Are Millennials Lazy, Entitled, Selfish?

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Are Millennials Lazy, Entitled & Selfish?
© NaimaLett.com/blog

timemagme
© Time Magazine’s May 20th Cover Story

Is it true?

Time Magazine’s May 20th cover story, “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation“, says Millennials (born between 1980 – 2000) are “lazy, entitled, selfish and narcissistic” who are fame-obsessed and would rather be the personal assistant of a celebrity than become the CEO of a major corporation or a Senator.

That can’t be true. Is it?

The article says more 18-29 year olds would rather live with their parents than with a spouse and have the “highest likelihood of having unmet expectations with respect to their careers and the lowest levels of satisfaction with their careers.” Supposedly, because their baby boomer parents instilled lots of self-esteem in them, Generation Y believes that they are rock stars, regardless of if they work and contribute to society.

You don’t want to miss anything.

Hey, I need to hear from you, young people!
Check your phone. Do you really send 88 text messages per day?
Would you rather text your friend than talk, even if you’re sitting side by side?
Do you care more about turning yourself into a “brand” than helping others?
Do you check your phone all hour, deeply anxious you’re going to miss something big?

Reality-TV Ready

Have you trained yourself to be “reality-TV-ready”? Is it true? Because you’ve grown up on reality TV, you are now, at any moment, ready to jump into your own show? Are you always ready for the spotlight?

You’re Super Positive

At the same time, the writer of the article, who considers himself right on the cusp of millennials, says that you’re not rebellious because you neither respect or resent authority. You’re not trying to take over the establishment because you’ve grown up without one. And you’re very nice, very positive and very optimistic.

Even though you’ve lived through 9/11, President Clinton & Monica Lewinsky, the longest wars in U.S. history and the Great Recession, you still have hope.

You have hope.

Hope! We can work with that. You’re talking my language. Hope is the belief that things will get better. We started a church plant called H0PE IN THE HILLS in Beverly Hills. We definitely believe the best is yet to come.

Romans 5:2-5 “…And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts. That’s hope!

You don’t go to church.

Speaking of church and God… The article says millennials don’t “go to church, even though you believe in God”, because you don’t identify with big institutions.

Would you see it differently if church was not a big institution? We’ve been dialoguing for months about this idea that “we are the church”. We, the people, are the church. The building is not the church. We had to recently move buildings. The “lights, camera, action” is not the church. We – me, you, our family of faith – we are the church.

And you, millennials, care about people. You “like” and “follow” each other all day long. If you believe in God, if you believe in Jesus, can you see one another as the church?

Here’s the thing…

We were never meant to live as selfish, narcissistic, self-centered islands texting each other while we sit next to each other. We were meant to do life together, get involved in one another’s messes, forgive each other when we hurt each other, walk out what it looks like when God forgives us.

The church is definitely not perfect. It’s a mess. Because we’re a mess. We’re the church. Our family is only as healthy as its members. I’m so glad Jesus said He came for those who needed a doctor. Thank. the. Lord!

To Be Continued

There’s no way to dive into all of this in one blog post, so I’m sure we’ll continue the conversation. I’m intrigued. Especially since I’m doing my doctoral dissertation on what Hollywood values and believes and how we effectively minister here. You’re part of Hollywood, so your voice is represented.

I’ve got hope for you. We meet millennials all the time who deeply impress us. Kevin and I spent time with one yesterday who has enough potential and brilliance to transform his entire generation. When he sees what we see – whom God made him to be – he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Mark my words.

So, I’m not writing you off, Gen Y.
I’m going to keep hope alive.
And I’m going to need you to get a job or create a job,
Something :=)
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian

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About Naima Lett

Naima loves helping folks find their purpose and follow their dreams while deepening their faith. Often called The Hollywood Christian, she believes everyone should find a reason to dance daily, enjoy the 80 degrees and a breeze of the LaLa at least once, and have her Grandmother's bread pudding or sweet potato pie on holidays. Both are divine! :=) -- Dr. Naima Lett, Author: Confessions of a Hollywood Christian, CoPastor: Hope in the Hills, Beverly Hills

12 thoughts on “Are Millennials Lazy, Entitled, Selfish?”

