The Millennial Diagnosis

How to cure millennial stereotypes

Corey Long
The Codex
8 min readFeb 9, 2017

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This story is told and discussed on the Decipher Podcast. Listen here.

The millennial generation has a reputation problem.

Being a millennial is akin to being diagnosed with a generational disease. Side effects may include laziness, narcissism, entitlement, and participation trophies. This diagnosis is not rooted in factual truths, but in anecdotal stories that have permeated due to an increase in coverage from a 24/7 media cycle. The very definition of the millennial generation is wrong, and millennials need to redefine it by taking back the narrative and presenting the positive (and true) traits of millennials.

Millennials are subjected to an exponential amount of negative coverage compared to previous generations. Consider the infamous Time Magazine cover claiming the millennials are the “Me Me Me Generation.” Now, while every generation has looked at the next with doubt, (A 2012 Forbes article written by Adam Thierer captures many examples of this) the unsubstantiated criticism that consumes every young generation cascades for millennials. And as more think pieces are written, the stereotypes and tropes permeate the collective conscious.

Generational norms are not as clear cut as we would like them to be.

There are anecdotal examples of every type of millennial, from the wunderkind entrepreneur to the deadbeat in their parent’s basement. The personality traits that lead to these results, however, are not because of when someone was born, but by what conditions they were born into, how they were raised, and the opportunities they had.

Data and statistics can’t create a blanket, one-size-fits-all millennial, but they can help draw some real conclusions about the generation as a whole. By looking at the social and civic mentalities of millennials and the economic conditions during their prime years, the conclusions drawn show a much different millennial than the stereotype we’ve been conditioned to believe. Studies from The Case Foundation, Nielsen, and the Pew Research Center show these facts:

  • Millennials are the most educated generation ever.
  • Millennials are the most tolerant of any generations, generally accepting people of different race, orientation, and religious backgrounds.
  • Millennials job hop more than any other generation, switching jobs an average of 6.4 times by the age of 30.
  • Millennials aged 20–30 are less likely to be married, more likely to live with their parents, and have more debt than any previous generation in this age range.

Now consider these economic statistics:

  • Public four year college costs have risen an average of 117% since 1993, two to four times the cost of inflation.
  • Medical care costs have risen an average of 106% since 1993.
  • Housing costs have risen an average of 60% since 1993.
  • Average income for all brackets except for the highest fifth and above have risen by 70% or less in that same time period.
  • The average millennial earns 20% less than baby boomers did at the same stage of life.

If millennials are measured by their earning potential, they look worse in comparison to previous generations. If one equates work ethic to earning potential, it looks as though millennials don’t work as hard. If fewer millennials close to the age of 30 aren’t living on their own nor married, one might see them as freeloaders with no direction.

Based on the economic data, the real story is that millennials don’t have quite the same opportunities as previous generations. With a median household income of around $40,000 a year, millennials have half the net worth of boomers, their home ownership rate is lower, and their student loan debt is drastically higher. Studies and data debunk many of the myths of millennials, from being lazy and unequipped to handle the world’s challenges, to not valuing security or respecting authority.

Damn the facts, ‘millennial’ is still a dirty word.

Though facts back up the more positive traits of millennials, a majority of millennials identify their own generation with the same negative traits like narcissism, entitlement, and laziness. How much of this is due to the over-saturation of talking heads speaking to this reputation?

With such a stigma attached to millennials, it’s no wonder why some would find it in their best interest to swear off their own generation. Being an anti-millennial millennial is how members of this generation can be accepted by older peers. They want to dodge the stereotypes and come into jobs with a fair shot at a good reputation. They want to be seen as hard-working, because they are.

Instead of dodging the stereotypes, we should be exposing them for their ridiculousness, as Buzzfeed does in a comical article, “29 Things Millennials Killed This Year,” citing many publications and articles claiming millennials are killing various industries and hobbies, from the wine connoisseurship to the movie industry to running. Yes, running.

By leaning into the stereotypes, we can work together to expose them. It doesn’t do millennials any good to constantly point out the statistics (we’ve all learned how difficult it can be to make facts matter), but what we can do is turn the tide one person at a time. By being the antithesis of what people believe millennials to be, we can redefine what being a millennial means. Instead of shying away from the label, we should embrace it and redefine it, together.

There’s a type of media personality built on anti-millenialism.

Tomi Lahren, a young pundit for TheBlaze, is an immensely popular and rising voice for conservatives. Despite clearly identifying as a millennial, she consistently touts her own accomplishments while denigrating the very generation she belongs to. Her diatribes are filled with the stereotypical insults: participation trophies, poor work ethic, whining, entitlement — you name it.

