Why Milennials Are Better Than You think
Written by New Directions for Young Adults, Posted on
Generation Y, as we have been known to be called, is the premise for much ridicule and skepticism from previous generations. The baby boomers look down and scoff at our seemingly insatiable addiction to screens and multimedia. Ridicule from a generation whose responsibility to provide a bright future, which seems to have failed so miserably, leaves very little impact on me personally. Multimedia has united and given hope to so many people that might have been out of reach, help or understanding in time past.
In previous generations it wasn’t, at least for men, acceptable to be open with your emotions. Keeping your composure in difficult situations was expected, overcoming the hardest of trials with a stone cold emotionless face. It was admired by most to keep your troubles as private as possible, maintaining low divorce rates and low diagnosed depression. The American dream--a house, a family, a stable job topped off with a white picket fence--was all hidden behind a mask of severe underlying mental health issues many previously ignored.
America: The Next Generation
Searches related to mental health are among the highest topics searched on a daily basis throughout the Internet. The need for a more understanding and educated population on health issues has lead generation Y to be more concerned about what is happening to those around them. Ad campaigns, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are just a few ways people reach out to one another, offering a helping hand to those in need of a friend, or just someone to talk to.
Social norms for loss and the Internet are clearly still evolving. But millennials (generation Y) have begun projecting their own susceptibilities onto rituals and discussions surrounding death, depression and other issues. In today’s world, we have a completely different way of solving our problems than previous generations did before us. We are gathering strength from a community that couldn’t have existed without the help of the Internet.
I firmly believe that we’re not perfect, and that we can learn a lot from older generations. Generations before us do resonate a certain firmness and confidence brought on by hard work and tough times. Society has changed, but many of the ideals and values of society remain the same, and it’s up to us to maintain a healthy flow.
