Can we just have a week where we don’t think, “Well, this will be in a history book?”

Anthony W. Haddad

The Millennial View

It really feels like our lives are shaping up to be the final exam for an AP Gov class in 2045.

We experienced an assassination attempt on a former president, an incumbent president ending his candidacy for the next presidential election, and a global IT outage. All of this happened in just one week. A week!

But the world keeps spinning, and we have to keep moving.

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Where It All Began

Growing up, I was a sound sleeper, and napping is still my favorite hobby. My mom always had a tough time waking me up, sometimes letting my cat jump on my bed and lick my face until I finally opened my eyes.

I still remember one Tuesday that was different from all the others. I woke myself up, got out of my room, and followed the noise of the television, which was never really on that early in the morning. There, I saw my mom sitting at the edge of the coffee table, watching the Twin Towers fall. I didn’t understand what was happening — I was 8 at the time — but I could tell my parents were upset.

When I got to school and was ushered into my second-grade classroom, our teacher asked us to sit in silence and turned on the rollout projector to play the news for the rest of the day. For many of us millennials, we watched the world change on a small screen without fully grasping the gravity of the situation.

We started to learn about the world as it was, but 9-11 changed everything in ways we couldn’t quite grasp at that age. We were ready to go to war with Iraq, though we didn’t fully understand why. We were so fragile, just accepting whatever we were told as absolute truth. As we tried to grow and understand the world, things seemed to shift beneath us almost overnight.

This was when I started to realize that the world around me wasn’t quite the fairy tale the Disney Channel had led me to believe.

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Internet at Our Fingertips

Now, we millennials are lucky. We remember plugging our 10-ton computers into the wall and hearing our parents yell, “I was on the phone!” For the younger readers who might have stumbled here, back then, you could only use the phone or the internet. Now, we can do both in the palm of our hands.

There was a time before Netflix, Instagram, and dating apps. I’ll always miss those Fridays when my dad took my brothers and me to Blockbuster to pick up a few movies, followed by a stop for Hawaiian pizza (the superior pizza).

Millennials witnessed the shift from cell phones with the slowest internet to having full-fledged computers in our pockets — or shattered on the floor, if you’re as clumsy as I am.

We’re now more connected to the world than ever before. We used to learn about events in the Middle East only if a news network covered them or if they appeared in a newspaper. If we missed those, we relied on word-of-mouth gossip from next-door neighbors to stay informed. Now, we can see the good and the bad whenever we want.

The Social Media Boom

With social media booming, especially on TikTok, we’re immersed in a digital world where we can see death, destruction, shootings, theft, and unattainable beauty standards, creating an overall view of the world that’s often less than ideal.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll cry watching a dog reunite with its owner after a year apart, but that joy is overshadowed by the tragedies we can swipe through in an instant.

In 2020, COVID pushed the digital era into overdrive. We were locked in our homes, socializing only through screens. If you weren’t glued to your devices then, you certainly were after the lockdown. We scrambled for entertainment online or just tried to understand what the heck COVID was.

So, why don’t we stop? We’re addicted to it now. We need the information to keep up with conversations in our society. We crave the drama and polarization. We want to be mad at something or cry for no reason.

We just want to feel something.

It’s Not Just Digital

I should have bought my home 25 years ago, or so the economists say. Too bad I was still learning how to be potty-trained.

With sky-high housing prices, student loans, inflation and the risk of never seeing social security, we’re getting really tired. I’m not going to blame the boomers, but I will blame the fossils running every arm of our government.

It’s no longer, “When I was your age, I wasn’t complaining when I had to get down and dirty!” You also bought your now million-dollar home for $75,000. Please, leave us alone. We’re just trying to live and you also thought cigarettes’ were healthy for you.

We’re pretty much working to live and living is the hard part.

From friendships shattering over divisive politics to working tirelessly just to get by, life is becoming increasingly challenging.

Generational Challenges Aren’t New

Other generations have faced their own profound challenges, ones that we may struggle to fully grasp.

The Greatest Generation, born between 1901 and 1927, grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Their formative years were marked by economic hardship and global conflict, fostering a strong sense of duty, resilience, and patriotism.

They experienced new technologies like radio and television, and their communication methods relied heavily on face-to-face interaction. In their careers, they valued stability and loyalty, often working for the same company throughout their lives, and upheld conservative social and cultural norms. Education was less widespread, and higher education was not as common.

In contrast, Millennials have been shaped by the rapid advancement of technology and the rise of the internet and social media. They came of age during economic challenges like the Great Recession and face significant student debt. Millennials are characterized by their tech-savviness, often engaging in frequent job changes and valuing work-life balance and meaningful work.

Our social and cultural attitudes tend to be more progressive, advocating for social justice and diversity. Education is more prevalent among Millennials, and they often pursue advanced degrees, reflecting their emphasis on education and career development.

What Makes Millennials So Special?

What makes us unique is that we’re the bridge between the pre-digital and digital eras. Older generations often miss the nuances of today’s world because they’re not fully immersed in the current tech landscape. The number of times I’ve been asked to convert a Word document to a PDF is wild.

For the generations after us, screens are second nature. They’ve grown up with them and even have their own language — one I’ve somehow picked up due to my TikTok habit.

Millennials remember a time before everything got so complicated. We understand how social media trends shape style and language, yet we also grasp how the political and financial climates have evolved more than our predecessors. We’re in that odd middle ground where we can understand the generations around us but struggle to fully relate to either.

But, What Do We Do?

We do our best.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and I’m certainly not qualified to tell anyone how to feel less numb about their surroundings.

But what I do is simple, I put my phone down. I turn off the screens. I make a conscious effort, for as long as I can, to stay in the moment. This might mean hiking (which I rarely do but feel like a yoga guru when I do), hitting the gym, taking a walk outside, or, my favorite pastime, taking a nap.

It might help to reach out to friends or family and talk about what you’re experiencing. Engaging in activities you once enjoyed or trying out a new hobby could also help reawaken your emotions. Additionally, focusing on self-care — eating well, getting enough sleep, and staying physically active — can be beneficial. Often, a combination of these approaches can make a significant difference and help keep you grounded in the world.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a millennial or not — we’re all tired. Whether it’s work, the political climate, or the relentless Fresno heat, we’re just plain exhausted.

All of us deserve a nap.

Make Your Voice Heard

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