The 80s brought with it the start of the information age, the growth of automation and mass productivity and with that the birth of the millennial man. With a massive shift from individual thought to collective understanding that happened over the last 30 years, those of us who became adults at the shift of the century found ourselves in the most definitive times known to man, but still as lost as ever.
Who are we? What is the millennial man? Being a man in this day and age, it seems more effective to define myself by what-I-am-not as opposed to what-I-am. I am not my grandfather, who defined himself by the fruits of his labour, by his strength and his resilience, by his domineering sense of a self-proclaimed Alpha. I am not my father, the modern man, still rugged, but tempered, still macho, but mild-mannered, still demanding respect; even if he is no longer needed as the head of his household. I am these and so much more, yet as a millennial male, I still ask myself, “Who am I?”
I look around and all the information I need is at my fingertips. I no longer have a need to hold on to definitions, for my actions define me. My strengths are no longer centred in the physical scope of things. No. I think, therefore I am, literally. My prestige is no longer defined by just the physical: I am now the intellectual man, the spiritual man, the sensitive man, the conscious man, the caring man.
The millennial man is surrounded by the definitions of life, but still I remain so undefined. As a millennial man, feelings are no longer taboo and self-expression no longer a sign of weakness. We have inherited the space to become whoever and whatever we want. But growing up in an era where we did not lack for much, what could we really want? The millennial man exists with the guilt of the previous generation and the burden of the next.
We are at the centre of the collective wealth and the centre of the accumulated garbage. We experience life based on the global consciousness, but are expected to stand firm on our individual standards. We have been placed within a social formula that is expected to work, but blamed for its shortcomings. And then they wonder why many, if not most of us, are so confused on an individual level. It could be because of this confused sense of being that we are labelled as the lazy, ungrateful generation that has been given so much and accomplished so little. Being a millennial is a title that we have embraced reluctantly; it has become our badge and our baggage.But we are still defining it as we go.
Living as a millennial has become such a balancing act. We look towards the future with so much hope while still paying homage to our elders for the many lessons and mistakes made in the past. We hold a high appreciation for all that was done and sacrificed to form the reality in which we now live, even if we still harbour minor resentments towards our parents for not allowing us to revel in this new sense of comfort and closeness that has been introduced to the world we live in. I was the sensitive child, became the aimlessly dreaming teen, evolved into the collectively competitive young adult and have now become the undeniably opinionated man.
I am the millennial man, and I will leave my defining mark. Time will tell, just wait and see.
