Millennial Explains Why It’s Hard For Millennials To Wrap Their Head Around Their Own Age

Every generation has its challenges and struggles, whether cultural, political, or psycho-social. Yet millennials, of all generations, seem to get most of the spotlight, not just in joke form, but also on a serious note through debates and discussions.

And this should not come as a surprise—not too long ago, an influencer called this a very unique generation that’s sandwiched between two others, serving as an interesting bridge between them, a best of both worlds.

Well, despite that, to some it seems that being a millennial is not all that glamorous because of a certain kind of identity crisis and that it’s just too difficult to make sense of what age they have to be—nobody, actually, understands that point.

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Meet Dr. Sunny Moraine, a sociologist and author from Washington, DC, who, back in 2018, shared their thoughts on how truly hard it is for millennials to make sense of their own age and in some regards their identity.

This was in response to a comment by Ross Enamait, professional boxing coach and entrepreneur, who said that millennials should stop complaining about how they are getting old and how it’s depressing.

Moraine said that the benchmarks that millennials grew up with do not really apply to them, leading to feelings of insecurity and confusion. Many end up not marrying or not having kids or not even finishing college at times that are ‘deemed appropriate by society.’

“Add to that the fact that we literally don’t experience time the way we used to. Time is both stretched and collapsed, especially right now. Years feel like months. Weeks feel like years. The past is smashed into the future which folds into the present,” added Moraine.

This inevitably leads to a certain kind of identity crisis whereby you don’t even know what it means to be an adult, having grown up, what clothes to wear, etc. It’s not really a mid-life crisis as much as it feels like a “crisis of temporality,” says Moraine.

The relatively thorough explanation of the issue comes as a plea of understanding to people who view it all as complaining. Dr. Moraine urges people to instead listen to the words behind the words, and be understanding.

Many people online liked this, saying that this is exactly what they wanted to hear being millennials themselves. Others added to the discussion, saying that things like anxiety, depression, stress, racial differences, and many other factors make it even more difficult.

Another commenter, a boomer with millennial kids, praised the thread, saying that it seems the structural inequalities that produced massive economic disparities also disrupted opportunities: “Reflecting on my path, I was a phlebotomist at 16, a ship’s first mate at 22, a husband at 27, a father at 31, a professor at 33, and managing big projects at 40.”

“It strikes me that it’s way harder now. And I don’t think it’s just because there are too many healthy boomers still working. So I’m not offering a solution but am recognizing your point. Actually I can offer advice. I’ve spent decades being indispensable. I do feel it’s my job now to make myself dispensable. Not because I am slowing down, but because people junior to me need to be able to speed up,” said Peter Griffith.

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