TED TALK: THE NEXT GREATEST GENERATION?

Listening to TED TALK: The Next Greatest Generation? was a moving experience.  Throughout the talk, the speakers in this episode explained what makes a millennial (someone born between 1981 and 2000), a millennial and the differences between our generation versus another.  Many things make us different from other generations such as new challenges and opportunities.  This involves problems with the economy, longer lifespans, and the introduction to the Internet, just to name a few. Listening to the talk made me realize how enthusiastic, driven, passionate, and knowledgeable this generation is.  For the most part, young people are not seen as front runners on change and making a difference, however young people make such great impacts on others. This talk made me realize that age is nothing but a number, and you should not let your age stop you from finding your true passion and changing the world.

Another concept that really opened my eyes was the discussion involving the Internet. Nowadays, we are the ones that define the entertainment of the future.  In many ways, our generation is defined by technology.  We can determine who becomes famous or gets a piece of the limelight.  This is an interesting notion, and also gives a sense of ownership and say in our own pop culture. Furthermore, this Ted talk explained how teenage girls are the subject of so much in media and pop, yet rarely have a platform to speak for themselves. A girl in the talk explained how she wrote a blog/magazine called RookieMag. She explained that in the blog, “we don’t have all the answers, but the point isn’t to give answers but to inspire them to ask their own questions and find their own answers”.  This quote made me think of youth development workers and how important it is for us to let youth explore the world around them.  We might give them opportunities or inspire them in different ways, but they’re the ones that will pave the way and make their own path in life.