Now, I’ve always been quick to criticize our generation. Our Facebook-stalking, smartphone-carrying, Google-dependent lifestyle has made us a bunch of spoiled Tweeters with attention deficits and laziness.
I often joked that we were nicknamed “Generation Y” because it was the protest that would burst from our mouths whenever we were asked to do something productive. So imagine my reaction when a study by the Pew Research Center revealed that we, the Millennial generation, are the most educated generation in American history.
I believe my reaction was something like this: DUH!!
Of course we are the most educated generation in history. How could we not be? The very tools responsible for spoiling us are the same tools that make us superior to previous generations. Yes, growing up with technology has made us ADD-positive, but it has also turned us into a generation of self-educated multi-taskers. We grew up with the Internet, which provided us with access to all sorts of information and new ideas.
At a push of a button, we can research news, entertainment, or desired information while contacting friends, checking messages, and listening to our favorite songs. For some of us, we can even do all that while walking and carrying on a conversation. This might seem simple to us, but to our elders it might as well be a developed superpower.
Have you ever noticed how many functions an Xbox 360 has? I have relatives who might suffer an anxiety attack from just watching me browse through the main menu.
According to the Pew Research survey, we are a generation of confident and upbeat individuals open to new ideas and change. This is no surprise, considering our lineage. We are the Echo Boomers. The aftershock of the Baby Boomers: a generation known for rejecting tradition values and remodeling society.
So how do we stack up?
Our generation, along with being able to handle technology, is known for its unique social and political values. During the previous presidential election, we had a higher voting rate than Generation X did at our age. We are considered to be more ethically and racial diverse than past generations, while also being less religious. Generation Net is also recognized for volunteering more often than previous generations. Of course, with disasters like Katrina, I would be pretty ashamed if that wasn’t the case.
Some of you might be feeling pretty proud of yourselves right now for just being between 18 and 29 years of age. However, the Millennial generation is far from perfect.
Much like Generation X, we have a great sense of entitlement, but it’s much worse thanks to being indulged all our lives by parents and technology. Though we have a high volunteer rate, we are characterized as self-absorbed social networkers who put pleasure before work and are always eager to burn through money rather than save it. This could easily be just slandering from the bitter/older generations, but I bet a lot of us don’t even realize how much we spend on a weekend, let alone a month.
So we’re not perfect, but we have the potential and means to make a noticeable impact on history. I use to dread what the world would be like after we take the reins, mostly because of the things we put ourselves through just to be a major hit on YouTube.
Now, however, I’m very much excited. Perhaps we can do more than just brutalize our nether regions for the amusment of the internet. We might actually be the future leaders that this country needs. I can think of no better way to prove this, by challanging the Georgia legislators and their attempt to extort us of our glorious future.
Then again, it’s just as likely that we’ll Tweet about watching such great opportunity pass us by while glued to our chairs with an iPhone IV plugged into our veins.
I hope there’s an App for the former.