The Lies We Tell Ourselves About the Next Generation
I recently spent two days in an auditorium facilitating programming for 150 high school juniors. As a seasoned instructor and facilitator, I always hope for a room full of bright-eyed, active participants. However, I’m realistic about what a 7:15a.m. mandated training for young adults can look like—it’s more like presenting to a room full of hostages than interested attendees. I did see a few eager and excited faces, but the wave of zombie expressions assured me I had my work cut out for me.
I started the session and spoke mostly at students playing on their phones, dozing in hoodies, or staring blankly off into the expanses of the auditorium. Though waning, optimism had me hoping that at least some snippet of the curriculum I was teaching would inspire attention or come of use later down the road. I was validated occasionally by chuckles at my cheesy, self-deprecating jokes, but the bulk of responsiveness came as a result of the candy incentives I tossed out to those who participated. (Never underestimate the power of a sugary bribe.)
I finished up my four-hour session, which proved to be more successful and enjoyable than I had originally expected. And, as it does, long after the session my brain was still stewing. I found my mind wandering into the narratives that I hear about the next generation being social media-obsessed, disrespectful, apathetic youngsters. Though with different online platforms, desktop computers, and dial-up internet, I kept thinking about how this narrative is not that far off from that I heard about my own generation. You know—those entitled millennials—the kids anticipated to be the downfall of America. Yet, here we are adulting, succeeding, and changing the world just as needed.
As a middle-aged adult (which I can officially say now that I am one month into my forties), I am fascinated by how quickly people my age and beyond forget that we too were once those young people of concern. We, like every generation before us, were labeled less-than and seen as the failure of the nation. We knew nothing about hard work and spent all our time on that MSN messenger and pirating music from poor artists. Yet, fast forward twenty-some years, and I find so many of my peers adopting this same belief about the complacency and privilege of the up-and-coming youth.
By no means am I suggesting that I don’t occasionally shake my proverbial fist at young people disrupting my morning cup of tea. But overall, I try to remind myself that, as a young person who felt seen but not heard nor understood, it’s in my personal, professional, and social interest to quash that bullshit narrative. While it’s convenient and almost comforting to latch on to conspiracy theories about the failure of future generations, these young people too will step up and out into the world in a way that we old-timers admire and respect. What we perceive as complacency, phone-dependence, or privilege can in fact just be burnout, tech brilliance, and an evolving world. Perhaps it’s time to stop and consider the consequences of demonizing future generations and believing that we have all it all figured out because we added a few more candles to the birthday cake.
I don’t have a concrete understanding as to why this cycle happens, but I am fascinated by our ability to write the same narratives we so hard tried to escape. For now, I can only suggest that we put our adult egos aside and give the young people of the world the credibility they deserve. They are and will continue doing amazing things to change and impact the world. If nothing else, maybe it’s time to point that judgmental finger right back at we the people who are responsible for raising them.
Until next time… Y’all be kind out there.
