MEDIA AND THE MILLENNIALS
   James Dolcott, a Vanity Fair contributor, is a very in-depth writer that provided us a critique on a relatively misunderstood talk of the time: the millennials. James Dolcott writes objectively in spite of his not belonging to the millennials, and that is something that he clearly elaborates on later in the article, with the interesting âin spite of thisâ, âdespite thatâ. Dolcott is speaking on a collective note, regardless of the article being written by himself and himself only, there is a tone of collective sentiment coming from the non-millennials themselves, and how they feel towards the millennials of this time.
   The article was a package of examples, illustrations, and abstractions of ideas that were all in all very interesting to read. At the beginning of the article one line points out the millennials, or Millies, as Dolcott prefers to call them, âthe first generation of digital natives and Facebook fiends, they possess the biological attributes of Earth dwellers but appear to represent a revolutionary hop into a future that seems stuck in trafficâ. This was such a witty, if not amusing, parallel to the struggle of millennials in trying to incorporate themselves into the adult society. It meant to tell of the millennialsâ hardship in coping with an ever changing world that, in spite of their being technological know-hows, still find it hard to learn the dynamics of the present day.
   What also attracted my attention to the article was the objectivity of it. Such was a criticism of the millennials, but an objective one, in that it attempted to filter out the misconceptions about millennials. Afterwards, an enumeration of what really is there that is wrong with them. As Dolcott said, âIf you do want to hate millennials, at least do them the credit of hating them for the right reasonsâ. Dolcott then makes a good reference to the Charlie Hebdo attacks, months prior to the Paris attacks, that became an issue for what really are the bounds of free speech. It is an interesting thought that Dolcott gives us.
   I feel as though I identify with what Dolcott says about the issue on millennials. It was a good enumeration of what really is wrong about this generation, as with all generations. Dolcott produced the feeling of a âriftâ between the millennials and other generations by how his words seemingly alienate us from the rest of the world. Really, it is the approach to the issue. The message was centered on the struggle of millennials in a world where the defining actors were the baby boomers. And this is something that I, as a young millennial, is slowing realizing. Us millennials feel connected with each other more than any other generation, yet in spite of our mastery and attachment to technology, we still are seemingly left behind in a world run by our superiors.
   Dolcott does a good job of opening the article with all the quirks and oddities of the millennials that gives it a tone of condescension; then again these are the defining characteristics of millennials and I mean that in the most constructive way. Other readers might see this as a sort of talking down towards millennials, and really it can seem as such.
   If anything, the prime target or audience for such an article should be the millennials themselves. The very reasons are the values and lifestyles pointed out by the author. He points out how millennials are those who portray themselves as outgoing and adventurous, yet are the same people who retreat down to their ghostly screens, maintaining âtextual linkagesâ with their âfellow mutantsâ; yet another witty parallel by Dolcott. One of the most important and interesting problems pointed out in the message is how unpatriotic the millennial generation is. There are interesting dynamics that go into this. For one thing, borders are shrinking. With the increasing apparentness of globalization, we are becoming more connected than ever, with millennials having a general sentiment of aversion from military conflict and war. Yet with this closeness still comes racism. So there is a very interesting contradiction, if not a paradox, in the thought processes of millennials. There is also an increasing force in the wave of millennials and they demand for their safe spaces and trigger warnings. Such a lifestyle is apparent in an increasing number of universities where millennials refuse to discuss ideas, both controversial and not, simply because it âoffendsâ people. Such works against the very cause of millennials as being the newer leaders of this generation is it prevents them from discussing and pitting ideas against each other. Further substantiation on this would have done the article really good, as this is an issue that I personally feel the need to be discussed on.
   There are many purposes underlying in the intent of the message, but the most apparent and objective would be how millennials need to take the leading role in their generation. Their time as leaders of the world are fast approaching, but the values that they have cultivated and allowed to perpetuate disallow them from being such. The problem that millennials face is the relatively difficult arena that the previous generation has left for them to adjust to.  There is a very interesting and accurate illustration of this in the article, âMore years of school + more student debt + lower starting salaries + a nervous housing market + stricter rules for new home buyers = no new home buyersâ. So, let us try to break down this sort of formula in order for us to understand the vicious cycle that millennials are trapped in. Firstly, in todayâs world, there is increasing competence within fresh college graduates. What the article meant by more years of school, is that it is unlike the times of the previous generations, where most jobs did not require baccalaureates, masterals, and the likes; now, the definition of competence is measured on the years one has spent in university and the titles one can attach to his name. Second is the issue of student debt. Millennials are being tossed around by this deadly combination of the aforementioned increase in years at school along with student debts that haunt them past their student days. In fact, this is such a recognized problem that a chunk of the constituents of Bernie Sanders support him for his stance on providing a just system for Americaâs students stuck in their own debts from schooling. Third, entry level jobs that provide little to none to the millennials continue to push them to their limits of working for experience. Fourth, the scars of the 2008 housing bubble still remain, producing a stricter system for acquiring housing loans. So in synthesis, this is the system that has been left for the millennials, a system both altered from what the previous generations had and entirely new for the millennials. Letâs end with the thought that Dolcott wants to remain, âThe only real antidote to anxiety is action; the only way out, is upâ.
