The kids are alright

Generation X, the generation to which I belong, was called the same, maybe not so much with the beards, but we had stubble at times, and long unkept hair as well. In our youth, being called lazy gave us a chip on our shoulder. So what did we do? We got to work. We started companies. We had kids and did the best we could. No one really talks about us anymore, which is fine by us. We didn’t even get a proper generation name. Whatever.

But now it’s the millennials. Which by this point is becoming quite the large group, since it is now used to describe all young people. As in, can you believe the latest millennial trend? People younger than 22 are post-millennials, or centennials, since they were born around or after 2000, yet they are still lumped in with the millennials. There is new idea that the millennials, or rather young people, are getting burned out. It’s all too much, some say. Ostensibly, there is some push to unplug and lighten the load. To re-evaluate what makes us adults and humans. Sure. I suppose it might be hard to always be on, to constantly check social media, and all that. But this is a gross generalization. Some people might be feeling this but, for the most part, the younger generations are making it work. Sure, there are complaints. We all complain. Walking to school uphill both ways as an adage didn’t conjure itself out of thin air. To the point, it is entirely unfair to assign general attributes to a large group of people. It is true that some young people are entitled and whiny, but that is also true about people in every generation.

Here are some facts. The cost of living is going up. Wages only recently started rising. College costs are going up. Student loans, while nothing new (I just paid off my grad school loan last year, hallelujah!), are hurting young people’s chances of taking the step to homeownership, home prices are rising overall and homeownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for anyone without help. Young people went through two recent recessions which were largely caused by the “irrational exuberance” of the dot-coms then monetary policy that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. The last recession off-ramp was characterized by a dramatic increase in the cost of living and rent, without the commensurate rise in wages that might typically accompany it. Income inequality is a growing problem, and it’s more pronounced than ever before, though previous generations certainly squabbled over all of this.

So what’s a generation to do? I think they will largely do what every other generation has done. Work hard, figure it out, complain a little on the way and then proceed to make a change. The millennials I know are politically aware, hard-working (maybe even too hard-working) and interested in making a difference. Doesn’t that also fit into the ideal image of those in the two previous generations? How they seek to change things, and what they seek to change may not be specifically to the other generations’ liking, but isn’t that the point?

It is too easy to assign blame for societal woes on a generation, just because another generation doesn’t understand the other. It’s not about avocado toast and cellphones. That’s just some trite nonsense conjured out of spite and bewilderment or to get some clicks.

Rather than getting all worked up about young people, how about engaging with them and trying to learn a little about their concerns and worries, their hopes and dreams? My generation would have appreciated that when we were young, so let’s make up for lost time with this generation. But even if we don’t, I have a feeling these kids are going to be just fine.

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.