Millennials are the ultimate game changers of society.
Gay people? Accepted. Transgender people? Loved. Interracial couples? Normal. Racial Diversity? Everyone is beautiful. Although generation Z continues the trend of supporting the current social norms, millennials have set apart from the generations above them. Millennials seem to accept everyone. According to Nielson, an American research database, of the 75 million millennials living in the United States, 42 percent of them are multicultural of African-American, Hispanic and Asian American descent. As public schools, especially those in the Bay Area, fill with different cultures, and people from many different backgrounds of life. Yet while the millennials change the future for generations to come, it seems that many from the generations above them are stuck in the judgemental past. Although the generations before millennials such as the baby boomers and the silent generation can adapt to new social standards such as accepting gay people and interracial couples, they still take to calling attention to modern conventions in society. Many add positive or negative comments on what they observe in society as it is different from past generations social normalities. For many in the older generations, social diversity either causes a negative reaction or invokes a sweet remark, such as, “Aw, look at that gay couple in love.” Yes, that is a gay couple in love. That is obvious. Isn't that supposed to be normal? Shouldn’t people be allowed to be in love with whomever they choose? Although they are not always commenting negatively on these changes, people still adjusting to today’s standards feel the need to comment on how it is unordinary. They are still greatly influenced by their upbringings, a time when newer social advances were not yet accepted. Gay people were not accepted, interracial couples were not legal everywhere in the United States until 1967, the African-American population was not accepted and the Civil Rights Movement was raging in a time where grandparents were most likely alive. However, many millennials believe this is the ordinary. The better ordinary. The less judgemental ordinary. No intense stares or snickers at someone that is different. People of society are simply normal. This is how it should be. According to Pew Research Center, “Attitudes about race also have changed, with younger generations leading the way. While large majorities of all generations now agree that it is all right for blacks and whites to date each other, the percent who completely agree with this statement is dramatically higher among millennials and Xers than among Boomers and Silents, the generation between 1946-1964.” The increase of racial diversity has become a completely normality to millennials. Many are seeing beyond the stereotypes and valuing a person for their qualities rather than physical features. The increase in diversity for other generations as more interracial couples begin to start families. “About three-quarters of Millennials (75 percent) and Xers (73 percent) completely agree with interracial dating, compared with far lower percentages of Boomers (57 percent] and Silents (37 percent).” As the number of millennials has grown, diversity increased and being different was normal. Most millennials and other generations only know diversity as a normality and adaptation is necessary. Diversity is not only normal but for the millennials it is needed. It is what they enjoy to accept. It is what they enjoy to imprint on societies. Diversity is needed. According to the US Census, “Millennials, or America’s youth born between 1982 and 2000, now number 83.1 million and represent more than one - quarter of the nation’s population. Their size exceeds that of the 75.4 million baby boomers. Overall, millennials are more diverse than the generations that preceded them, with 44.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group.” Women seem to have also gained a larger role in society because millennials are more prone to give women more opportunities and see their capabilities, something some people in older generations avoided. According to a Pew Research Center, more millennial women want to be bosses. 34 percent of women strive to be bosses compared to their male peers do at 24 percent. As a whole, millennials have altered social standards without even knowing it and continue to imprint these accepting thoughts for the generations to come. All people who were considered “different” to older generations are now normal to current generations thanks to Millenials. Millenials don't want to hear your thoughts on how sweet an interracial or gay couple is. Millennials don't want to hear your negative comments on how older generations wish they still lived in the past. Millennials are typically so adjusted to these social advancements that they don’t see a reason for someone to call attention to them. Why should someone call attention to them? This is the new normal. All generations will hopefully see there is no going back, only forward. The past is now history and it is important to live in the now. Instead of living in the past, we should move forward. Next time a teacher, a parent, a grandparent, or even stranger makes a comment about today’s normal, ask them what year it is. |