Millennial Buzz

Madame: Please pardon the bunching up of everything, as Chrome is not cooperating this evening. Excellent points you make (and related to my post on The Professor!). Awhile back, you posted some links to scholarly works on the Millennial (who I will call the “M’s” rather than break them out more correctly into their “Y” and “Z” pieces) generation. My initial reactions were: Which part of the millennials? How certain are the researchers that they will not be like the Boomers, who seemed to have a great seed of progressive thought and activity, only to often settle into conventional thought as time went on (and age increased)—and many of whom had never had any thoughts BUT conventional? Are the researchers confident they are not mixing some trends with any wishful thinking? Is it projection of hopes and dreams onto the M’s, or is it analysis of actuality? Is it infatuation with the idea or is it reality? Does the research apply across racial, ethnic, and social groups? We need to ask because as promising as they are, there are a lot of counter-trends as well. The promise they have comes from many things, not least of which is that they grew up in a culture that was the post-result of civil rights battles. Racial, ethnic, gender, generational (at least their own families), etc. divisions come far less naturally to them, even in these economically harder pressed times. And they communicate in ways not just different, but outside the box of conventional expectation, and also with different expectations of privacy. Their irreverence for traditional authority structures and traditional reward and punishment mean they challenge systems (including religious, but perhaps not spiritual, systems) in steep ways. Of course, this also means they are frequently accused of entitlement or narcissism, as well. Much is made of “generational cycles” and comparisons with the so-called “Greatest Generation.” [As an historian, I may have issues with a generation being called greater than the founding/framing generation, but I’ll roll for now. :)] While the M’s have great promise (including as entrepreneurs and employees who confidently meet challenges, with technology and little negative emotion), they also have great challenges in themselves. For instance, more than one detractor has asked: How is this generation not just entertaining and diverting itself (and us) to death? Of course, time and the shapings of historical events will tell, but one thing is virtually certain: One day, the Boomers and the X’ers will be largely gone off the stage, and the M’s (or, more accurately, the Y’s and Z’s) will lead their societies. Regardless of any fawning, fussing, or fuming of their predecessors. :)