"People try to put us d-down...Just because we g-g-get around..."

I think The Who said it best.

Millennials are an easy target for older generations to pick on: we are seen as lazy, careless, and inexperienced. In my generation’s defense, we have a different set of values than our parents or their parents. Older generations don’t give us the credit we deserve. We are a well-educated generation energetic about things and constantly working to make things better. We are fast paced and open-minded, which is more than some of the older generations can boast.

We are so faced paced, we require instant satisfaction or we move on to the next thing. This is both a good and bad thing. It obviously is upsetting to older generations who have worked their whole lives one way to achieve a goal and then a millennial waltzes in gets a different answer than the one they were looking for and walks right back out to find it another way. As much as older generations hate us for it, it is what makes us so adaptable to change. We are always looking for another way to do something. Like the 60 Minutes segment said, we “only take yes for an answer.”

Another practice that older generations are finding trouble understanding is millennials moving back in with their parents after finishing school. We hear the “back in my day” story about how their parents tossed them out with $20 and a college education and told them they were on their own. That’s probably why so many parents are all right with letting their kids move back home. The baby boomers were being thrown out by their parents and now feel the need to nurture their children longer. Really, it’s a smart choice in economic times like this. It’s more affordable to live at home and in an economy on the decline it will save many from making big mistakes.

I think there is much more of an effort being put forth for the baby boomer generation to connect with the millennials. I logged on to facebook the other day and saw a friend request from my mother. Weird. But it shows how baby boomers are being forced into technology to keep in touch with the changing world. If more baby boomers were okay with learning about the new technologies, it would sure make it easier for everyone to stay connected.

We will continue to be chastised about our so-called laziness and sense of entitlement because this is nothing new. Our baby boomer parents rocked their generation’s expectations and values in the sixties and seventies. They were considered too extreme and too much into sex. Now look at them. They are quickly trying to figure out how to keep up with the millennials. This is a smart idea on their part. Leaning how to effectively communicate with us is going to make us less frustrated with an un-technological generation and hopefully make them more understanding of the way we do things.