My generation has been dubbed “Generation Y.”
Many scholars and social commenters have discussed at length what it means to be Generation Y. What makes us tick? What separates us from our peers? How has society changed from previous generations and how do those changes impact the generation at hand?
With the oldest members of Generation Y in their later twenties, much of our potential and what will eventually define us still lies in the horizon.
There are some trends however, that are already noticeable in regards to our generation.
The Internet reached its full potential early in our lifetime. Very few can remember what life was like when you could not google something (or for the older Gen. Y-ers, when you couldn’t “Ask Jeeves”). We have grown up with having the entire world at our fingertips with just a few keystrokes.
The Internet, whether for better or worse, is a key element in trying to define what sets Generation Y apart. You can (and many scholars have) write several pages on the effects the Internet has on us.
For the sake of brevity, let’s just focus on one. The Internet is a place of self-help and self-acceptance for Generation Y. There are countless blogs and posts on sites such as buzzfeed.com and thoughtcatalog.com that corral advice and insights for our generation. “478 things that you must do before 30.” “28 things that every 28-year-old should know.” “85 reasons you are an extrovert.” “98 things I wish I could tell myself at 20.”
Some of these are eloquently written prose pieces while others are a series of gifs (two or three second animated clips set to replay indefinitely) that you scroll through.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with reading or scrolling through these articles, moderation, like in all things, is key. The Internet is a vast place where anyone can post something. You can always find something that tells you that you are wrong and you need to make changes. There are just as many sites that say what you are doing is perfectly fine and you should never change.
As a commercial running currently that I love to quote says, “You can’t put anything on the Internet that isn’t true.” We all know this to be false, however, that does not stop us from sometimes putting too much stock into what we read on the internet.
Sometimes the best advice regarding the internet is to step away from it. Unplug. Be in the moment, whatever that moment is. Hours spent in front of a screen finding the perfect article to define you are hours wasted not living your life. Odds are you already know how you want to live your life, and you do not need an Internet article for confirmation. So get out there and live it.
Anna Rush is a law student from Hattiesburg. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2011.
