Back in 2013 things were obviously different but I don’t think we’ve seen a huge culturale change, just an evolution of what was already coming.
In contrast to 2003-2010 were the change was largely more impactful, starting from technological advancements and huge political shifts in the west.
Sure, we have experienced technological advancements since 2013 but the internet (pretty much the same) and the devices we carry are just an improved version of what we had back then. If we take the rise of AI out of the equation.
I think 2030 will improve upon what we now have and lead us to an era which is predominantly AI dominated in the forms of communication and ease of access. Much more EV vehicles on roads for sure but I still don’t think we’ll see drastic changes when it comes to improve climate change. The oil industry will still be dominating for at least another couple decades.
The innovations we seen in the 90s and 2000s are hard to come by again. In a sense I feel like we almost reached the peak of innovation until there’s some sort of breakthrough.
While there may be external factors that contribute to the challenges faced by Millennials, individual responsibility should also be considered. Even though the circumstances may not be as forgiving as those of previous generations, Millennials have the agency to take charge of their lives and make choices that align with their long-term goals. But I feel like this is very situational and it can change in countries with different socioeconomic aspects. If we compare Europe to North America or even the entire west as opposed to other developed countries in Asia for example, we start to find differences.
In Europe student debts aren’t as crushing as they are in North America for example. I live in Canada now but I was raised in Europe (I’m a Millennial by the way) and despite having encountered many similarities between the two different groups of Millennials, there are also many differences. In Europe there’s not so much pressure to settle down, get married, have kids. I would say 90% of the Millennials I know in my home country are not married and don’t have any kids. Total opposite here in Canada where even people in their 20s are getting married and have kids, maybe pressured by society. There’s seem to be this sentiment that if an individual doesn’t have a family by the time they turn 30 years old, they either failed something in life or they’re considered the odd ones out.
Well there’s individual agency and cultural differences all the way down. But we’re talking about the decades of the world here … so I’m happy with gross generalisations!
And while there are differences between the Anglosphere and the “continent”, I’d wonder how many common threads there also are, especially economically where differences can be more marginal.
Apart from family making expectations … what other differences would be generally relevant to my post?
Compared to 10 years ago we’ve seen an increase in mental health awareness, especially regarding men. Mental health issues are now more socially accepted and talked about more openly than in the previous decade. Millennials have been at the forefront of this conversation and are strongly advocating for destigmatization.
Social dynamics. We started to see shifts in social norms. There’s a great emphasis on inclusivity and gender equality as a more accepting environment for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Considering the progress made from a decade ago, I feel like we started witnessing this growth gradually starting at the beginning of the 2010s. Even when considering topics such as mental health and the LGBTQ+ community and we compare directly the progress made from 2013-2023 and the decade prior, it’s undeniably huge. Back in 2003 for example, the LGBTQ+ community wasn’t even remotely as accepted as it was in 2013 and was heavily stigmatized (I don’t even believe the acronym even existed back in 2003).
The point I’m making here is that yes, we’ve grown a lot since the last decade but I believe we’ve only improved on what was already there for us to improve upon on a much linear scale compared to the years prior 2013, in almost all aspects. The difference in progress made from 2003-2013 is greater than the one made from 2013-2023.
In 2003 those factors weren’t even on the table, yet in 2013 it looked like a completely different world. Millennials left a huge footprint we often tend to ignore.
I think I agree with you, and that in a way we might be kinda saying the same thing (?)
In a way, I was saying that a stagnation or persistence of certain things has come to the fore in the 2013-2023 period in a way that hadn’t before, and it was this sort of “realisation” that was the change I was talking about. Meanwhile, the point you make about the relative differences in progress is something I’m inclined to agree with, and I’d even be inclined to cast those comparisons back over the decades and ask whether some general regressions/stagnations have been made recently. I think the points go together well though. Against what happened in the recent past, the present can feel kinda gloomy.