Don’t underestimate us

Dont underestimate us

If you type the word “millennial” into Google, the first suggestion that pops up is “millenials are too lazy.”  This all too common sentiment is an entirely preposterous claim. As someone who works hards and cares about my future, I despise the ignorant generalization because I know that I am not an abnormality in my generation.

In a 2014 YouGov survey, 59 percent of Americans agreed that 18-29 year olds are lazier than past generations. Why are we supposedly such slackers? Is it because they see the confusing phones in our hands and the complex laptops in our bags, and automatically dismiss the unknown as negative? Why is it so difficult to believe that perhaps the technology is not so scary, and actually beneficial? It’s irritating that rather than attempt to assimilate to the new era of technology, so many adults choose to write off the advancements as something that young adults use as a mechanism for laziness.

In actuality, young people are doing very well. In fact, we are doing even better than our predecessors. Young adults just entering the workforce a few years ago entered during one of our nation’s most severe recessions. However, millennials did not back down from the difficult circumstances and continued to work tirelessly regardless of the situation. In a study from Manpower Group, 19,000 millennials from 25 different countries were surveyed, showing that the majority of young adults are not enjoying the luxury of 40 hour weeks the way older generations did. On average, young people in the U.S., Norway, and Brazil are working 45 hour weeks, while the average in India is 52 hours. Additionally, millennials are becoming the most educated generation. According to Pew Research Center, 21 percent of male millennials and 27 percent of female millennials have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree between the ages of 18-33. In the previous generation, there were only 18 percent of males and 20 percent of females to accomplish this, and the statistics of the generations farther back are even lower.

Evidently, the stereotype of lazy young people is just that– a stereotype. This ignorant idea of youths was one crafted by older people to make sense out of the rapidly advancing, new age of the Internet. But we have, and will continue to, defy the stereotype. We have been released into an economy and world left in shambles by our parents and grandparents, and we will be the ones to fix it.