RainierRadkowski Mrs.Noone EnglishComposition 29January,2014 BaselessClaims ThetopicofthetheMillennialgenerationhasbeenapointofheateddebatesincetheterm wasfirstintroduced.Someholdtheviewthatthisnewgenerationisdeficient,lazy,unproductive,and egotistical,theworstgenerationinrecentmemory.Others,however,viewthisgenerationaspromising, citingtheachievementstheyaresettoaccomplish,aswellasdevelopingandembracingnewsocial normssuchassupportofsamesexmarriage.WhilesomeviewtheMillennialsasafailure,uponcloser look,thisgenerationappearstobesettingnewstandardsacrosstheboard. SocietycurrentlyhastwomajoropinionsabouttheMillennialgeneration,eachfallingon differentendsofthespectrum.InonecamparetheideassupportedbyTimemagazine,whichsupports theideathatMillennialsarenarcissistic,...lazyevenabitdelusional.

Ontheotherhandthereisthe opinionofthePewResearchGroup,whichcitesthisgenerationasbeingmoreliberal,opentochange, andmoreethnicallydiversethanpreviousgenerations.Whenonelooksatthemeritsofeachclaim,itis clearthatthePewResearchGroupismoresoundinitsobservations. UnlikeTime,PewexpressesamoreoptimisticviewoftheMillennialgeneration.Insteadof narcissistic,theyseeMillennialsasconfident,insteadofdelusional,theyareselfexpressive. Pewismorewillingtoseethepositiveaspectofthesecharactertraits,andlesswillingtoaccusean entiregenerationofselfishbehaviors.Besidesthat,however,Pewusesclaimsthatcanbestatistically verified.TheyclaimthatMillennialsarelessreligious,likelikelytoserveinthemilitary,andmore

educatedthanpreviousgenerations.Theseclaimscanbeprovenviapollingandstudies,somethingthat isimportantwhenanalyzingsuchalargegroupofpeople.Forexample,arecentGalluppollreported thatforthefirsttimeinAmericanhistory,overhalfofAmericanswouldsupportalawlegalizingsame sexmarriage.Thisisafarcryfromthehistoricallyconservativeviewsthatmanyofthesocalled Millennialsparentsheld.(Wong) ThemajorshortcomingsintheargumentproposedbyTimelieinthelackofverifiable information.Supportersoftheirclaimswouldbehardpressedtofindstatisticalevidenceoflaziness, ordelusionacrossagenerationofyoungpeople.Theiropinionappearstobesupportedalmost exclusivelybyanecdotalevidencesomethingwhich,whileconvincingonfirstsight,fallsapartwhen criticallyanalysed.TimewouldbecorrectinsayingthatPewperformsthesametypeoferrorin claimingMillennialsareconfidentandupbeat,buttheymustnotethatPewproceedsontoprovide moreverifiableareasforfutureresearchtoobserve.ItisinthisareathatTimefallsshort. TheMillennialgenerationisstillfarfromfindingitsidentity.Manygenerationsaredefinedonce theyareintotheworkplace,somethingwhichtheMillennialsareonlyjustnowreaching.Knowingthis, toassumeabouttheircharactertraitsorsocialattitudeswithoutsomebasisiswildlyambitiousand reckless.InordertosupportscathingremarkssuchasthosebyTimemagazine,somebasisinfactmust beprovided.However,whenonedoesobservethefacts,theonlyconclusionsthatcanbesafely reachedarethoseinlinewithPewResearchGroup:thattheMillennialsareapromisinggeneration. WorksCited Wong,CurtisM."GallupGayMarriagePollFindsMajorityOfU.S.CitizensWouldSupport NationwideMarriageEqualityLaw."TheHuffingtonPost.TheHuffingtonPost.com,31July2013. Web.12Feb.2014.