Navigating Millennial Perceptions: A Generational Divide

Who hasn’t heard of the word “Millenial” by now? It’s 2018 and this word seems to be thrown out there definitely more than it’s actually necessary. As a 20-year-old, all the talk around Millenials is something that concerns me on a personal level. I live it every day and I live it on my skin; it’s who I am. Both Rick Jensen, author of “The Millenial Generation Is Entrepreneural” published on the Washington Examiner in 2008 and David Bass, author of “The Millenial Generation Lacks a Strong Work Ethic” published on American Spectator in 2011, make claims about Generation Y, taking different sides on who they are as functioning people in today’s society.

There is truth in both articles—a truth that I can see in some of my peers— but Bass often fails to admit that external forces contribute enormously to Millenials’ mindset, while Jensen uses a more positive approach to go out of his way and recognize that we actually are a generation of workers, just in a different way; a way society might not be ready to see yet.

Get quality help now

Marrie pro writer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Generation

5 (204)

“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Rick Jensen claims that this is a generation of young people who are or will be thriving, and who have a drive for success and independency that will change the entrepreneurial world. In opposition, David Bass claims that what makes.

Gen Y a generation who believes in financial success is also what makes them entitled to believe they have rights for things they don’t have to work for.

He uses various studies and numbers, like a study from Ohio State University focusing on credit card and student loan debt by young adults between the ages 18 and 27 or a recent Census that brought to light a much lower employment rate in young adults and teen compared to World War II times, to support the idea that teenagers and young adults nowadays are essentially lazy. They don’t accept any job, they live with their parents longer, they start a family later to evade responsibilities, they are drowning in debt after mismanagement of their money… the core of the idea is: they don’t settle.

Not for any job, not for any house, not for any woman, not for any car. Jensen understands instead that growing up during the technological era, Gen Y and technology went together. As they were catching up to the world, so were technology and the internet. Managing different tasks has never been easier for somebody who was “listening to an iPod, surfing the Net and text-messaging at the same time,” Jensen claims. And he’s not wrong. Millenials, at such a young age, gained skills most adults are still adapting to and with certain skills, comes the realization that there is more to this world than just working at the same job who makes you miserable for a boss who does not appreciate you. Hence, the need for something more and something “theirs.”

Jensen supports his article with common sense notion, recognizing that some things are just bound to happen when a generation like ours grows up in the times we did. His tone is gentle and his subtle praise would make every Millenial want to hang his article in the room as a reminder of who they are. Bass took instead a different approach; he throws studies and percentages here and there, but his accusatory and judgmental tone makes the article ineffective, even if it’s supported with sources. He lets readers know at the beginning of the article that he is part of this generation, as a 25-year-old, but somehow seems to be desperate for recognition until the last word, as if him letting them know he is technically a part of this group of people but essentially different and “better” should make them want to go shake his hand to say “good job!”