Millennials Get Labeled ‘The Blue Ribbon Generation’. Here’s My Idea of What We Will Call the Next One.
There is a title people love to give Millennials. The generation that grew up with participation trophies and non-numbered ribbons.
‘The Blue Ribbon Generation’
I’ve written about my issues with this label before. While I think there is merit in the effects, I feel the blame is wrongly placed on the Millennials. Whenever I hear someone throw out the ‘you all got trophies growing up’ argument, I am always quick to ask ‘who bought the blue ribbons?’ The answer is the parents. Not the kids.
This whole concept has always been interesting to me; not necessarily about who to blame, but rather I’m intrigued by the larger picture.
Yes, it was the parents who bought the blue ribbons and participation trophies for their kids. What is important to keep in mind is WHY they did so. They most certainly did not buy them because they knew it would cause their kids to go into therapy in 20 years. They didn’t do it intentionally knowing it may negatively affect the long term psyche of an entire generation, or become a negative talking point when they entered the workforce.
They did it because they thought it would help their kids grow up stronger and more confident. Their intentions were innocent. Their intent was well-meaning.
I bring this up because I believe we are in the midst of a similar situation with today’s kids, those under 10 years old. Something that parents are doing, while coming from a good place and good intention, may have long-term effects they aren’t considering. Here is my thought:
What will be the effect on today’s children when they have 5,000 photos of them on the internet before the age of 10? What will be the effect on a child’s brain who has grown up looking at themselves through a phone, a snapchat selfie filter, or an Instagram video?
I again come back to the fact that parents today post photos and videos with the best of intentions. They do it so that family and friends can see what their kids are up to. They do it to show how amazing, unique, or silly their kids are. They don’t do it hoping it becomes the core reason their kids need therapy in 20 years, or being a negative stereotype on a generation entering the workforce. But no doubt this will have some kind of effect in the future.
It makes me think that lots of kids today are living in their own, weird version of the movie ‘The Truman Show’. What happens when a kid becomes a teenager and now has the cognitive ability to understand that hundreds, if not thousands, of their parent’s online friends have been watching everything they’ve done since they were born. A network of thousands who watched the first time they crawled, walked, talked, fell down, said something ridiculous, ate something embarrassing, and so on and so forth.
I bring this up not to be a downer. I bring this up not as an ‘anti-technology’ pitch (I for one love the way technology connects our world). I bring this up as a word of caution, that just like anything else in life, moderation is often best.
Keep in mind what the possible long-term effects might be. No doubt, that could be difficult to know, as we are still 10–15 years from the first generation that grew up with Instagram and snapchat becoming adults. But I think it’s time we as adults take some responsibility for this so that in 15 years we aren’t blaming our kids for being ‘the narcissistic generation’ or ‘the snapchat generation’ when it may be our actions that created the some of the outcomes.
The Millennial stereotype has been an easy target and punching bag for a while now. While this trend is nothing new, recognizing the influence each generation has on the next can be a key step in helping us break the cycle of ‘kids today are going to ruin the world’. I believe we, the Millennials, can and will do better for our kids.
Just something to think about next time you are posting on Facebook and Instagram.
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