A 9 of 11 Millennial

I am a millennial, let's be clear. So far as that label applies, that category exists – I fall within it. Ultimately though, I don’t identify with it. Not the standard perception of what a 'millennial' is, anyway. I was born in 1988. My real memories begin in the late 90's. 9/11 happened during the opening weeks of my time in what is normally understood as "high school". Let's park the entire being Asian/Muslim during that period and what that whole scenario was like, because that is not what this article is about. Instead, just say I moved on alongside everybody else my age. Irrespective of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, wealth or anything else. I lived on.

Before my 21st birthday, 'Lehman Brothers' collapsed and the global economy took a downward nose dive that some would say, with some force, it hasn't ever really recovered from. If I had been a couple of years older, I may have been able to take out a 120% mortgage that in the fullness of time, I might have easily managed. I could have turned that into a portfolio. Born a few years earlier still and I could have avoided a student loan. I could have. That wasn't to be though, because I was born in 1988. I am, dare I say it, the middle millennial. Not quite 9 of 11 but you understand, of course.

In my lifetime I have seen the prevalence and international importance of social media develop from a curiosity to a necessity. From being a way of 'stalking' a childhood friend to becoming a machine that sparks revolutions, informs millions, connects cultures, causes depression, facilitates both love and hatred whilst coming to dominate (bizarrely) inter-personal interaction. All of this though, happened around me it wasn't what I was born into. Many millennials after me, grew up (by which I mean their real consciousness) with it having that sort of central importance.

80's millennials are probably more a reflection and product of a pre-social media age and level of interaction. We can remember landlines, dial up internet and Woolworths. We remember multiple days without touching an electronic device and where television wasn't 24 hours. We remember when Tony Blair seemed honest.

In the frenetic melee of modern virtual discourse, it can sometimes be forgotten that even within a generational 'banding' there is rich diversity. As the term encompasses such a range (often understood to be 1981 to 1996) somebody born in 1981 will have a very different outlook on life to somebody born in 1996. Yes, that is potentially true of any generation but I would contend, more so of this one. The sea change in how humanity interacts across the lifetimes of individuals growing up in this particular bracket is utterly and unmistakably unparalleled.

The term 'millennial' is now, in my experience, maligned. It is synonymous with entitlement and vacuous self-indulgence. A lot of more mature people, as is their right, despair of this generation. I reject that though. I cannot speak for a generation but I can and will speak for myself. So, as the label is apt (if only in as far as it reflects when I was born) I say only this –

Get to know us, for whether youth is wasted on the young or not, we are entering our peak.