If you're a millennial, chances are you've been blamed for "killing" some industry or another at some point, or told you're entitled, lazy, addicted to your phone, etc.
Well, redditor u/BoiBoiMcBoiBoi asked, "Millennials of Reddit, whats the stupidest 'The problem with your generation is' you have ever heard?" to gather some stories of millennials being blamed for...just about everything. Here are some of the most upvoted comments:
1. Millennials don't spend their money on extravagant things, and instead do dumb stuff like paying off loans.
"I was talking to my boss about HQ and the $50,000 prize they were giving out, and he was saying how he'd go on a grand vacation and buy a big shiny car if he won. I told him I'd pay off my school and car loans and start a savings account. He laughed and proceeded to make fun of stupid millennials for not knowing how to handle money...
Kay."
2. Millennials don't get in trouble with the law.
"'You kids don't know how to get in trouble anymore. When I was your age, we'd have someone buy us beer, and we'd sneak off to the woods or the lake and have a good time. Someone always got caught of course. Then you'd get grounded and have no TV for a week. Kids just don't do that anymore.'
Umm, OK, but I'm 30."
3. Millennials don't have enough wars, apparently.
"One I heard from a Vietnam Vet was that we 'never had a mandatory military draft to weed out the weak ones and the whiners' and that 'a war would do us millennials all a little good.'"
4. Millennials don't buy (expensive, difficult to maintain) silverware.
"That we don't buy silver flatware because we're too lazy to polish it, don't want to buy the stupid knick-knacks that they/their parents bought, etc. I work in the antiques field, so I hear that a lot. They always quote that statistic that we want to spend our money on experiences rather than things, and I fail to see how that is a bad thing."
5. Millennials also don't buy (expensive, difficult to maintain) china.
"My friend's grandma made a comment yesterday about how millennials don't have china because we can't put it in the dishwasher, and we don't like to handwash dishes. I made a comment under my breath about how it's because china is expensive and not worth splurging on."
6. Millennials don't work the same hours (even when they do).
"I was walking down the hallway at work and overheard, 'The thing with millennials is they come and go whenever they want. How are we supposed to schedule a meeting when they refuse to have set hours?' As a millennial, I still work 8–5 like everyone else in the office. It was oddly specific, but generally incorrect. Maybe he was talking about an intern that's still in school?"
7. Millennials want handouts.
"'Millennials think the world owes them something and are always expecting a handout!' I work in social media for a food company. The only people who message and email us asking for free samples and products are firmly aged 40-plus."
8. Millennials love participation trophies.
"The goddamn participation trophies. We didn't ask for them, that was our parents' idea, and yet somehow that makes it our fault for doing entitled, irrational things like wanting to be able to buy a home with a middle-class income."
9. Millennials have voted away everyone's rights (despite having barely any representatives their age).
"My dad has blamed me for voting away all our rights since before I could vote."
10. Millennials are killing "the customer is always right."
"I had an older customer at my restaurant tell me that millenials were ruining customer service, because we’re so laid-back [that] we don’t complain enough, and pretty soon 'the customer is always right' won’t mean anything anymore."
11. Millennials don't want houses.
"That we don't want to buy houses. Many millennials grew up during the housing crisis. Houses aren't a great investment; they mean taking more loans, and the average salary of a 30-year-old hasn't increased in 30 years, while everything else has."
12. Millennials won't just work a job to pay for college.
"Literal conversation I had with a friend once:
'I don't understand; if school is so expensive, why don't you get a job that will help you pay for it? Everyone's hiring!'
Yes, Carol. They're hiring at minimum wage 20 hours a week. That doesn't cover rent, let alone an education."
13. Millennials...use iPads.
"I am a student dentist. Had a baby boomer patient say that my generation of doctors relies too heavily on technology. This was in response to me looking up their medication on my iPad."
14. Millennials are always on their phones.
"'Millennials are too obsessed with phones!'
They're pocket devices that allow me to keep in contact with friends and access any information in the world. Fuck yeah, I'm going to use my phone."
15. And finally, millennials are clearly the first and only generation to do any of these things.
"My wife went to a generational differences seminar where they discussed basically how to co-exist with your co-workers decades older or younger than you to work effectively.
The presenter read an article, and it said, 'The current workforce fears the incoming generation will enter the workforce feeling entitled, demanding a higher wage, with a work-life balance.' The presenter then went on to ask, 'Can anyone guess which generation they were referring to?' Pretty much the entire room said 'millennials' with much disdain.
The presenter corrected them and said, 'Actually the article I just read was from 1948.'
Turns out people will always hate the incoming generation, forever, guaranteed."