It’s (still) hard out there for a millennial
Does the ‘it’ generation have a PR problem? People do love to talk trash about today’s youth. We explore the reasons why, and whether it will ever stop.
The oldest members of Generation Y turn 33 next year.
To put that into perspective, Alexander the Great conquered the world before the age of 33. Amelia Earhart was 33 when she flew across the Atlantic. And by time he was crucified at age 33, Jesus of Nazareth had altered the course of history.
In other words, today’s millennials aren’t kids anymore. In fact, they’re the it generation, and with 1.7 billion members, they now outnumber Baby Boomers.
So why do they have such a PR problem?
“This is a generation that gets pounded in the press,” said Alex Abraham, director of the 8095 Insights Group, a part of Edelman PR that studies millennials. “It’s being labeled in a variety of ways, and it isn’t necessarily fair.”
They’re deemed lazy, selfish, spoiled, entitled, cheap, murderous, despotic—you get the point. It seems no matter how much they age, there’s no love for millennials.
Abraham, a member of Generation X (those born 1965–79), thinks there’s a lot to like about Generation Y. “They’re just going through a tough time,” he said.
Tough out there for a millennial
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