millennials are the worst

By: Emily Warner

What’s your biggest pet peeve about the way that people write about your generation? (Question from the New York Times)

I recently applied for an internship position for The New York Times-owned The Edit, an online newsletter for college students and recent graduates. Part of the application was answering, in 500 words, a choice of five questions. The one I chose was “what’s your biggest pet peeve about the way that people write about your generation?” Here is my answer:

In his standup special “Straight White Male, 60”, comedian Dana Carvey leads into a bit by deeming millennials “crippled” with handling the basics of adulthood — i.e., calling a landlord to turn the heat back on, appreciating art, and being able to hold a conversation.

In the special, Carvey’s jokes hit home — he has to pause and wait for the clapping and laughing to stop before going on to describe his own son’s dopey born-after-1980 comments.

The fact that so many people resonate with, accuse, or demoralize what being a millenial entails (what it is means is a birthday caught between two other scientific-sounding monikers) makes clear the typical anxiety that previous generations have expressed over the years.

The know-all comment about my generation which bothers my friends and me the most is the fear that this technology — the technology that provides the ability to easily express thoughts and opinions — is doing something bad to us. We’re on our phones too much; we don’t know how to hold a conversation in person; we can’t read; we can’t write; we’re not creative; we care about ourselves too much, and others not enough.

This view strips my generation of our own power. Instead of being active participants in life, we have become, in an instant, passive experimentees, with the world watching behind a one-way glass. In the time it takes to like a photo, take a selfie, or order avocado toast, we’ve become members of a category, and should be poked at and blamed.

However, I think there are more opportunities for one to express and enter into dialogue about their opinions now more than ever before. Members of my generation, more than any other, receive higher-level educations, are reading more everyday of our national and wordly history, and are participating in inclusive, cooperative dialogue than ever before.