“I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words… When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint”.
Hesiod, 8th century BC
Allot is and has been said about the youth since the very beginnings, and today with our millennials, the story goes in the same one-dimensional manner. On that note I refer to the renowned speaker Simon Sinek as he has been known to describe our youth as superficial, unsatisfied, lazy, impatient, entitled and more. Although I do personally admire his motivational work, generally agree with principals and appreciate his intent, I do disagree specifically with this generalization of his claims on millennials specifically.
In our modern world of semi-absent parenting, technology, multimedia and environmental hazards I actually find as in generations before, as is tradition, that our millennials do challenge the world, question it and yes expect more from it. As youth, that is their right and role! Sure, in taking risks, one can fail, be wrong, cause disruption – but then again, risks if understood, managed and explored through trial and error, can occasionally result in one being right and succeed in ways that never seemed possible! – The process itself, if you allow it, can trigger a rupture in innovation.
So, youth as a ‘species’ is here to dare, to be bold, to question everything and everyone, discover new boundaries of what is expected. On one side, as a social being they have a need to be accepted, but then again have quite an urge to be different, unique and make their own claim on the next ‘impossible’. Continue reading