Tomi Lahren, from her “Final Thoughts” segment on December 3, 2016.

For Tomi, the aim is clear. Her audience consists mostly of older generations, those who are fed up with millennials. By ranting against her own generation, she aligns herself with their bias, and rises out of the stereotypes herself.

Simon Sinek, from an episode of Inside Quest on September 7th, 2016.

Simon Sinek is a British/American author and speaker. He is in his early 40’s, so he is technically a member of Generation X. This recent viral conversation on why millennials struggle in the workplace is full of the same stereotypes. He blames this on parenting, claiming that parents forced teachers to give their kids good grades and allow them into honors classes. He also cites technology as a filter removing the reality of life, causing depression and self doubt.

This sounds reasonable because it plays into confirmation bias. He offers no data or evidence to back these claims up other than saying things like, “science shows” and offering anecdotes. Take notice at the millennials in the audience laughing at his digs at them. So many in our own generation have accepted the negative traits others have thrown at us.

But the greatest anti-millennial of all is Dan Nainan, a comedian who left Intel to make millions laugh with his comedy. He parlayed this success into performances at the inaugural balls of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. He’s a thought leader, quoted in pieces from Forbes and Cosmopolitan, to the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

But his story is completely made up.

Dan Nainan used the blessings of his youthful appearance to manufacture a successful comedy career. Posing as a thirty-something millennial, Nainan sold his anti-millennial brand of comedy to an audience mostly consisting of folks who are in his actual age range: the mid-fifties. He found himself quoted in these articles as a millennial who had alternative views, like swearing off porn or voting for Trump even though he voted for Obama.

In a way, you have to admire his work ethic, something millennials clearly don’t have. He bought Twitter followers to bolster his ranks and called comedy clubs posing as the agent of other comedians to book himself as the opener. There’s a whole website dedicated to the various boastful, threatening, and downright weird emails he sends. He even has a cringe-inducing corporate intro video on his Youtube page that tells the story of “an IT guy who was nervous about public speaking, but when he did start talking his listeners could not stop laughing…” followed by quotes from President Obama, Michael Bloomberg, Steve Wozniak, and more praising his comedic prowess.

It’s almost spooky how Dan Nainan has disappeared since Ben Collins of The Daily Beast published the story exposing his lies and manufactured career. His website is down, redirecting to his Facebook Page. The last post on his Facebook page, posted on February 23, 2016, tells a story of how he woke up in a brain trauma unit after suffering a head injury on December 17, 2015. It was an inspirational story of a miraculous survival. His personal Facebook, however, has activity between the December date and the February date. In fact, he posted the same exact brain trauma story on February 10, 2016 to his personal page, two weeks earlier. That post is followed by a picture of himself with Donald Trump. It seems Dan was setting up the next set of events to bolster his image.

Everything else about his online presence has disappeared or slowed to a crawl. His Youtube and Facebook accounts have a paltry number of followers, while his Twitter still has 386,000 followers, most of which are the ones he bought.

It’s a curious story of deception. And it’s curious that he felt the best way to be a notable millennial comedian was not just having a spectacular story, but by also espousing alternative millennial opinions to gain attention. There is nothing quite like a 55-year-old posing as a 30-something-year-old giving you sex tips in Cosmopolitan, right?

The millennial diagnosis has become easy fodder. When the stereotypes are repeated, they only confirm the bias of those who created it. And it seems that many millennials feel the only way to gain respect is to show disrespect to their own generation. Narcissists like Dan Nainan and Tomi Lahren use this to their advantage, to gain notoriety off the falsehoods of a generation.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Millennials are capable of rising above the stereotypes without having to step on each other. Millennials can be the real representation of what we stand for; a generation who is educated, caring, accepting, and less obsessed with individual wealth and prestige than generations before them.

We are capable of acknowledging our flaws while also pushing the true narrative of what we represent. Yes, we are into technology. Yes, we are into social media. Yes, we do expect to make a difference in our careers. This is not because we are lazy, or self-obsessed, or entitled. We use technology because it is the future and we understand better than anyone. We use social media because it connects us to the entire world and helps us learn about diversity and other culture that we wouldn’t get from our immediate community. We want to make a difference in our careers because capitalism has failed us and we see no point in working a job we hate just to make ends meet and stay in debt.

It’s time to shed the negative and false traits given to us by those who don’t understand us.

It’s time to give millennials a new diagnosis.

This story is part of The Codex, a collective of independent thought. Subscribe to our newsletter to get a weekly digest of our best stories and be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Corey Long
The Codex

Founder of The Codex (https://thecodex.io). Host of Decipher Podcast. Producer by trade. Writer/Observer by heart. I have a love for (too) many things.