Thompson's Revised: Growth, Change, and Understanding

           Jim Morrison, an American singer-songwriter and poet stated that “Each generation wants new symbols, new people, and new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors.” Our generation known as the Millennial or Generation Y proceeds that of Generation X, a generation known for social change.  Each generation seems to provide more opportunities for the next, to make the world a better place.  Some say what defines Generation Y is simply MTV and BET, which is simply not true.  Our generation is defined by a constant progression in technology, the ability to access information, and tolerance.

      

          Our Generation is built on advancements in technology, allowing us to communicate in new ways and be innovative.  Alexander Graham Bell created the telephone in the late 1870’s and forever changed the way we communicate.  The creation of the first telephone led to updated versions of a telephone throughout the 1900s.  In 1977, the first cell phone was created.  Since the creation of the first cell phone, we have been able to communicate with people far and near almost effortlessly, a luxury not available to previous generations.  Along with cell phones, we also have the ability to communicate through instant messaging, and with the use of webcams, we can now have a face to face conversation with whoever else has a webcam and internet almost anywhere in the world.  Today’s Technology has also given us the ability to listen to thousands of songs without the use of CDs, cassettes, or vinyl, we are also able to instantly take a picture that can last forever.

          With the growth in technology came the ability to access information which is defined by our generation.  Previous generations fought for our ability to have the education we have today.  In 2001, the United States issued the No Child Left Behind Act, which allowed children all over the United States to be educated, no matter what.  Colleges and Universities today are often filled due to the high demand by our generation to be educated, our generation will have far more people with a college degree than the generations before them, which will providing more people with more knowledge and opportunity.  Information and knowledge is not only found in libraries or schools anymore--now it is at our finger tips.  The internet has provided us with an infinite amount of information, which was never as accessible as before.  The internet gives us a broader understanding of the way the world works, which could have only been speculated years prior.

         Our Generation comes before Generation X, which paved a way for their children to live in a better social environment, and we’ve embraced it completely.  Thanks to Generation X our generation is more accepting in areas of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.  Our generation is one of liberation, a generation where people are truly starting to feel equal.  Our Generation accepts the vision set by our forefathers when they stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Unlike the generations before us we have become more tolerable, allowing people to live in a comfortable environment.

          When asked what our generation represents a million things come to mind, but the three that stick out are growth, change, and understanding.  The Millennial or Generation Y are living the lives envisioned by the generations before them.  We are far mot then Just the MTV Generation.