most educated generation our country has ever had. Entering the job market during the Great Recession means that many millennials took whatever employment they could find, even though those jobs were low paying and they were over-qualified as candidates.
Not every employee will be content to slowly work their way up the corporate ladder when they were forced to start in the mail room with a Master of Economics degree.
Rob Asghar, a Forbes Contributor, wrote a refreshing article on why millennials are the great entrepreneur generation. He contends that because creativity and flexibility in the workplace are so important to millennials, we are more likely to seek employment through our own means, rather than looking for it in a corporate office somewhere. He’s right!
Instead of staying in a stagnant and rigid corporate job where our creativity is repressed and social media is frowned upon, we will do whatever it takes to get into a career we are more than qualified to work, even if it means starting our own business.
Misconception 3: We are narcissistic and don’t care about helping others
Apparently having a penchant for taking selfies means that you must not really care about anyone else. A relatively recent CNN article claims that millennials care the least about helping others out of every generation, because finding a steady and well-paying job is our highest priority.
Truth: We strive to make social changes that have a positive impact
I challenge the notion that millennials are self-absorbed and care nothing about helping others. We care about having a steady and high paying job, but we also work towards social change which will positively impact American society. We use social media platforms like GoFundMe and change.org to crowd fund charities and sign petitions for social change.
We may show we care differently than older generations, but it doesn’t mean we care less.
Push back against these misconceptions
Whether older generations like it or not, millennials will comprise two thirds of the work force by 2025. If we ever want to be respected and taken seriously as peers, we need to assert ourselves. We need to prove how our need for creativity blossoms as innovation in our businesses. We need to demonstrate just how powerful social media can be as a business tool.
The best way to prove our worth is to continue doing what we’re doing. Our generation of entrepreneurs and confident go-getters needs to push back against these misconceptions of millennials and educate other generations about the truth of Generation Y.
Have you seen millennials negatively portrayed in the media? What are your opinions of millennials compared to other generations?
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Photo by jakeliefer
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Great inaugural post, Kristi! Congrats on the gig!
Anytime we lump any group of people together with a bunch of stereotypes, we enter into dangerous territory. Those perceptions cannot possibly be correct for everyone in the group! And then to be on the receiving end – you were right to say push back. Rise above and show the world what YOU really have to offer.
indebtedmom Thank you Kirsten! I’m sure there are millennials out there who fit into the stereotype, but any of my own acquaintance are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. It’s time for people to start respecting each other, no matter which generation they come from.
I think as Generation Y we are just misunderstood. Technology has changed so quickly and not everyone has kept up. With smart phones becoming so prominent, we may have closed some of the generational gap. I also see it from the other perspective. I have a teenager who is glued to the computer. And I WORRY…I worry about his work ethic and future! He’s just 14. Maybe he is just misunderstood?
I think millennials are starting to get portrayed better in the media but what kills me is the whole ‘entitled thing’. Lots of millennials are unemployed or underemployed after graduating college and the blame is partly on the economy and partly on their lack of skill and ability to apply their degrees. Nevertheless, many college grads may be bitter about the higher education system given the fact the these universities are willing to take all of your money and encourage you to take out loans to fund your education when some professors don’t show up to class or offer the value that you need.
We have an ongoing debate in my workplace, between millennials and older generations, about if millennials really are lazy, selfish, etc. I think it all comes down to expectations. In my experience, millennials expect results, but they’re willing to work hard to see them.
Mrs Crackin the Whip That is a great point. With more and more people from older generations embracing smart phones, the gap is not as wide as it once was. Is your son’s computer habit something that you could maybe embrace and encourage him to pursue? Maybe he could take a course on computer coding or go to a technology focused summer camp? I have the same technology worries with own kids. I don’t want to discourage my daughter to use computers, but I also want her to explore other things. Finding balance can be difficult, for sure.
Chonce Unemployment and underemployment is the whole reason I started writing. There weren’t any jobs willing to hire me right after college because I didn’t have experience, but I couldn’t get experience without a job. Catch-22 at its finest! High costs of college, burdensome loans, and unemployment combined can definitely leave people feeling bitter.
It’s a changing of the tides! Just because people don’t act and do what people 40 years ago did doesn’t make them lazy or entitled. Times change, people change. Doesn’t mean we’re lazy or narcissistic. Great points!
Ali_AnythingYouWant I agree with you completely. Most millennials are willing to work hard to achieve their desired results. That being said, there will always be lazy individuals in any generation.
ferventfinance I agree. Our world is quickly evolving with new technologies, and with those changes people and expectations are going to change as well.
Welcome to YAM Kristi! I have definitely heard some of these misconceptions and I think that while there may be truth here about some people, it certainly doesn’t define a generation of people. Most of my clients are millennials and laziness is not something I see in any of them. In fact they work really hard on their goals and have better success than their Boomer parents from my perspective.
