We all know Millenials. The kids that grew up or are growing up with cell phones and high-speed Internet. A lot of us have siblings or cousins that are, myself included. We put them down every once in a while when we see a story on the news or hear about how a kid threw a tantrum because he had his iPad taken away. The recent news about the kid that got away with killing and injuring several people because of “affluenza” has the nation stirred up regarding the upcoming generation. The evidence does seem to suggest that the Millenials may not turn out as well as previous generations. Or does it?

Having watched my cousins grow up in the same society that I’m currently enjoying, it seems like they couldn’t help but become what we describe them as. They’re all the time hearing from society that they are lazy, uncaring and too attached to technology. They need to put down the tech and get out and play more. But they also need to work harder at school, and be careful of strangers, and not get skin cancer from too much sun or a disease from another kid; they should have their friends over more, but can’t go to their friend’s home because the parents aren’t acquainted. What does a kid think when he or she has so many conflicting things that he or she has to do to be accepted by previous generations?

In the case of my two cousins, they think that they really don’t want to be accepted by previous generations at all. They say, “screw it,” and play Angry Birds while their parents complain about how they don’t get enough sun or don’t perform well enough in school. When I was younger, I would have done anything to have my older cousins think I was cool, but these two don’t care at all.

There are a lot of reasons for this, most are boring and I don’t have the space to write about them. I encourage everyone to treat the newest generation not like Millenials, but like people. The majority of them aren’t lazy, affluenza-ridden technophiles, and everyone should remember that before disparaging an entire generation that has yet to have an opportunity to really prove its worth.