Life
Younger adults, teens, and even kids constantly find themselves battling stereotypes about their cohorts — stereotypes that usually aren’t even remotely grounded in reality. But happily, a lot of folks in older generations have their backs: In a recent thread on the r/AskWomen subreddit, Redditor u/NilesDobbsS asked older women to share what they think is better about people who belong to younger generations than they do, and the resulting thread is incredibly uplifting. From habits they’ve developed to qualities they’ve cultivated, today’s youths have a lot going for them — and often, they’re things that every generation would do well to adopt.
It’s worth noting that “older” and “younger” are somewhat relative terms here. About half of Reddit users are between the ages 18 and 29; that means, comparatively speaking, folks who some might not really consider “older”— say, around 35 or 40 — are actually quite a bit older than a lot of Redditors. And besides, differences between generations can become apparent pretty early on; heck, even differences between the lower and higher ends of a single generation can become apparent pretty early on. To use myself as an example, technically I’m a millennial — but as a 30-something, older millennial, there’s a lot that I see in folks who are on the younger end of my generation (think those who were born in the late ‘90s or early 2000s, and thus might still be teenagers or people in their very early 20s) that’s quite different from what I see in myself and my peers.
Either way, though, today’s youths have a ton of admirable qualities. Here’s what the younger generations are doing right, according to the generations that have come before them:
1
They Have The Drive To Make And Demand Change
That point of Gen-X’s cynicism and abject acceptance struck a cord with many commenters; a lot of Gen-Xers responded to this portion of the thread with complete agreement. One Redditor theorized that it might have had something to do with the fact that Gen-X was so far under the baby boomers’ shadows that they felt no one would listen to them when they talked about a need for change.
2
They’re Independent Thinkers
This is a particularly interesting observation when held up against the stereotype that all younger folk are “snowflakes” who want their hands held while they do their adulting. Unsurprisingly, this stereotype is not true. (Because, y’know, stereotypes usually aren’t.)
3
They’re More Tolerant, Open, And Accepting
This isn’t to minimize the struggle so many people might face with whether to come out, who to, how to do it, or when; nor is it to say that homophobia and transphobia are things of the past. There’s a lot more visibility these days, though, and many more resources available — all of which is shaping more tolerant generations. That, as they say, isn’t nothing.
More than one Redditor made this observation as well:
Clearly we’re onto something here.
5
They’re Willing To Stand Up For Each Other And For Themselves
One of the most important life lessons anyone can ever learn, no matter how old or young they are, is that just because things have always been a certain way doesn’t mean they have to stay that way — or that that way is even the right way for things to be. And once you’ve realized that, it’s time to speak up and/or to clear the way for others to speak up.
It matters. A lot.
7
They Play Well With Others
For the curious, “that one philosopher guy” is Socrates; the quote is as follows:
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
Proof positive that there's always someone who's ready to board the "KIDS THESE DAYS!" train? I’d say so.
8
They’re Compassionate
There is such a thing as being able to care about issues that don’t necessarily affect you directly; you care about them because they affect other people, and that really matters. File this one under Lessons Adults Should Learn That Kids Already Understand.
9
They’re Fearless
And by “fearless,” I mean “not afraid to try something that might not pan out.” You’ll never know if it’ll work if you never try it, right? Sure, maybe it’ll fail — but nothing ventured, nothing gained. And there’s still value in failure.
10
They’re More Flexible
This one goes hand-in-hand with being independent thinkers: When you’re able to think or yourself, you’re also able to think outside the box — and that’s how innovation happens. Progress is good!
11
They’re Hard Workers
Research has, in fact, found that millennials work as hard as, if not harder than, previous generations. So much for that stereotype of young folk wanting everything handed to them on a silver platter.
