Searcy,Ark.,(LP) — According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of a millennial is “of or relating to a millennium”, which is “a person reaching young adulthood in the early twenty-first century.” Millennials is a subject that many people argue over. They argue that millennials are ungrateful, that they are given jobs so easily but do not appreciate them. Perhaps the millennials do not want the jobs that are available. In 2017, and for many years on, most of the jobs deal with and will deal with S.T.E.M., Science,Technology,Engineering,and Mathematics. Technology is a big part of millennials’ lives. As SHS Senior Cheyenne Swift states,”Technology is advancing and we have to advance along with it, because we need to learn how to work with this type of technology in order to find a job now-a-days.” With a similar belief, Aniah Hall, Sophmore at SHS states,”If we millennials had to pay for every Snapchat or message we send, or every video we watch on Youtube, people would delete social media apps and wouldn’t be on their phones that much and they would interact with other people.” This brings up the recent topic of Net Neutrality being taken away. Net Neutrality is the policy that Internet companies cannot charge differently based on the user, the content, the website, the platform, the application, the method of communication, or the type of attached equipment. If Net Neutrality is repealed, then the Internet companies will be able to gain more money by slowing down certain websites and apps that use Internet that many people use, such as Instagram, Snapchat, multiple social media apps, even websites like Google and Yahoo. Thousands of people worldwide oppose Net Neutrality being taken away. They feel that “if Net Neutrality is taken away, then the government is limiting the American citizens’ freedoms. The Internet providers cannot make us pay more on certain websites. It just is not right,” stated one interviewee that wished to remain anonymous.
Another belief about millennials is that they are too lazy. Both Anna Quindlen’s story, “Doing Nothing Is Something” and Simon Sinek’s video about millennials introduces the topic of whether or not spending time being productive can be worthwhile. Quindlen believes that not overloading yourself and relaxing can lead to more production later on, by relieving stress. Sinek believes similarly. He thinks millennials stress too much and begin bad habits like drugs and alcohol and cigarettes in an attempt to deal with the stresses in their lives. It all begins during the childhood and teenhood. Sinek proves my point, intimating that “the generation that is called the millennials, too many of them grew up subject to failed parenting strategies.” He explains that many parents of millennials worked their kids diligently by getting them too involved in school, sports, fine arts, and other activities, using up all their free time. He also talks about how the millennial children often become accustomed to praise from their parents. The parents of the child over-praise him/her and let the child think that living in the “real world” as an individual will be easy, because they say their kid will get anything desired, such as a good job, high pay, and fulfillment. Quite the opposite can be true for millennials. They do not feel fulfilled when they discover that jobs can be difficult to get and often do not pay much. Then they develop a bad self image, thinking that they do not meet the requirements for the job and that they will never get the job they desire. Like Quindlen and Sinek, I feel that if parents of millennials raised them the right way, by giving their kid/kids more free time, then they would be less stressed as young adults.Even children feel stress about school grades, stress about making friends, stress about many things in his/her life. If they were given more free time, they would understand that relaxing from the stresses in life can be a crucial part in managing stress, like one interviewee that wished to be anonymous stated,”When I’m too stressed and feel like I just want to quit everything I have going, I take a few deep breaths, take time off from my activities, and just relax. It helps me focus on what needs to be done and then I get it done.”
Some may argue that not giving kids enough to do can be harmful. They think the kids will turn to drugs and alcohol and cigarettes as a way to relieve boredom. To prevent this, it is advised to teach the kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and cigarettes so they will not even think about partaking in these activities.
I agree with Quindlen’s and Sinek’s viewpoints supporting free time. Using a little extra time to relax helps me be more creative and productive, instead of being stressed out to the point where I just want to quit all my activities. Many people can be affected positively by relaxing: “there is ample psychological research suggesting that what we might call ‘doing nothing’ is when human beings actually do their best thinking” (Quindlen 641).
