Millennials In The New Millennium

What The Future Holds
By Jamie Cohen

Echo Boomers are the upcoming prospects of this world. They are the generation that will carry the rest of us into our future. In which direction though, have they decided to take us? According to Steve Kroft, a correspondent for CBS News we might not be headed towards as bright a future as many of us anticipate.

When thinking of where our society is headed we hope for peace, equality and toleration of others, but can we ever meet those goals with a generation that prefers credit cards, fame and fast cars? In a 60 Minutes segment, Steve Kroft goes into detail when discussing this subject. Focusing on the faults of my generation, Kroft pinpoints our desires and emotional situations. He so cleverly shows us that our shopping habits and dependency issues will shape who we will become, and how we will lead. The only issue is that who we will become may not be enough to support us in the real world.

My generation, the generation of the Echo Boomers or Generation Y, or Millennials, is a generation of people who are dependent on others. We take more support from our parents than generations before us, because from childhood to adolescence, we have been pampered, or so says Kroft’s 60 Minutes segment.


Diana Zambrotaa, 20, Zac Walker, 21,
Reggie Lynch, 20, and Alex Andrejko, 20

Zac Walker, 21, a current student, wavers on this idea. He starts his sentence in contemplation, “Hm, I would like to say that isn’t true. I have a job, I buy my own clothes, so I feel like I’m not dependent. But, my parents pay for school, my apartment, food. Is it really a bad thing though? I don’t have to worry about money or living in the real world now, so I can concentrate on school and getting an education, which will help me be more successful in the long run. So isn’t it a good thing then?” He asks this question as if this is the key to success. Others disagree, saying that not being dependent on your parents is what will make you successful.

Neil Scibelli, 21, another student stands strong in his independence. “I go to school full time, and I work full time. I pay for my own food, my own clothes, my own apartment, cell phone, I pay for everything myself. Me having to do all that is what gave me the reason to get a good job and do well. If my parents paid for everything, why would I work? Why would I do anything? Being spoiled only creates one thing -- a spoiled person who needs to be taken care of.”

Both Scibelli and Walker bring strong reactions to the information that was a key point for them in the 60 Minutes segment. Whether it is being dependent or independent, both Scibelli and Walker are motivated and drive to make them successful, which is another common thing they share. Success is a top priority to both Echo Boomers, which goes to show that when Kroft spoke about the Echo Boomer dependency on materialistic items and the billion dollars that this generation spends on clothes, IPods and other items like these, he hit the right mark.

While it’s easy to see negative statements about this generation, this is just one segment of our growing generation. Both Scibelli and Walker are motivated and focused on their future. What does dependency or lack of it matter when discussing this generation when there is an overwhelming theme of motivation and drive towards a future. What Generation Y is good at is planning, being organized, setting goals and reaching them. It will be interesting to see where this motivation takes us when those of us who do, no longer live co-dependently off our parents.