The Loving Left: Please, for the love of all that is holy — stop ripping on Millennials

I cannot even begin to count how many articles, Facebook posts, and tweets I have seen attempting to shred Millennials — this past year especially.

For example, Millennial author Johnny Oleksinski at the New York Post. First, why hasn’t the "Loving Left" responded to any of the media fan-fare? We just don’t have the time — I don’t have the time. This is largely because I work part-time as a barista, and have a long commute on my fixed gear bike. See what I did there? I made a funny, y’all (insert emoji here, just for Johnny boy).

ACTUALLY, I have a full-time job, churn out work for the ultimate soul-sucker (graduate school), do volunteer work, hang with my giant family, and I am attempting to plan my wedding. Which brings me to my first counterpoint. Metonymy towards Millennials or anything else just illustrates one’s ignorance.

Millennials are NOT lazy

Most of us classified as Millennials are not lazy. As some of you may know Millennials have already surpassed Gen X to makeup the largest share of the workforce. So, while people like Simon Sinek (who actually spent time with us here at TheBlaze and is very charismatic, for the record) are pointing to random one-offs about Millennials demanding beanbags or quitting a job because they were underpaid, please share this article. An article that utilizes data to draw conclusions, and doesn’t just invoke “I feel” statements. Furthermore, most Millennials are paid less for the same job than the prior generation, comparatively speaking. So, yes, maybe we are quitting to find fulfillment and pay equal to our qualifications. Why are Millennials being paid less? Well, this is because we are the most educated generation (increasing competition for jobs), and our recession recovery hasn’t been as prolific as it was for Boomers in the 1980s. Dare I suggest that Boomers hire more Millennials at a fair wage based on qualifications, and we all learn from each other?

Millennials are NOT narcissists

Millennials are more likely than Boomers and the Silent Generation to point out flaws in our own cohort. (Insert Simon Sinek talking about selfies and dopamine.) Instead of focusing on this frivolous image style I encourage naysayers of social media to use — that thing. What is it? Oh yes — the Internet to conduct some clearly-needed research. There is so much inspiration on social media from not just Millennials but all walks of life. You can also follow and unfollow people that post too many selfies. You don’t like them, don’t look at them. It’s like banging your head against a wall. It hurts? Stop doing it.

Millennials are NOT socially awkward because of smart phones and social media

Social media was invented to provide an additional form of communication and extend communication circles, not to keep people from speaking in general. Feel free to Google Facebook’s mission statement. They don’t want people to be addicts — they want people to connect. Yes, they want to be your social platform of choice, but that doesn’t mean one’s life-blood. Johnny’s article goes as far to quote a 2016 Gallup survey that states “21 percent of the commitment-phobes left their job after less than a year.” Ok…he didn’t even state how old these survey respondents were. Very strong argument, sir!

Overall, I respect every generation for the unique perspective they bring to life and believe that all ages can share wisdom. So, Johnny, Boomers, Simon, and everyone else that’s not actually an optimist — let’s stop saying Millennials are idiots. We dominate the workforce for now, and soon another generation will, and I for one won’t be laying into them.

Back to my Liberal granola ;). Mmmm, so good!

Social Media Manager at TheBlaze, Julia O’Rourke, will finish her Masters in Marketing Communication this spring. She has previously worked with PepsiCo, Del Taco, Hyatt, and Nestle Skin Health marketing teams, and been asked to speak about Social Marketing at such events as the Public Relations Society of America.

Read more articles from TheBlaze Contributors here.