Why Are Millennials So Darn Optimistic?

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/02/why-are-millennials-so-darn-optimistic/36781/

by cwan • 16 years ago

10 16 16 years ago

SyK• 16 years ago

I probably only just scrape into their concept demographic here but shouldn't we be?

I don't view increasing optimism as odd given that if all goes well, it won't be long before we're clearing out the last of the aged hubris running everything as it stands.

Then we'll be dealing with populations that are equally "socially liberal, technologically savvy and wildly optimistic" and finally able to take advantage of those facts to further our goals and those of humanity as a whole.

Is "economics be damned" and increasing optimism really that out there as an attitude when we're (in general, at least) more willing to accept alternative meanings of 'good' or 'happy' than any of our elders and this progress is nearing year by year? I wouldn't think so. And yes, I'm optimistic. Probably moreso every year...

(Edit: PS. I think this is more related to hacking than it seems. I think a lot of our tech savvy and liberal ideals are going to come into play and boost progress rates further. In particular imagine fields like biotech where barriers from aging ideals and prejudices will hopefully start to come down over those coming years)

TomOfTTB• 16 years ago

As someone who just barely makes the grade I’m optimistic but in all I think the Millennials are going to be one of the hardest generations to be a member of.

We’re going to preside over the difficult transition between what I’d deem a “Star Trek” world order where people work because they want to and no one goes hungry and the world we have now.

To elaborate the Millennials are going to be the first generation that has to deal with losing jobs to technology. Up until now technology has created as many jobs as it’s eliminated but as technology becomes both more powerful and more stable that ratio is going to shift. Jobs like factory workers, teachers, bankers, etc… are going to disappear and society will have to adjust to having more people than jobs (and figure out what to do about that).

Again, I think the eventual end result is good. As technology can do more we’ll eventually end up with a society where people can pursue what they love and let technology do most of the hard work we need people for now. But getting from where we are now to that future is going to be awkward as society has to decide how to deal with things like permanent unemployment.

Beyond that Millennials are going to be the generation that has to deal with all the awkward ethical questions that science fiction has been asking for years. Cloning, Genetic Manipulation, Climate Change, Bio Weapons, etc… are all going to drop on the Millennials plate. That’s a lot to deal with.

Anyway, as I said I’m optimistic but with an eye towards the enormous challenges that are ahead.

nazgulnarsil• 16 years ago

I try to be optimistic that humanity will get its shit together enough to deal with the eye of the needle we're approaching. AI and molecular assembly are both ridiculously dangerous.

WorkerBee3• 16 years ago

To elaborate the Millennials are going to be the first generation that has to deal with losing jobs to technology

No, no they aren't, not by a long chalk. See also: Luddite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

As technology can do more we’ll eventually end up with a society where people can pursue what they love and let technology do most of the hard work we need people for now.

It didn't happen like that any of the previous times - the factory owners got richer, the poor lost their jobs. Why will it be different next time?

exit• 16 years ago

>We’re going to preside over the difficult transition between what I’d deem a “Star Trek” world order where people work because they want to and no one goes hungry and the world we have now.

sorry, but what exactly will be difficult about this? do people who suddenly inherit enough money never to have to work have a difficult time with that transition?

WorkerBee3• 16 years ago

do people who suddenly inherit enough money never to have to work have a difficult time with that transition?

Since you ask; yes, often they do.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/70165/winning_the_l...

patio11• 16 years ago

I think there is a big difference in your outlook based on where exactly in the generation you place. I'm 27. I have four younger siblings. The oldest three of us, plus one wife, are all gainfully employed and doing very, very well. The youngest two, who are right about to graduate, are looking at a sucky, sucky job market.

For the ~95% of 27 year old engineers who are currently employed today, the recession is not exactly backbreaking.

rms• 16 years ago

Rapture of the Nerds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity

For me personally, it was graduating from college and realizing that unlike every other member of my graduating class, I did not have to get a job to function my own existence. I could do what I wanted to do and I'm doing it. That doesn't explain why everyone else is optimistic though...

tybris2• 16 years ago

Because at the end of the 20th century, anything seemed possible. As it turns out in the 21th century, it is.

WorkerBee3• 16 years ago

Anything's possible? I'd like a stable global economy, a drastic reduction in worldwide poverty, crime and inequality and increase in education. A permanent moonbase, a Mars mission, and a global program to massively prioritise the green technologies and other measures needed to halt anthropogenic climate change.

Those aren't even hard. And they are necessary. Except, they don't seem to be possible and you seem to be not paying attention.

tybris2• 16 years ago

No, I'm not paying attention, because I understand how the media system works. It's meant to play on your emotions. Not on the truth. If you're patient and realistic, the world is a nice place.

http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4508 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Educational_attainment.jpg http://www.enn.com/energy/article/37908 http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061204-moon-...

Just give it enough time. The economy will recover, as will NASA's budget. Crime will keep falling. The "third world" is shrinking rapidly. Population growth will come to a halt. Renewable energy is already the primary source in some countries. Nature will adapt to the changing environment. etc.

It's just the information age that's bothering you, you're letting things get to your mind.

kilian2• 16 years ago

Obviously, because every day is a day closer to when we will be in charge. When all of the world leaders are on facebook, it's a little hard to be a bigot asshole :)

whatusername• 16 years ago

There are plenty of facebook groups that unfortunately prove you wrong (about bigoted arseholes).

Also - Didn't the hippies say the same kind of thing in the 60's? Or is that just the image of the times?

kilian2• 16 years ago

If anything, accountability will go up. Future leaders will probably have their entire social graph up for looks on Facebook (or Facebook+n). It's not just about (millenials') intent, it's about a massive increase of access to information as well.

If BigCorp pays you to push through some rotten piece of legislation, it takes a comment of a single person to let your entire social graph know what you've done. At that point, the rest just has to click 'unlike' to let them know what's up. That is, in my opinion, far more powerful than the passiveness of our current medium television.

Alas, I wouldn't know about the hippies, I'm much too young for that ;)

anon114• 16 years ago

Too much XBOX, Facebook. No attention to rising social costs due to aging demographic. They don't vote. Terrible with money.

Ignorance is bliss?

patrickgzill• 16 years ago

The baby boomers are retiring or dieing off ... this leaves plenty of wide open spaces to go to. There will likely be a hiring crunch in a few years.

Why Are Millennials So Darn Optimistic?

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