I recently turned 32, which means I'm an '87 baby and also reside in the armpit of the millennial generation. Our parents knew the good life and wanted to give it to us but did not foresee the internet age and the massive expansion of communication that came the worlds' way. Therefore, no one was able to harness the power of the internet properly. Instead we used it for porn, picking up women and shopping, especially with the internet coming around just as adolescence came.
MTV and its debaucherous broadcasts that targeted pre-teens and teens alike were the wind that drove the misuse of the internet. Shows like the ironically named "The Real World" showed kids that the only thing that matters is peer drama, a perfect setup for social media sites like Myspace and Facebook where youngsters would sit for hours on end trying to get the scoop of what their friends are up to, and them comment on it.
It's normal for a teen to be "cool" during their high school years but with the MTV driven internet of the millennial generation (which had copious amount of being spoiled), being "cool" was the only priority. Holding a job wasn't "cool," joining the military wasn't "cool," getting good grades wasn't "cool" unless it got one into college, and even then, the only goal there was to be "cool." All that with reinforcement of our elders.
Flash forward ten years when most of life was spent on pleasing worldly desires, (because that is what we were encouraged to know) we forget about our place here on earth. The concept of building something is largely foreign. We just want without going out and proving ourselves to get it, even though we had the resource of the internet in its infancy stages. Undoubtedly millennials have likely landed themselves in a little bit of trouble with the law which tarnishes the chances of a better opportunity once we realize what matters in life.
Knowing that we had it all wrong the whole time and our elders knew no better than to encourage us to "be ourselves" (which means to indulge) can make one feel like their most important years were wasted. The only sympathy we get is from the very same people who put us into this mess in the first place. The ones in a position to for a helping hand have no wish to do so and who could blame them? This puts the millennial in a tough and very isolated spot with no one to turn to for help and guidance. We have to pick up the pieces ourselves once we accept we've been duped and dealt a bad hand. If we don't do that, we'll continue being the most depressed and destitute generation in American history.
Fortunately we are in a position to make it ourselves. To invent, to create, find new paths once we realize our problems so we can mitigate them. If you are one of those I describe in this post, realize it's useless to blame anyone because it's everyone's fault, including yours, your families and societies but it's all unwillingly. Just remember you still have a soul and an ability to create and build. Just forget about being "cool" in the process.