The big debate: are Millennials tech-savvy & free-spirited or lazy & entitled?

Last updated on 5th December, 2018 at 02:38 pm

We investigate some of the stats behind this disruptive generation, and then – if you scroll down – Busi Gamede (27, a broadcast journalist) and Khadija Magardie (42, a journalist, producer and director) argue the case for and against Millennials as lazy and entitled. Take a look!

Khadija Magardie: “Yes, Millennials are lazy and entitled”

“Millennials garner praise for their embrace of new ways of doing things. Yet they haven’t lived up to their hype as a pioneering, risk-taking, civically responsible generation. If a series of credible studies are anything to go by, the average Millennial hasn’t taken up with equal vigour the enterprising spirit one would expect of a generation handed so much opportunity. As much as they are praised for being ‘tech savvy’ and ‘free spirited’, Millennials are entitled and expect far too much to be done for them than they are willing to do for themselves.”

Busiswe Gamede: “We’re a misunderstood generation”

“If you believe that Millennials are ungrateful and narcissistic, then you haven’t taken the time to understand this generation. Millennials are the most educated and ethnically diverse generation in our country, ever. They have grown up in an economy plagued with recession, retrenchment and youth unemployment (yet they remain loaded with student debt). These experiences have shaped the culture of Millennials. It compels them to question the system and ‘traditional’ way of doing things using social media and peer-driven conversations to find out – because it seems the only way to hunt for truthful answers.”

Khadija: “Just look at how few Millennials voters we have…”

“It’s telling that the number of South African Millennials surveyed in the 2016 Global Millennial Viewpoints Survey who wanted more ‘work/life balance’ exceeded the global average. This could be interpreted two ways: either our youth are more progressive, or just lazier. This ‘what can you do for me first?’ attitude extends to an important indicator of societal participation: voting. There continues to be a decline in voter registration and turnout by this demographic. Millennials could take advantage of a democratic South Africa. Yet they stay away from the polls in droves.”

Busisiwe: “But as Millennials, we’re driving the change”

“Young South Africans are used to being defined as ‘apathetic’ and ‘entitled’. Yet the #FeesMustFall movement is just one example of youth anger coming to a head. In 2015, thousands of disgruntled youth tackled an age-old problem that those sitting pretty in parliament failed to resolve: the unequal access to education, and a failed democracy. This powerful movement would come to be known and internationally praised as #FeesMustFall. This movement is not just happening in the political space; we see it manifest in the corporate world too as young people move away from rigid and restrictive work codes.”

Khadija: “Millennials are more engaged in their keyboards than the real world”

“Whilst it can be said previous generations were forged in steel (like 1976’s youth), Millennials could be characterised as having been forged in eggshells. Being afforded the benefits of political, economic and technological progress has only made them self-absorbed and cossetted. They are the cotton-wool generation: more inclined to lamenting from the comfort of a keyboard than to launching the next start-up or political party.”

Busisiwe: “We’re not the problem: we’re adapting to a problematic world”

“Instead of seeing us as a lazy and entitled generation, consider this: as youth unemployment climbs and technology changes our futures; as politicians steal our money and corporates collude with them – isn’t it time for change? Millennials are rising to the occasion. Millennials are not the problem – they are adapting to a problematic world… and posting plenty of selfies while they’re at it.”

Read Millennials: irresponsible with money? The truth, here