On Monday, CNN advertised a new site that would be available for millennials to complain how their lives were harder than their parents. CNN tweeted, “Are you a millennial who feels like it’s harder to get ahead than it was for your parents? The data shows you’re not alone. Tell us your story at [email protected].”
Are you a millennial who feels like it’s harder to get ahead than it was for your parents? The data shows you’re not alone. Tell us your story at [email protected]
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 7, 2019
As journalist Jesse Singal has pointed out, there are two views of just which age group constitutes millennials. Singal noted, “I was born in 1983, which means I’m part of the generation, whether one uses the Census Bureau’s definition (born 1982-2000) or Pew’s (about 1981-1997).”
CNN has been seemingly obsessed with courting millennials; they published a piece in October 2018, just before the congressional midterms, in which they breathlessly stated:
Millennials could be one of the biggest political forces in America today, if they wanted. Defined by Pew as those born between 1981 to 1996, millennials make up about 22% of the US population, and at some point between November’s midterms and the 2020 election, they’re expected to surpass baby boomers as America’s largest living generation. They’re a massive voting bloc, capable of setting policy priorities and swinging elections. They’re also grossly underrepresented in American politics.
Later in the same article, CNN did millennials’ complaining for them, lamenting, “Though millennials’ experience varies widely by demographics, geography, and politics, they’re a generation shaped by experiences like the Great Recession, high levels of student debt, and the rise of social media.”
CNN was apparently loath to compare millennials’ problems with the Greatest Generation, which fought World War II, experienced the Great Depression, and felt lucky if they could go to college.
In November 2018, reporting on a new version of Hasbro’s Monopoly titled “Monopoly for Millennials,” CNN noted that Hasbro stated, “With many of us being Millennials ourselves, we understand the seemingly endless struggles and silly generalizations that young Millennials can face (and we can’t even!), so we created the game to provide fans with a lighthearted experience that allows Millennials to take a break from real life and laugh at the relatable experiences and labels that can sometimes be placed on them.”
Then CNN quoted one millennial complaining, “This is one of the biggest game/toy companies in the world making the fact that property ownership is impossible for most people my age into a jeering tag line. It’s patronizing. The whole thing feels out of touch with what my age group actually wants or likes. I feel like something like this would have been more well-received coming from an independent publisher who was poking fun at Monopoly itself, but this is the successful rich Uncle Pennybags who owns everything, sticking his tongue out at you.”
In contrast to CNN offering millennials an opportunity to complain, thebalance.com reported in April 2019:
Bank of America’s 2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report pointed out that those born between 1981 and 1997 are doing just as well or better than older generations when it comes to money management and career confidence. Among the findings: 63 percent of millennials are saving, 59 percent feel financially secure, and 73 percent of millennials who have a budget stick to it every month, or most months.
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