We keep hearing the term Millennial Generation, Millennial Mentality, etc. For those of you that don’t know the proper definition of the term, this is a group of people born anywhere between 1982 to 2004, in shorter terms, definitely not me! Being born into this generation is quite a difficult one to be growing up in, and vastly different from most people reading this piece.
Millennials live in a world of instant gratification, instant information, instant communication and constant distraction. It’s a fascinating time in human evolution, yet a fast departure from the humanity of the past. My past. Nearly gone are the days of reading a paper book, writing letters, or even being bored really. Technology, in all of its wondrous advancements, has also pulled an entire generation so far from what I hold dear when I think of my child and teen years. Millennials are a Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat based culture. Amazing, and at the same time terrifying.
When stress presses, this generation can self soothe by turning to their devices, smartphones, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat. They can either scroll through others peoples lives as an escape from theirs, or they can curate an image of their life that is a glossy, edited and enhanced version of the truth. The dopamine rush is easily achieved with “likes” or adoring comments. “you’re so perfect” “this is everything” “you are so hot” “life goals.” Good heavens !
The Millennial Generation is obsolete of patience, spaciousness and reality in many ways. I fear for the future generations to come and surely for my children as they move into adulthood. This new movement is beyond addicting. I am grateful that I come from a generation that had no choice but to be patient. Waiting for that letter to arrive or keeping your word to another because texting someone “I’m running an hour late” or “I changed my mind,” was not an option. I think my generation remembers the beauty of boredom, of pondering, of imagination and of allowing emotions to settle before reacting. Even dialing your best friend on a rotary phone took patience, and patience is truly a virtue. I recognize the blessings of that time more and more as I feel and see my own addictions to what technology brings. I have come to believe that is there no drug more powerful than technology. An edited life or person is surely more physically appealing than the real version, but sadly the truth gets lost in the edits. How fortunate we were to grow up during a time that we had no choice but to show and be who we truly were. How fortunate that I can share my memories with my millennials.
