6 ways millennials have it easier than their parents did


The argument about who has it harder – millennials or their parents – has been raging for years now. The fact of the matter is that every generation has its ups and downs, no matter when they grew up. While millennials do have their fair share of hardships growing up in the ’90s and ’00s, they aren’t worse off than their parents were at the same age. Here are six reasons why.

Social media exists

Growing up in the digital age has been a blessing for many millennials, so much so that they probably don’t realize how good a thing they’ve got. Their parents couldn’t keep in touch with friends and family the way that young people do now.

Consider all the connections you’ve made in your life and how many of them you still keep in touch with. Friends from school, people you met on a night out – is the list long? It’ll certainly be a lot longer than your parents’.

Online dating helps relationships

Research has indicated that couples who get together online are more likely to be satisfied in their relationship and be less inclined to divorce. This is because when someone signs themselves up to a dating site, they’re more interested in a relationship than someone that you meet on a night out.

Online services like this weren’t around back when our parents were growing up, which meant they were pretty restricted in who they could date. If they lived somewhere small, they had very slim pickings.

Flexibility in work

Workplaces offer more flexibility nowadays than ever before. Employees can work from home, or during hours that are better suited to their schedule. This not only helps productivity, but dramatically increases people’s quality of life. Going to work no longer has to be a drain on your life.

These changes have only been made possible by the development of technology, which is why they’re still a relatively new concept. While our parents may benefit from workplace flexibility, they’ve had to go without it for most of their lives.

Health information is everywhere

Many of us obsess over what’s in our food these days. Naturally, everything we love to eat is bad for us, and now we can see just how much it’s affecting our body. It may not change our eating habits, but at least the information is there for us to interpret how we want.

Concerns about health have increased over the last decade or so, and government officials have put more effort into improving the overall fitness of the nation. Although results have been up and down, at least they’re trying to do something about it now. Our parents didn’t have that back in the day.

Education isn’t restricted to classrooms

You don’t have to be in a classroom anymore if you’re interested in improving your education. There are online courses everywhere you look now, and a wide variety of different skills to learn. If you aren’t able to attend college or you want a change of career, these courses can help you to achieve your dreams. Again, this is only possible because of the technology that’s available to us. We’re sure that our parents would have loved to have this opportunity when they were our age.

Less stigma around mental health

We still have a long way to go in improving our understanding of mental health, but we’re leaps and bounds ahead of where we were 50 years ago. People who need to take time off work to look after their mental health are no longer being punished or ostracized – they’re finally starting to get the help they need. It’s sad that it’s taken so long to achieve this, but we suppose better late than never is something to be grateful for.

Millennials are justified in feeling that older generations had some things better off than them. A lot is going on in the world that our parents never had to worry about. Things aren’t all bad though, and in many ways, we’re living the life that people before us would have loved to have.

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