

Why Are Millennials So Darn Optimistic? - cwan
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/02/why-are-millennials-so-darn-optimistic/36781/

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patio11
I think there is a big difference in your outlook based on where _exactly_ in
the generation you place. I'm 27. I have four younger siblings. The oldest
three of us, plus one wife, are all gainfully employed and doing very, very
well. The youngest two, who are right about to graduate, are looking at a
sucky, sucky job market.

For the ~95% of 27 year old engineers who are currently employed today, the
recession is not exactly backbreaking.

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TomOfTTB
As someone who just barely makes the grade I’m optimistic but in all I think
the Millennials are going to be one of the hardest generations to be a member
of.

We’re going to preside over the difficult transition between what I’d deem a
“Star Trek” world order where people work because they want to and no one goes
hungry and the world we have now.

To elaborate the Millennials are going to be the first generation that has to
deal with losing jobs to technology. Up until now technology has created as
many jobs as it’s eliminated but as technology becomes both more powerful and
more stable that ratio is going to shift. Jobs like factory workers, teachers,
bankers, etc… are going to disappear and society will have to adjust to having
more people than jobs (and figure out what to do about that).

Again, I think the eventual end result is good. As technology can do more
we’ll eventually end up with a society where people can pursue what they love
and let technology do most of the hard work we need people for now. But
getting from where we are now to that future is going to be awkward as society
has to decide how to deal with things like permanent unemployment.

Beyond that Millennials are going to be the generation that has to deal with
all the awkward ethical questions that science fiction has been asking for
years. Cloning, Genetic Manipulation, Climate Change, Bio Weapons, etc… are
all going to drop on the Millennials plate. That’s a lot to deal with.

Anyway, as I said I’m optimistic but with an eye towards the enormous
challenges that are ahead.

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exit
>We’re going to preside over the difficult transition between what I’d deem a
“Star Trek” world order where people work because they want to and no one goes
hungry and the world we have now.

sorry, but what exactly will be difficult about this? do people who suddenly
inherit enough money never to have to work have a difficult time with that
transition?

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WorkerBee
_do people who suddenly inherit enough money never to have to work have a
difficult time with that transition?_

Since you ask; yes, often they do.

[http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/70165/winning_the_l...](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/70165/winning_the_lottery_curse_or_a_blessing.html?cat=47)

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SyK
I probably only just scrape into their concept demographic here but shouldn't
we be?

I don't view increasing optimism as odd given that if all goes well, it won't
be long before we're clearing out the last of the aged hubris running
everything as it stands.

Then we'll be dealing with populations that are equally "socially liberal,
technologically savvy and wildly optimistic" and finally able to take
advantage of those facts to further our goals and those of humanity as a
whole.

Is "economics be damned" and increasing optimism really that out there as an
attitude when we're (in general, at least) more willing to accept alternative
meanings of 'good' or 'happy' than any of our elders and this progress is
nearing year by year? I wouldn't think so. And yes, I'm optimistic. Probably
moreso every year...

(Edit: PS. I think this is more related to hacking than it seems. I think a
lot of our tech savvy and liberal ideals are going to come into play and boost
progress rates further. In particular imagine fields like biotech where
barriers from aging ideals and prejudices will hopefully start to come down
over those coming years)

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rms
Rapture of the Nerds: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity>

For me personally, it was graduating from college and realizing that unlike
every other member of my graduating class, I did not have to get a job to
function my own existence. I could do what I wanted to do and I'm doing it.
That doesn't explain why everyone else is optimistic though...

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tybris
Because at the end of the 20th century, anything seemed possible. As it turns
out in the 21th century, it is.

~~~
WorkerBee
Anything's possible? I'd like a stable global economy, a drastic reduction in
worldwide poverty, crime and inequality and increase in education. A permanent
moonbase, a Mars mission, and a global program to massively prioritise the
green technologies and other measures needed to halt anthropogenic climate
change.

Those aren't even _hard_. And they are necessary. Except, they don't seem to
be possible and you seem to be not paying attention.

~~~
tybris
No, I'm not paying attention, because I understand how the media system works.
It's meant to play on your emotions. Not on the truth. If you're patient and
realistic, the world is a nice place.

<http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4508>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Educational_attainment.jpg>
<http://www.enn.com/energy/article/37908> <http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/>
[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061204-moon-...](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061204-moon-
base.html)

Just give it enough time. The economy will recover, as will NASA's budget.
Crime will keep falling. The "third world" is shrinking rapidly. Population
growth will come to a halt. Renewable energy is already the primary source in
some countries. Nature will adapt to the changing environment. etc.

It's just the information age that's bothering you, you're letting things get
to your mind.

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kilian
Obviously, because every day is a day closer to when _we will be in charge_.
When all of the world leaders are on facebook, it's a little hard to be a
bigot asshole :)

~~~
whatusername
There are plenty of facebook groups that unfortunately prove you wrong (about
bigoted arseholes).

Also - Didn't the hippies say the same kind of thing in the 60's? Or is that
just the image of the times?

~~~
kilian
If anything, accountability will go up. Future leaders will probably have
their entire social graph up for looks on Facebook (or Facebook+n). It's not
just about (millenials') intent, it's about a massive increase of access to
information as well.

If BigCorp pays you to push through some rotten piece of legislation, it takes
a comment of a single person to let your entire social graph know what you've
done. At that point, the rest just has to click 'unlike' to let them know
what's up. That is, in my opinion, far more powerful than the passiveness of
our current medium television.

Alas, I wouldn't know about the hippies, I'm much too young for that ;)

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anon114
Too much XBOX, Facebook. No attention to rising social costs due to aging
demographic. They don't vote. Terrible with money.

Ignorance is bliss?

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patrickgzill
The baby boomers are retiring or dieing off ... this leaves plenty of wide
open spaces to go to. There will likely be a hiring crunch in a few years.