  1. Well i live with my parent, but only bc i lost my job. So what if its true? What should i do? lol. Excuse me i have to go look at my pinterest. 😉

  2. Yes yes its true. People are extremely difficult while email..not so much not so much..i suppose if not for Gd id never leave the house, the internet makes human contact an option not a necessity. I mean…relatively speaking.

    1. “Internet makes human contact optional, not a necessity.” I never thought about it like that. Yes, relatively speaking.

  3. Good call, Naima,

    I’m forwarding this off to a couple of friends. Doesn’t matter whether you you live in the U.S. or Australia, this is true. This should help them (the parents) to understand who is occupying the other rooms in their house.

    We have a 23 year old single white male living in our house, known as ‘son.’

    We’re blessed that he’s at Uni doing his degree, however the rest of him is in your picture.

    1. Thanks, Rex.

      I love that, “23 yr old single white male…known as son” :=)
      Best to him as he finishes his degree and best to you and all our parents raising this generation.
      I like it that millennials still have hope. So, I’m going to have hope too. :=)

  5. As a twenty-two year old, I can say that the accusations are true in general. My contemporaries do indeed live with their parents, text rather than call, text others in the same room, cannot go more than ten minutes without checking social media, and have deteriorating conversation.”We should have our own reality show” is a comment I hear often.

    1. Thanks so much, Brandon, for stopping by and dropping a note.
      Wonderful to meet you.
      It’s been good dialoguing with millennials like yourself as well as you all’s parents. I think we all share in the responsibility. I guess now I’m wondering, “What do we do from here?”
      Again, thanks for your comments.
      Mad appreciation.

      1. This is what I’ve learned:

        Boredom is a major cause. Now enrolled in graduate school (DTS, of course), I’ve learned how too much free time is dangerous and leads to these symptoms. We’re busy doing nothing. Since patience is so limited due to technology and our culture, it too causes a lack of determination and leads to these sorts of things. Seeing others’ lives so often on Twitter and Facebook (only the best of their lives too) causes a slight depression and anxiety that we’re not cool enough or whatever.

        The most interesting thing I have ever read on the matter is this article from PscyhologyToday: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200411/nation-wimps

        I hope this helps in your writing; you have a greater influence than I.

        Brandon

      2. Thanks Brandon for your transparency and willingness to share. Appreciate it.

        You mention boredom as a major cause leading to the symptoms mentioned in the article. Could boredom come from the generation not actually knowing its purpose yet?

        I’ve always had a single, laser focus and a whole lot to do, so boredom is not a luxury for me. I always have stuff to get done. LOL!

        How can we Generation Xers help?

        Kudos on DTS, by the way! Good for you.

        I can’t wait to read the link you posted. I’m heading out to prepare for leading a consultation, so I’ll have to read it this afternoon.

        Thanks a million!

  6. That’s exactly what it is. We don’t know what to do. Social media takes so much time from us, and we’re so consumed with events and people with whom we’ll never come into contact, that we become disinterested, half-hearted creatures fooling about with mud pies instead of a holiday at the sea (cf. C. S. Lewis).

    Now that I’m doing things that are of great interest to me (writing, studying, reading), I no longer care about social media drama. I care about real things right in front of me. I wrote a bit about it here: http://philosophiesofbrandon.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/social-media-from-the-future/

    Anyway, I don’t mean to blow up your comment box; I’m just passionate about it because I just went through it all in undergrad. I became depressed and anxious, saw a psychologist, and have now become detached from social media—something I used to love. I feel a lot better, and am a lot happier, doing what I love and caring about the people right in front of me.

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