Although I think you are right about the misconceptions, I think the truths are still TBD. The oldest of us are what, 35? We’ve got a lot of life before our generation can have a definition.
Millenials don’t have all the answers. We need older generations. That said, older generations need millenials. I think that generational humility is extremely important, especially in the workplace.
blonde_finance thank you! I’m excited to be here! You’re right about there being truth about these perceptions in some people, but it’s the sweeping generalizations that are harmful to our generation.
Hannah UnplannedFinance I truly hope that in the next ten years our generation will have proven our worth and work ethic to the older generations by what we are able to accomplish. Humility is definitely important, but not at the expense of self-respect. I would love to see more bilateral mentorship among the generations. We have a lot to offer in the way of technology etc. but baby boomers have life experience that we should embrace and learn from.
“Our technology obsession, which all the baby boomers and generation Xers gripe about…” I’m between the boomers and gen Xers, and I promise I don’t gripe about your tech savvy. Be careful not to make the mistake of asserting “sweeping generalizations” that you object to : )
In my circle of friends and family, there is a recognition of how difficult it is for millennials to get established in the work place. We have compassion and respect for the challenges that you are facing – a combination of factors that no older generation has had to face. The tech thing is intimidating and terrifying to some of us (like me), and while we do recognize unhealthy, addictive-like behaviour in the tech habits of some, it’s also a given that we either get on board tech-wise or get left behind.
So as a young-boomer/old-genXer, let me assure you that there are many of us who respect and admire millennials – who are ready to learn from you. We wish you the very best. After all, some of you are our beloved sons and daughters : )
Although I use the term “millennial” a lot, I dislike the term for several reasons. I think the term promotes intellectual laziness to a degree because like you pointed out, millennials are the most educated and laziest generation. A lot of articles I see these days about generational differences seem to be mudslinging against evil baby boomers or lazy millennials. It would be nice for everyone to just try and get on the same page and support our differences/weaknesses.
PruDebtFree Too right! I should have chosen my words more carefully. It’s certainly not ALL baby boomers who gripe about it, and I wouldn’t want to generalize as well.
It’s always nice to hear from other generations who aren’t so pessimistic about us. Thank you for you kind words!
Anum Yes, Anum, I agree! The mudslinging from both sides needs to stop. We definitely need to appreciate each other’s differences and work together the best that we can.
Hey Kristi – congrats on joining the YAM team!
I think you’re right about the Millennial perception, but I hate seeing such broad sweeping statements made about any demographic. Of course, things like technology impact the way certain demographics behave, but there’s a whole range of different attitudes within Millennials and every one else, good and bad, and it really just boils down to the individual.
Jason@Islands of Investing Thank you, Jason!
I agree completely about it depending upon the individual. In my passion to dispel so many of the generalizations made about millennials, I made some sweeping generalizations of my own (an ironic twist). Not all baby boomers think millennials are lazy, but the perception is so widespread, that it sometimes feels as though 99% of the older generations feel this way towards my generation.
Sometimes I wonder about how my near-constant work e-mails (designed for effective communication & higher productivity) affect my productivity in the office. I wish that I had the guts to tell my boss, “I’ll only be checking e-mail three times a day today, in order to spend time actually working on my projects instead of answering e-mails about the projects.” The expectation of an immediate response definitely lowers my productivity, but like you said, I am hard-wired to click that “reply” button as soon as possible, if it’s an ‘important’ e-mail.
I think another misconception is who actually constitutes a millennial. I admit I just looked it up, and was surprised to see that I count — I thought that the kids I was teaching in my freshman courses in college were millennials. :) Now that I got some clarification, I think you’re right — it’s Gen Z that is *definitely* not using social media as a networking/business tool in the middle of English 101!
I agree that their are a lot millennials who are hard working and innovative. I think many of the misconceptions older generations have reflect on their lack of understanding of the power of social media and technology for that matter. I think every generation has their fair share of hardworking folks vs. lazy and self serving ones.
AmyMunslow I too have the hardest time waiting to respond to an important email. Sometimes, it definitely would be better for productivity if we didn’t feel so compelled to interrupt our current task to reply.
AlexandraRSF Utilizing social media (for whatever reason) in the middle of a class is both rude and disrespectful, no matter the age of the student. There is definitely a time and a place! I hate to hear stories of blatant disrespect like this. Unfortunately, classroom distract-ability is one of those things that has always been around and will probably never truly go away. Even our parents’ parents goofed off in their classrooms from time to time.
mrandmrsbudgets I agree!
I definitely agree that millennials are more entrepreneurial, at least then some Gen X and Baby Boomers. I see it a lot with people I know – I think we realize we don’t have much to lose at our ages right now, so why not go for it?
sunburntsaver Not only do we not have much to lose, but millennials are willing to branch out as entrepreneurs because there is more to be gained…especially within the past ten years with our hurting economy and fewer jobs.