Conley Hausle

Dr. Ouellette
ENGL 327W

Reflection One: Millennials and Anxiety

In today’s society, we are on our phones all the time. Social media is just a click away.
We are constantly attached to it. Is it really such a surprise that it makes us anxious? After all,
now in addition to the people you see in person, you also have to impress all of your “friends”
online. In addition to this some people, like Adorno and Horkheimer, would argue that we are
anxious because we are striving to meet a standard not of our own making. In their essay, they
state “The ruler no longer says: You must think as I do or die. He says: You are free not to think
as I do; your life, your property, everything shall remain yours, but from this day on you are a
stranger among us.” Not to conform means to be rendered powerless, economically and therefore
spiritually – to be ‘self-employed (Adorno and Horkheimer).’” We all strive to conform, instead
of being ourselves, due to fear of this type of isolation. And because we are spending so much
energy on being something we are not, we in turn become even more anxious.
This is further confirmed in Bennet and Royle’s piece “Me.” In it they state “We are
subjects in the sense of being ‘subject to’ others ‘by control or dependence’…right from birth
and even before: not only are we radically dependent on the father who sires us and the mother
who bears us, but also on the environment…into which we are born, as well as on the multiple
forms of authority and government which condition our upbringing (Bennet and Royle).”
Nothing we are is our own. We controlled by something, whatever that something may be, from
the day we are born.
This leads to the reason millennials may be more anxious than previous generations.
Simply put, expectations have changed. “Millennials have lower employment rates, carry the
burden of larger student loan debts, and are less likely to own a home than previous generations
at the same age (Gander).” From the get-go, it is harder for millennials to get ahead. Solely
examining the student debt part of this equation makes it abundantly clear that there is a
problem. For example, I examined the costs for ODU in 2000 and today. In 2000, a single
undergraduate credit was $127 (“2000-2001”). Now, just eighteen years later, the cost has risen
to $352 for a single undergraduate credit (“Current Tuition Rates”). It was no doubt even cheaper
in 1980. This is without considering other costs, such as parking. Then add in rent, groceries,
various insurances, other bills, and money for things like clothes, and is there any wonder
millennials are anxious? And there are other stressors too. For example, “The current crop of
Australian adolescents are the offspring of our most divorced generation of parents, which means
many of them are dealing with the consequences of family breakdown (Scott).” This is likely
true in other countries as well. This is why many millennials are distressed when baby-boomers
talk about how if millennials worked harder and were more frugal, millennials would find
success like boomers.
The fact is, while there is no denying that baby-boomers faced their own sets of
challenges, the challenges millennials face today are completely different, and the attitudes of
many baby-boomers simply contribute to the anxiety millennials already feel. The only way I see
to potentially fix this issue is to fix a lot of the economic issues millennials face, such as the
stagnant minimum wage and ever-increasing inflation. Then, we can tackle the social media
problem, and hopefully everyone would be less anxious.
 Conley Hausle
Dr. Ouellette
ENGL 327W

References
"2000-2001." Old Dominion University, www.odu.edu/tuition-aid/costs-tuition/tuition/tuition-
rates/archived-rates/2000-2001. Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.
"Current Tuition Rates." Old Dominion University, www.odu.edu/tuition-aid/costs-
tuition/tuition/tuition-rates.
Gander, Kashmira. "Millennials Are the Most Anxious Generation, New Research Shows."
Newsweek, 9 May 2018, www.newsweek.com/millennials-most-anxious-generation-
new-research-shows-917095. Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.
Scott, Jody. "Why Millennials Are the Most Anxious Generation in History." Vogue Australia,
17 Jan. 2018, www.vogue.com.au/beauty/wellbeing/why-millennials-are-the-most-
anxious-generation-in-history/news-story/755e7b197bdb20c42b1c11d7f48525cd.
Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.
"2000-2001." Old Dominion University, www.odu.edu/tuition-aid/costs-tuition/tuition/tuition-
rates/archived-rates/2000-2001. Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.
"Current Tuition Rates." Old Dominion University, www.odu.edu/tuition-aid/costs-
tuition/tuition/tuition-rates.
Gander, Kashmira. "Millennials Are the Most Anxious Generation, New Research Shows."
Newsweek, 9 May 2018, www.newsweek.com/millennials-most-anxious-generation-
new-research-shows-917095. Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.
Scott, Jody. "Why Millennials Are the Most Anxious Generation in History." Vogue Australia,
17 Jan. 2018, www.vogue.com.au/beauty/wellbeing/why-millennials-are-the-most-
anxious-generation-in-history/news-story/755e7b197bdb20c42b1c11d7f48525cd.
Accessed 14 Sept. 2018.