The struggles of a generation: 5 reasons millenials are used to “instant”

Elena Jimenez, Columnist

It is no surprise that our generation was raised with everything at our fingertips; instead of cherishing the perpetual expensive belongings, benefits, and education we have been given, we, somehow, still seem to be ceaselessly depressed, always desiring more out of life.

Now this does not describe every 20-something year olds out there because there are many of you that grew up paying your way through college, paying rent and taking care of yourself since you can remember. However, you are an anomaly in this generation and should be proud! The unfortunate truth is that millennials believe the world should be “instant,” or given to them on a silver platter. This is the struggle of a generation, and there are five reasons why we are used to “instant.”

First, we were all raised to believe that we are all special and unique. This is a wonderful way to grow up in order to foster confidence to develop a positive growing experience. However, in the process of making everyone feel special, it is now wrongful to show praise to those who stand out. Participation medals are now mandatory to make sure that no one “feels bad” and it is politically correct to make sure failures seem like wins. While this has all the intention of creating a better, more wholesome environment, it has instead created a generation that believes we are all amazing and will go on to do great things. The reality is, we all might not.

Second, because we have had the blessing of receiving a great pre-college education as well as a collegiate education, we expect to automatically receive a high-paying job after we graduate. It is reasonable to believe that with all the hard work, lack of sleep and student loans put in, we will receive a decent paying job. The harsh reality that we face is that life is not always fair no matter how much we set ourselves up for success: but that does not mean we should not try to stay optimistic. A great job will come with time and more relentless hard work.

Third, as a society, we have narcissistic tendencies. Where pictures used to be a way to capture a memorable moment, they are now used to capture everything. We are the generation that invented Facebook to stay engaged with each other; we are the generation that created Snapchat and Instagram as well as Twitter and every other form of social media that trained us to be more self-engaged rather than self-aware. For example, we have created terms like “selfies” because taking pictures of ourselves are more common than ever. Snapchat has us believe that everyone everywhere is having an interesting and wonderful time, at all times.

Fourth, we were raised to believe that we are owed something in life, or have a right to things, instead of realizing that they are privileges. At a young age, kids were carrying around expensive cell phones and accessories instead of playing outside on the playground, or just playing outside in general. Every kid deserved an X-box, computer, Ipad or whatever the fad was at the time. Now that we are older, we believe that we deserve and have a right to have nice things, when in reality we do not have the right to anything except life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The last reason we are used to “instant” is because we have not had much of the opposite. The internet is instant, phones and text messaging are instant, emails are instant, food is instant, getting drunk is instant and even a sex life is instant. We have this expectation now that if things in life are not instant, we are doing something wrong and seek out ways to make aspects of our life more instant; we are stressed easily and hit with a train of depression. It is an unfortunate truth, but these are the struggles we face in this generation of “instant.”